The Passing Of Grandison

862 Words4 Pages
During the time of WWI there was a literary movement of which readers had yet to experience. Naturalism and realism are both movements that disregarded previous ideas of romanticism in their own way. Although the terms naturalism and realism were not ‘coined ‘until 1914, readers were exposed to several pieces, including “The Passing of Grandison”, that pre-curse their time of establishment Specifically, realism is the movement that rejected the distortions of romanticism in favor of accurately portraying life, a realist might suggest that that good will ultimately prevails. Plots work towards the restoration of order and characters proper location in class. Minor crises lead to major confrontation followed by a resolution. The terms that literary pieces fall under are subject to the application of the readers own interpretation of the story, making it difficult to say with absolute certainty wither “The Passing of Grandison” is a naturalistic or realistic story. However there is more than enough textual evidence to support the idea of realism. “When it is said that is was done to please a woman, there ought perhaps to be enough said to explain anything; for what a man will not do to please a woman is yet to be discovered.” (704). Chesnutt sets the mood for “The Passing of Grandison” very well with this opening sentence. Even though the reader does not yet know what the story is about when reading this quote, it is only a matter of common sense that this line is foreshadowing some act carried out for romantic reasons. The first character that is introduced is Dick Owens; this type of character introduction time-line forces the reader to recognize, with questionable certainty, that Dick Owens is who the opening line is about. Dick Owens is the son of a self-made wealthy man and is described as “a youth of about twenty-two, intelligent, handsome, and amiable, but
Open Document