Introductory Notes on the Novel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Types of Novels/Movies

A. 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)

Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

B. Historical Novel1. 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)

Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

C. Sociological or Humanitarian Novel

1. Its purpose is to show the evil in society so that change can come about.

2. The author’s 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 Orwell’s 1984, or Upton Sinclair’s Jungle.

5. Movie example – Amistad (directed by Steven Spielberg)

Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

D. 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.)

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.)

Types of Novels/Movies (continued)

F. 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 Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail

Types of Novels (continued)

G. 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

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.)

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

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

Dramatic changes hit England with the onset of the industrial revolution

This was a huge change in political clout and power

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

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

Negative effects of industrial revolution (continued)

-not enough jobs could be found resulting in

poverty

alcoholism

prostitution

abuse

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

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

Poverty was the major social problem during this time period

Thus, children would often be placed in dangerous

work places to help support the family

Children as young as five years of age worked in the mines

• 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

Another disease resulting from mining was black lung

• Many died by the age of twelve

Most poor families could not afford to educate their children because it cost one

penny per week per child

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

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.

Dickens uses many of his characters to expose the social

injustices of the times

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 Dickens’s novel Great Expectations, Pip’s understanding of expectations are to allow him to become a gentleman. The word expectations meant legacy as well as anticipation.

Sometimes poverty led to poor decision making as evidenced in, Charles Dickens’s 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

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