Ethan Frome Research Paper

Jack Litton Mr. Williams Honors English 10 22 February 2024 Naturalism vs. Realism: Reflecting Truth in Literature “When winter shut down on Starkfield and the village lay under a sheet of snow perpetually renewed from the pale skies, I began to see what life there- or rather its negation- must have been in Ethan Frome's young manhood” (Wharton intro). Realism is characterized by its portrayal of ordinary life and its depiction of reality; this further extends realism by emphasizing environment, heredity, and the shaping of characters. Edith Wharton, throughout many sections of Ethan Frome, uses naturalistic conflicts such as the harsh winter climate in Starkfield where Ethan resides to less romanticize the life of Ethan. In Ethan Frome, Edith Whatron uses realism to depict the ordinary struggles of New England life, focusing on the complexity …show more content…
Furthermore, as both economic and physical conflicts were prevalent throughout the factory, so were social conflicts. To illustrate these conflicts the author expresses the social conflicts when he exclaims, “There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of consumption germs’’ (Sinclair 4). In addition, this quote highlights the social conflicts between the working class and the industry and their disregard for the health of their consumers. It explains the realistic depiction of the unsanitary conditions the workers are forced to endure each day and the great health danger working in the factory holds. Finally, Edith Wharton in the novel Ethan Frome uses realist and naturalist ideas to express the sheer pain and suffering that Ethan is going through. These same ideas also are used to describe the terrible problems Ethan faces, whether that be, Zeena’s health conditions or his relationship problems with

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