Émile Zola was a French Novelist, writer, and journalist. He is also known as the father of Naturalism, a Philosophical doctrine that focuses on the scientific method and material objectivity directly opposing Idealism. Naturalism rejects Idealism and argues that free will is an illusion, reality is governed by the force of nature, which is known as Determinism. The doctrine of Naturalism is very, "matter over mind." The most famous work from Émile Zola is Les Rougon-Macquart and J'accuse. His death remains a conspiracy and an unsolved mystery.

1. Émile Zola
French 203
Midterm
Presentation
Born: April 2, 1840, Paris, France
Died: September 29, 1902, Paris, France
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola

2. Who was
Émile Zola?
Occupation: Writer, Journalist, Novelist, and poet

3. Emile Zola

4. Naturalism (Philosophy)
Matter over mind. Naturalism rejects idealism.
In this video: Naturalism, Idealism, Realism
Zola also is a firm believer in scientific determinism.
Free Will
Free will is the idea
that we are able to
have some choice
in how we act and
assumes that we
are free to choose
our behavior, in
other words we are
self determined.
Determinism
The determinist
approach proposes
that all behavior has a
cause and is thus
predictable. Free will is
an illusion, and our
behavior is governed
by internal or external
forces over which we
have no control.
Zola believed this.
Zola did not believe
this.

5. “Truth is on the march;
nothing can stop it
now.”
"The Rougon-Macquart – the group, the family, whom I
propose to study – has as its prime characteristic the
overflow of appetite, the broad upthrust of our age, which
flings itself into enjoyments. Physiologically the members of
this family are the slow working-out of accidents to the blood
and nervous system which occur in a race after a first organic
lesion, according to the environment determining in each of
the individuals of this race sentiments, desires, passions, all
the natural and instinctive human manifestations whose
products take on the conventional names of virtues and
vices.“
Zola’s ideas for “Les Rougon Macquart”

6. Emile Zola’s family and early life.
His father was an Italian engineer with some Greek
ancestry. This is a dam that his father built, the Zola Dam.
Unfortunately, when Emile was four years old, his father
died.
His mother. I couldn't find out what his mother did for
a living. His mother wanted him to pursue a career in
law
He attended the Lycée Saint-Louis in
Paris. Emile took the baccalaureate
exam twice and failed several times.
As a result, Emile was unable to
continue his studies.

7. Now, what was Émile Zola really known
for? Journalist, writer, and novelist. In essence, he was a poet.
Before he was a poet he was a store clerk.
Eventually, he made a name for himself as an influential writer.
La Confession de Claude (1865)
Les Mystères de Marseille (1867)
Thérèse Raquin (1867)
Madeleine Férat (1868)
Nouveaux Contes à Ninon (1874)
Le Roman Experimental (1880)
Jacques Damour et autres nouvelles
(1880)
L'Attaque du moulin (1877),
Médan L'Inondation (The Flood)
novella (1880)
Les Trois Villes Lourdes (1894)
Rome (1896)
Paris (1898)
Les Quatre Évangiles
Fécondité (1899)
Travail (1901)
Vérité (1903, published
posthumously)
Justice (unfinished)

8. Les Rougon-Macquart
Les Rougon-Macquart was the most famous and impactful material that Emile wrote.
Histoire naturelle et sociale d'une famille sous le Second Empire.
His naturalist movement was inspired by Science and Evolution. Charles Darwin in particular.
Les Rougon-Macquart is 20 books.
1.La Fortune des Rougon (1871)
2. La Curée (1871–2)
3. Le Ventre de Paris (1873)
4. La Conquête de Plassans (1874)
5. La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret (1875)
6. Son Excellence Eugène Rougon
(1876)
7. L'Assommoir (1877)
8. Une page d'amour (1878)
9. Nana (1880)
10. Pot-Bouille (1882)
11.Au Bonheur des Dames (1883)
12. La joie de vivre (1884)
13. Germinal (1885)
14. L'Œuvre (1886)
15. La Terre (1887)
16. Le Rêve (1888)
17. La Bête humaine (1890)
18. L'Argent (1891)
19. La Débâcle (1892)
20. Le Docteur Pascal (1893)
The natural and social history of a family under the Second Empire.

9. Dreyfus affair This is Zola's most famous
writing. This writing essentially
made him famous.
Dreyfus was transported to
Devil's Island in French
Guiana.Some people think he
was killed because of this
article.
Zola's enemies were held
responsible for his accidental
death but nothing could be
legally proven.
It was not until ten years later
that a roofer in Paris claimed on
his deathbed that he had
smashed the chimney in Zola's
house for political reasons.
In 1894, the French Intelligence
Agency found information about a
French-Jewish Artillery Captain
that was giving classified
information to Germany Embassy,
giving away military secrets.
Emile Zola defended the Artillery
officer, saying they had no
evidence.
J’accuse was an article that risked
his career, but it ended up making
him famous.

11. Sources
Emile Zola Biography (cliffsnotes.com)
Emile Zola: Biography & Books | Study.com
Emile Zola - New World Encyclopedia
Émile Zola - Biography – IMDb
Emile Zola Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements
(thefamouspeople.com)
Émile Zola (yourdictionary.com)
Les Rougon-Macquart – Wikipedia
Émile Zola - Wikipedia