Naturalism vs. realism
Both Down by the Riverside and A Raisin in the Sun share the theme of black characters facing futures that seem to crumble before their eyes, yet the stories present this theme in very different ways. One major difference between these two is that one uses naturalism, and the other uses realism. To understand the difference between these two stories, we must first understand what naturalism and realism are. First off, naturalism, as can be seen in the name, has to do with nature. In naturalism, the characters are at the mercy of nature and natural events. In general, in a naturalist story, characters barely have a say as to what happens; nature controls them and the story. Realism is very different in contrast; In realism, the characters have a lot of power in what is going on. The point of realism is to place characters in a certain situation with an assigned personality, and to have them react to that situation based on their personality. In these stories, Do...