American Realism, Naturalism, and Regionalism 1860-1914

American Literature The Puritan Era Age of Reason Romanticism Realism Contemporary and Post-Modern Period The Puritan Era Age of Reason Romanticism Realism Transcendentalism Modernism 1600 - 1750 1750-1800 1800-1840 1840-1855 1860-1914 1916-1946 1946 – Present

What is Realism?

Romanticism vs. Realism The trapper was placed on a rude seat which had been made with studied care…His body was placed so as to let the light of the setting sun fall full upon the solemn features. His head was bare, the long thin locks of gray fluttering lightly in the evening breeze. The Prairie James Fenimore Cooper He was most fifty and he looked it. His hair was long and tangled and greasy, and you could see his eyes shining through…there warn’t no color in his face; it was white…a white to make a body sick…a tree-toad white, a fish belly white. As for his clothes, just rags, that’s all. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain

What is Realism? 1860-1914 faithful representation of reality believable characters written in natural vernacular or dialect subject matter is drawn from real life experience rejection of symbolism and romance settings are usually those familiar to the author focus on the middle class Copyright 2001, The Multimedia Library

The Civil War and Realism The Civil War was a major cause of the rise of Realism in America. The four-year conflict destroyed cities, industries, and lives left bitter memories and economic desolation in the South Copyright 2001, The Multimedia Library

Technology and Realism Technological advances also contributed to the rise of Realism in America. Photography allowed people to see real images of war and poverty. Telephones and coast-to-coast railways allowed more people than ever to hear about events that affected the nation.

Science, Education, & Realism Advances in psychology, biology, and geology contradicted long-held beliefs about the nature of humans, the world, and the universe. More people, especially women, minorities, and the poor, had access to an education and learned to read.

Social Changes and Realism Industrialization led to overpopulation and poverty in the cities. The Granger Collection, New York Immigrants from strife-torn Europe arrived in great numbers. Northern cities grew quickly and without planning. Slums housed many of the new arrivals.

What is Regionalism? Type of Realism Often called “local color” Focuses on characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other features specific to a certain region (e.g. the South)

Regionalist Writers Willa Cather Mark Twain 1835-1910 Midwest Midwest 1873-1947 Midwest Mark Twain 1835-1910 Midwest

from “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain And he had a little small bull pup, that to look at him you'd think he wan's worth a cent, but to set around and look ornery, and lay for a chance to steal something. But as soon as money was up on him, he was a different dog; his underjaw'd begin to stick out like the fo'castle of a steamboat, and his teeth would uncover, and shine savage like the furnaces.

Naturalism more pessimistic than Realism writing inspired by hardships: war, the frontier, urbanization, environment, heredity, and social conditions beyond the characters’ control - helpless to escape their circumstances poorly educated or lower class characters the criminal, the fallen, the down-and-out themes involving violence – survival of the fittest

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Naturalist Writers Kate Chopin 1850-1904 Stephen Crane 1871-1900 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935

“A Man Said to the Universe” “Sir, I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” from War Is Kind by Stephen Crane

from The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1892 If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency—what is one to do? My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing.

Points to Remember… Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism are intertwined and connected. Their influence has dominated most literature created since 1920, though the movement itself is dated to roughly that point. They are truly American modes of writing.