Questions: Naturalism and Scientific Determinism in Fiction
5 questions to test your understanding
Score: 0 / 5
Question 1 Multiple Choice
How does naturalism's understanding of human behavior differ from previous assumptions?
AIndividual will freely determines actions
BBehavior is determined by heredity, environment, and physiological drives
CHuman nature never changes
DScience cannot apply to human behavior
Naturalism rejected romantic notions of free will, treating humans as biological organisms subject to deterministic forces.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
What methods did naturalist writers adopt?
ASubjective emotional expression
BClinical observation and investigative techniques borrowed from science
CAvoidance of reality
DIgnoring environmental factors
Naturalists adopted scientific methodology: careful observation, documentation, investigation of causes—treating literature as scientific inquiry.
Question 3 True / False
Naturalism treated humans as biological organisms determined by heredity and environment rather than possessing free will.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
This deterministic view replaced Romantic notions of individual agency and choice.
Question 4 True / False
Naturalism celebrated individual heroism and transcendence.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Naturalism depicted humans as subject to forces beyond their control—a more pessimistic vision.
Question 5 Short Answer
Explain how naturalism's scientific methodology changed what literature could depict about human nature.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer:
If humans are determined by heredity and environment, literature should investigate how these forces operate. Rather than celebrating heroic individuals, naturalist fiction showed ordinary people ground down by circumstances. Clinical observation meant depicting suffering, squalor, and determinism without sentimentality. This expanded literature's subject matter: poverty, hereditary illness, environmental degradation became serious topics. It also changed literature's philosophical stance: humans aren't entirely responsible for their choices; circumstances constrain possibility. This deterministic vision was darker than Romantic individualism but philosophically rigorous.