Pessimism in Naturalism
The glass is totally half empty, guys. If we're looking for happy endings, then we'd better be prepared for disappointment; we won't find many of those in Naturalist literature. What we will find is lots of unhappy endings, and lots of tragedy.
The reason Naturalist fiction is so pessimistic is because, as we've mentioned, Naturalist writers are pretty deterministic. They believe that we can't escape our circumstances. If we come from a background of poverty, for instance, we're unlikely to end up in a good place. If our mommy was an alcoholic, then we'll probably also end up as alcoholics. In other words: we readers better have our handkerchiefs (and pints of ice cream) handy. Things never turn out well in Naturalist fiction.
Chew On This
Ethan Frome, the titular protagonist of Edith Wharton's novel, ends up as a "ruin of a man." Bummer. Not much hope or optimism there. Have a look at these quotations from the book.
Bigger, the protagonist of Richard Wright's Native Son, doesn't have a happy ending in store. And his mother warns him about it in these quotations from the novel.