Realism 1865-1915

Historical Context: What lead to Realism?

• After the Civil War Americans were concerned with their future abolishing a believe in unity with a national purpose.

• The population of the country increased significantly.

• Because of new technology, traveling within the country became an easy thing to do. Therefore, many traveled since they wanted to learn more from other people.

• Because of the Civil War, young writers felt that the hopes and ideals of writers like Emerson did not fit the circumstances of the time.

• Therefore, they turned away from Romanticism which had been so popular before the war and imposed Realism instead.

However…

• Realism was also a product of European influence.

• Before Realist authors in America emerged, there had been realistic writers in France (i.e. Balzac, Stendhal and Flaubert. )

What is Realism?

• “A literary movement that sought to portray ordanary life as real people live it and attempted to show characters and events in an objective, almost factual way.”

• Realistic objectivism rejected the romantic subjectivis.

• Realism is still present in contemporary literature.

• Realism perceived the individual simply as a person. This contradicted the views of the romantics and the naturalists of the human being. This is because the romantics idealized the human being; they saw him as a God. On the other hand naturalists saw the individual as a helpless being; as a victim of all the elements that surrounded him.

CHARACTERISTICS

Plot and Character • Character is more important than action and plot; complex ethical

choices are often the subject. • Characters appear in the real complexity of temperament and

motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.

• Humans control their destinies; characters act on their environment rather than simply reacting to it.

• Renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail.  Selective presentation of reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of a well-made plot.

• Events will usually be plausible.  Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.

• Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class.

• Realistic writers could deal honestly with characters that a romantic writer would avoid: factory workers, bosses, politicians, gun fighters.

Structure of Prose

• Diction is the natural vernacular, not heightened or poetic; tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact.

• The use of symbolism is controlled and limited; the realists depend more on the use of images.

• Objectivity in presentation becomes increasingly important: overt authorial comments or intrusions diminish as the century progresses.