The basic themes and aims of Realism is to represent events as they are and recreating life in literature, while Naturalism is to imply a philosophical position. An example of Realism literature is A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert, the story of a young servant. Felicite is relatable to, because she goes through the same issues everybody does. She finds someone who loves her, but then he leaves her for someone else, she loses her loved ones, and she tries to do whatever she can to remember them, as seen through the parrot stuffing. Throughout the story, every single event in her life was relatable to, and every little single detail was relatable to, especially the description of the house and the rooms.

An example of Naturalism literature is Hedda Gabler by Henrick Ibsen. In Hedda Gabler, Hedda is obsessed with her pistols. The pistols belonged to her father, who was in the military. He taught her how to shoot and ride a horse. Ever since a young age, Hedda has been influenced with these masculine traits, which causes her to act more masculine. When Lovborg was upset over losing the script for his book, she gives him a pistol to kill himself.