Final answer:
Naturalist writers portrayed characters as being shaped by heredity and environment, often facing grim, deterministic outcomes. Notable authors include Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, and Jack London. Their works depict a pessimistic perspective on human nature, focusing on the struggle against an indifferent universe.
Step-by-step explanation:
Naturalist writers depicted characters as influenced by their environment and heredity, often portrayed them as victims of natural and social forces. These characters commonly appear as small entities within a vast and indifferent universe, unable to exert meaningful control over their destinies.
Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, and Jack London are notable exponents of this literary style, examining the raw and often bleak aspects of the human condition. Naturalism rejected the romantic idealism of previous literatures, opting instead for an often pessimistic determinism, where the laws of nature are the ultimate governing forces in people's lives.
In Naturalistic novels, characters exhibit primal behaviors driven by innate impulses and social conditions. Male characters might be depicted as brutish and driven by greed or desire, while female figures may act on subconscious drives as well.
This approach lends itself to narratives that explore the darker sides of life such as violence, vice, and corruption. The concept of free will is often questioned as characters are depicted as being constrained by circumstances and their own psychological makeup, which is, in turn, shaped by factors beyond their control.
Naturalistic characters often experience a "plot of decline" where they move towards degeneration or death as the story progresses. Setting plays a critical role in Naturalism, with the environment often portrayed as hostile or indifferent regardless of whether it is the Alaskan wilderness or urban slums. This narrative approach reflects the belief in materialistic determinism and rejects the idea that humans are inherently different from the rest of the animal world.