american's naturalism of literature

Crane’s Humorous Style in ‘A Dark brown Dog’
Study about Naturalism

Introduction
That americans’ writer consist of so many kinds style and theme concern in their writing, it is very interesting to study literary text not only as thing to be enjoyed, but also to see the society of the works. We must place the literary works as a perspective, advice, and respond of author toward their environment.
American’s literatures are catagorized into some kinds according decades as it move from one type into another types. At 19th century for example, the literary movement tend to see the society from dark side that we recognize it later as naturalism. It is the literary movement from romanticism, then changed into realism and finally become naturalism. While realism is seeks only to describe subjects as they really are and focuses on details of everyday existence as an expression of the social milieu of the characters, naturalism also attempts to determine scientifically the underlying forces (eg. The environment or heredity) influencing the action of its subjects.
Naturalistic works often include uncoth or sordid subject matter. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, sex, prejudice, disease, prostitution, and filth. As a result, Naturalistic writers were frequently criticized for being to blunt.
This paper will try to look at one of the naturalist in America from one of his works. I choose Stephen Crane to be analyzed since in his short age, because he died in 28 years old, he could write a great and many literary works. In other side he is also a journalist that his works often to cover the reality as a journalist does always presenting facts. So, it is very interesting if we look at crane in his fiction. He has written some fiction like poem and story. One of his story that will be discussed here is ‘A Dark brown dog’. This story seems to be humorous in naturalism.



Summary
The short story I read was " A Dark Brown Dog" By: Stephen Crane. It was about a little boy and a dark brown dog. The boy was outside just kicking his feet around in the gravel and a little dog came up. He held out his hand and the dog came over. When he came over the boy drew back his hand and hit the dog on the head. The dog fell to the ground around the boy's feet as if he had done something wrong. He really didn’t noticed the boy hit him for no reason. Later in the story when the boy was taking the dog home he would turn and strike the dog to make him walk. As they reached the door of the house the boy just drug the dog up the step because he was too short to go from step to step. But the dog just kept holding strong. When they got to the top of the steps they sat down and the boy talked to the dog like he was another person. They got in a vicious fight and the child came out on top. Then he kept dragging the dog up the steps to the door. When they arrived at the door they went up some ore stairs to the boy’s room. The dog and the boy sat down in his floor and became very good friends. the parents of the kid came to the room after they heard the noises the child was making. The dad scolded the child because the dog was in the house. So they examined the dog for anything unusual. Still the father was feeled with anger. The father of the family, it appears, was in a particularly savage temper that evening, and when he perceived that it would amaze and anger everybody if such a dog were allowed to remain, he decided that it should be so. Then the child lived happy after that he nourished the dog back to health. They became very close.

Analysis

This beautifully written, yet sad story tells of a young boy, who lives in a tenement apartment with his lower class family and the dog he finds. Or, rather, the dog finds him. He resists the dog's advances at first, but the dog follows him home anyhow, and eventually wins his affection.
"Down in the mystic, hidden fields of his little dog-soul bloomed flowers of love and fidelity and perfect faith."
The story does not have a happy ending, nor is it very uplifting. What I love about it, though, is the wonderful contrast between Crane's language and the dark subject matter. For instance, there is a scene in which he describes the parents of the little boy arguing. They are low class people: dirty and drunk, in an unkempt tenement apartment. One imagines sepia-toned poverty.
But to describe this scene, Crane writes:
"They had a lurid altercation, in which they damned each other's souls with frequence."
The contrast between the words and the scene they describe only point out all the more how terrible a situation it was for that little boy. In this way, Crane was truly a master of story-telling.
This story seems to very strange that Crane concern with dark subject matter. In this story the concern of dark subject do not be shown as many as it has to be, since the story sometimes is funny that the central character is a dog and a boy. A dog which behaves as if he could do something pleaded the child and it never reject the violence from the child. The dark matter can be seen only through the child’s father that is a drunken and has savage temper. This is common that the family of the child is poor. It is usually a head of poor family become a drunken.
The story is written when Stephen Crane moved to New York around 1890. In the fact Crane comes from wealthy family. Since he lived in New York among the poor he probably saw this kind of family there. As we know the father of many poor family usually is a drunken. So the background of the story is the poor society in New York in around 1890.
The contrary thing is that Crane sees the dark matter from humorous side. From the first story that a child who was alone in the street without parents and friend is fine and did not feel sad.
“the child stood dreamily gazing”
A dog comes and confronting with him. The strange thing happened again that the child did not allow the dog but the dog keep struggle to be with him and pursued him like assassin.
“his manner grew so very guilty that he slunk like an assassin.”
If we pay much attention the child must feel sad because of loneliness in the street, show about loneliness that his parents (father) is a drunken and does not pay attention to him, but in the fact the child seems to be usual in that manner and when the dog comes for becoming a friend, he avoid that. The dog keep pursued he child to his house and act like an assassin is very funny that the dog is underpowered of the child. It is funny as if the dog is struggle and have desire to be a friend with the child, in the fact it is an animal.
Beginning with Maggie, Crane satirized the genteel child, writing a series of tales about Maggie’s young brother, Tommie, including two brilliant ones, an Ominous Baby and a dark Brown Dog, about the savage cunning child. (Martin:1967). This statement state the story satirized the genteel child by the opposite side.
It is true that in the story full of humorous especially the central character, a dog. We can see through:
“After a time, a little dark-brown dog came trotting with an intent air down the sidewalk. A short rope was dragging from his neck. Occasionally he trod upon the end of it and stumbled.”
And the other paragraph;
“ He became so agitated with shame when he again confronted the child that he forgot the dragging rope. He tripped upon it and fell forward.”
The dog is always difficult and feels hard with the rope. As he try to walk he often fells. The funny scene can be seen through his father and mother when coming home, they hold a family council to decide the dog’s fate whether it will live with them or not. It is as if a big problem that the dog come in the house.
Conclusion
• This story is naturalistic works that concern on the reality of poor family and violence toward an animal, a dog.
• The style used is a funny that in seeing the dark matter Crane prefer to use this style in this story. It will make the readers not focusing on pessimism as many naturalists wrote.
• The focus of this story is a dog that seems not to see as much as possible of dark matter, whereas if the concern on the family of a drunken father, it will be clear the naturalism way in the story.
• In naturalism we can find the funny story too.

References:
Baym, Nina. The Norton anthology of American Literature volume 2. 1985. W.W. Norton & Company. New York
Martin, Jay. Harvest of Change; American literature 1865-1914. 1967. Prentice hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs. New jersey
Bassan, Maurice. Stephen Crane; a collection of critical essais. 1967. Prentice hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs. New jersey.


Major American Writers