Emile Zola believed "the realists/naturalists consider that man cannot be separated from his surroundings, that he is completely by his clothes, his house, his city, and his country; and hence we shall not note a single phenomenon of his brain or heart without looking for the causes or the consequences of his surroundings." In many ways, this belief holds true in the writings of many American writers such as Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, Mark …showed first 75 words of 1092 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1092 total…is a product of the snooty society he was brought up in. Each of these authors chose a different setting giving Emile Zola the beliefs that man cannot and will not, willingly, be alienated from his proverbial clothes, house, city, and country. There are numerous other ways the main characters of these four stories exemplify the points Zola made, however, the settings of these stories relay the main points better than any other aspect could.