realism...away from romanticism to realism. the idealism of the romantics and the philosophy of...
TRANSCRIPT
(1865-1910)
The Civil War destroyed cities, industries, and lives.
It left bitter memories and economic desolation of the South.
The aftermath of the Civil War meant that Americans were less certain and optimistic about the future.
It was after the Civil War that American literature shifted away from romanticism to realism.
The idealism of the Romantics and the philosophy of Transcendentalists seemed out of date and irrelevant to many readers following the Civil War.
Americans were no longer as interested in literature that was too imaginative or that focused on the supernatural.
Journalistic accounts of the Civil War established a taste for realistic writing.
Realism would reject heroic, adventurous, or unfamiliar subjects that were the topics of earlier romantic literature.
Aside from the Civil War, the following were also influences of the new literary movement: advances in technology
advances in science and education
social changes
increasing rates of democracy and literacy
rapid growth in industrialism
concern about loss of personal identity
What is Realism?
Accurate and detailed presentation of reality.
Every day people, activities, and experiences.
Events are usually plausible, based in reality, and very detailed.
Tone (the author’s attitude towards his or her writing) may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact.
Descriptions based
on knowledge or experience This is in contrast to imagination,
which inspires Romanticism)
Realistic fiction or writing may
devote more description to work
or labor Romantic literature does not
typically represent toil or everyday
labor.
Romantics elevate conflicts to
issues of honor, heart, dignity,
responsibility, or heroism rather
than the everyday encounter and
resolution of technical or material
difficulties.
Stories take place in the here and
now and tend to focus on the socio-
political climate of the current time.
Romantic stories tend to take place in
the past.
Greater attention to detail in realism,
especially when it comes to settings,
which may be grittier.
Settings in romantic literature tended
to be out in nature where the positive
aspects of nature are highlighted.
Everyday reality doesn't offer escape
and opportunity but conflicts and
complications instead.
Everything is realistic
Nothing is romanticized
Social pressures become more
important or determining than
the heroic individualism
of Romanticism.
Characters as individuals
don't make up their own
minds or decide their
choices; social training
determines that for them.
Romantic writers stressed
the power and the
importance of the individual.
Characters are complex mixes
of good and bad.
In Romantic literature,
characters are
more symbolic types: gallant
heroes, dastardly villains,
innocent and helpless
women, faithful servants.
Characters are internally
motivated by real-life urges like
greed, lust, confusion.
In Romantic literature,
characters focused more
on honor, chivalry, service,
etc.
Speech of characters in Romantic literature is poetic and heightened.
Speech in realism is vernacular and idiomatic, like common people of particular classes or regions speak. Diction (word choice and flow) of
the characters is natural .
Spelling is phonetic so that the sound of the language is presented
Grammar is often incorrect to reflect the way people of a particular region or socio-economic class actually speak (at the time the piece is set and/or written)
Figures of speech are utilized –these are sayings that people in certain regions or socio-economic classes use
New communities popped up as
Americans migrated and settled out
West.
These included mining camps, cattle
ranches, farming communities, and
frontier towns.
This created new regional diversity,
and authors wanted to capture this
before it disappeared.
It is an outgrowth of realism with
more focus on a particular setting
and its influence over characters.
Prominent from 1865-1895
Often referred to as “local color”
Regionalism emphasizes the details of a specific geographic setting
Focuses on the characteristics of the people of the region such as their… speech (dialect)
behavior / mannerisms
dress
habits / customs
attitudes, religious & moral beliefs
jobs
socio-economic conditions
The effectiveness of regional writing depends to a large extent on the depiction of setting.
Setting, which is the time and place in which a story’s events occur – includes several key elements:
Geographical location and physical features
Such as a river, a camp, a house, etc.
The time in which events are embedded into the story.
A season of the year or a historical period.
Mark Twain, who once lived in a
mining camp, is one of the most
famous writers of realism and
regionalism.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, Twain used a lack of grammar,
incorrect sentence structure, and
words that one would never find in
the English dictionary to compose
Huck's language.
Twain also uses seven different
dialects in the story to represent the
difference of various groups living in
the same region.
The local color stories he describes throughout the novel
give the reader a representation of each region along the
Mississippi River as Huck travels along it.
The Mississippi River plays a huge role in the story; it does
not just function as the natural landscape and setting.
Instead, because of the way in which the river affects Huck
and Jim's journey and is their means for escape, freedom
and a new life, the river becomes a major character in the
novel.
Mark Twain
William Dean Howells
Henry James
Edgar Lee Masters
Ambrose Bierce
Willa Cather
Stephen Crane