Introductory Notes on the Novel

1
Introductory Notes on the Novel

• A novel is a fictional, prose, narrative of
  50,000 words or less.

2
Novels have many of the same elements as those
found in short stories, but there are some
differences.

• They both have at least one central conflict
  but novels will have several minor conflicts.
• They both have characters but chances are there
  will be more characters in a novel.
• There is evidence of character development in
  both,
• but some of the characters will be better
  developed (multi-dimensional) due to length of
  text.)
• There are plots in both, but sub-plots can be
  found in novels.
• There will be a dominant theme in both, as well
  as theme clusters

3
Novels fulfill several functions

• In order for a novel to be of value, it must
  accomplish one or more of the following goals
• Entertain
• Hold interest
• Seem real
• Give insight and teach some moral truth

4
Pamela - first written work to be considered a
novel. It was written by Samuel Richardson
1600s

• 3 different world views
• Romanticism
• The writer uses great freedom of imagination
• The writer idealizes the world and dwells on how
  it should be rather than how it is.
• Views world through rose colored glasses
• There is usually a happy ending it is optimistic
  and looks on the bright side of things

5

• Realism
• -writer aims to interpret what is actually
  happening in life
• - writer stares facts in the face and is
  faithful to actuality
• - writer is free from idealism and romantic
  color draws own opinion
• - writer uses much detail and lets facts speak
  for themselves
• - realism is truth
• - novel is objective there is only one
  answer, and it is directed by the facts

6
Naturalism

• Naturalistic novels are much like realistic
  novels except they go one step further
• Naturalism is pessimistic
• Mankind is victim of a hostile society
• He/She is in a mechanized world and cannot do
  anything to change it
• (Wo)man feels as if he/she is a born loser.
  There is no way to escape destiny - -fatalistic
• The original modern naturalism writer was a
  Frenchman, Emil Zola focuses on all the
  horrible aspects of life

7
Types of Novels/Movies

• Romantic primarily adventure and/or love story
  that is written to entertain.
• 1. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
• 2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• 3. Sleepless in Seattle (starring Meg Ryan
  Tom Hanks)

8
Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

• B. Historical Novel
• 1. The plot revolves around an actual
  historical event or actual person in history.
• 2. It can be romantic and have heroes and
  beautiful heroines.
• 3. It is appealing because of its exciting,
  colorful stories.
• 4. Some examples are The Tale of Two Cities
  (Charles Dickens,) The Red Badge of Courage
  (Stephen Crane,) Gone with the Wind (Margaret
  Mitchell) Shakespeare in Love (starring Gwyneth
  Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes)

9
Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

• Sociological or Humanitarian Novel
• 1. Its purpose is to show the evil in
  society so that change can come about.
• 2. The authors purpose is to promote
  sympathy for the plight of his /her characters.
• 3. Charles Dickens was the master of this
  type of novel.
• 4. The authors sometimes express their
  humanitarian ideals by writing about life in the
  future such as in George Orwells 1984, or Upton
  Sinclairs Jungle.
• 5. Movie example Amistad (directed by
  Steven Spielberg)

10
Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

• Psychological Novel
• 1. Its purpose is to deal with the inner
  thoughts and conflicts of the characters.
• 2. The author may use action and dialogue
  to show the inner life of his characters.
• 3. The modern science of psychology has
  made this type of novel very popular, but it has
  been used for much longer.
• 4. Two examples are Catcher In the Rye
  (J.D. Salinger) and Good Will Hunting (starring
  Matt Damon and Robin Williams.)

11
Types of Novels (continued)

• E. Allegorical Novel
• 1. It contains symbolic meanings beyond the
  concrete facts of the story.
• 2. Characters and other elements may be
  symbols for certain abstract concepts.
• 3. Two examples would be Animal Farm
  (George Orwell) and Moby Dick (Herman Melville.)

12
Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

• Humorous Novel
• 1. The humorous novel is rare because the
  material that one person thinks is funny may not
  be humorous to another person.
• 2. The classic humorous novels are based on
  characters that are timeless and could exist in
  any age.
• 3. Satire is a form of humor yet it
  differs from it in that its fun is sometimes
  cruel.
• 4. Two book examples are Huckleberry Finn
  and Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
• 5. Movie example Monty Pythons Quest for
  the Holy Grail

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Types of Novels (continued)

• Science Fiction Novel
• 1. It is based on scientific probability
  such as Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
• War of the Worlds (H. G. Wells) and Twenty
  Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne) The
  Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury) and Armageddon
  (starring Bruce Willis)
• 2. There is a strong mix of fact and
  fiction

14
Types of Novels (continued)

• H. Philosophical
• 1. A novel in which ideas are the most
  important aspect of the novel.
• 2. Two examples are Farenheit 451 (Ray
  Bradbury) or Saddhartha (Herman Hesse.)

15
Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

• I. Fantasy fiction
• 1. This type of story is based on pure
  imagination
• 2. Some examples of books are The Hobbit
  (JRR Tolkein) The Lion, the Witch, and the
  Wardrobe
• 3. Babe, Pig in the City is a sample movie

16
What was it like to live during the Victorian Era?

• Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901
• She was the longest reigning monarch in British
  history

17
Dramatic changes hit England with the onset of
the industrial revolution
18
This was a huge change in political clout and
power
19
Unfortunately, cities grew beyond their means
during this era

• Sprawling rat-infested slums appeared
• Clean drinking water was scarce
• Cholera epidemics killed hundreds of thousands of
  people

20
Other negative effects of the industrial
revolution included

• A breakdown in the infrastructure
• no place to educate children
• too few roads
• too few houses
• too few hospitals
• too few police
• no sewers

21
Negative effects of industrial revolution
(continued)

• -not enough jobs could be found resulting
  in
• poverty
• alcoholism
• prostitution
• abuse

22
Child abuse ran rampant during the industrial
revolution

• Children were grossly underpaid
• They had no one to protect their rights
• They worked from dawn to dark (16 hrs. per day)
  with no breaks

23
Factories were barn-like structures where many
children worked

• They had only a few tiny windows up near the roof
• No sunlight
• As a result children got rickets/resulting in
  short crooked bones
• Females died during child birth and so did their
  babies

24
Poverty was the major social problem during this
time period
25
Thus, children would often be placed in dangerous
work places to help support the family
26
Children as young as five years of age worked in
the mines
27

• These young children were often harnessed to
  carts and forced to crawl on their knees for
  miles
• As a result many suffered from serious spine
  deformities

28
Another disease resulting from mining was black
lung

• Many died by the age of twelve

29
Most poor families could not afford to educate
their children because it cost one penny per week
per child
30
Ragged schools were established

• For orphans and the very poor
• Older boys were sent to a day school taught by a
  local tradesman
• The Bible was the main textbook
• Victorian schools never took both boys and girls

31
Journalist Henry Mayhew focused on the lives and
economic and social realities of children and
adults who swept streets and chimneys - -
gathered rags and bones - - sold oranges, and
performed acrobatic tricks to eke out a meager
living

• His work had a major impact on writers such as
  Charles Dickens who dedicated his literary career
  to evoking social reform by shocking a complacent
  middle class into acknowledging the plight of
  those on the bottom rung.

32
Dickens uses many of his characters to expose the
social injustices of the times
33
One of the few ways in which a person was able to
change class was through the inheritance of
valuables

• Moving up in class was difficult. In Dickenss
  novel Great Expectations, Pips understanding of
  expectations are to allow him to become a
  gentleman. The word expectations meant legacy as
  well as anticipation.

34
Sometimes poverty led to poor decision making as
evidenced in, Charles Dickenss novel Great
Expectations. People would wind up in prison
with little hope of ever getting out.

• Prisons were
• Overcrowded
• Dirty
• Lacked ventilation
• Void of sanitary conditions
• Poorly maintained
• And breeding grounds for illness

35
During this time period it was presumed that all
people were guilty unless proven innocent.

• In some sections of England, trials were only
  held once a year when a visiting judge arrived
• There was no system of appeal. The only way a
  convict could get his/her sentence overturned was
  by a royal pardon
• Due to overcrowding, many prisoners were shipped
  to British colonies as an alternative to prison
  - -especially to Australia
• Crimes ranging from shoplifting to murder were
  all punishable by death
• Often the condemned were publicly hanged as a
  warning to abide by the law