American Literature

Unit 3 Realism & Naturalism What makes American Literature American? How is the common man portrayed in literature and what are some of the forces that shape him?

Learning Targets RL11-12.1 Cite evidence RL11-12.3 Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). RL11-12.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a work RL11-12.9 Demonstrate knowledge of 19th century literature

Activator Back of the worksheets Graffiti Wall: : Sex Trafficking, Alcoholism, Life In The City, Childhood Trials, Civil War

Stephen Crane EXCERPT From ‘The Red Badge of Courage.’ Biography pg. EXCERPT From ‘The Red Badge of Courage.’ Discussion: How does this portray the literary period of Realism? What would this scene have looked like if this was written during Romanticism? Write your answers on the back of WS

Urbanization European immigrants flooded America’s cities all along the East Coast, primarily New York City. (At least 9 Million in 20 Years) The east coast cities were heavily unprepared for that many people This quickly lead to vast overpopulation resulting in high crime, slums, and many other related problems.

The Great City Skyscrapers, traffic, air and noise pollution, all became part of life in the big city. The industrial city needed workers, but often paid them poorly. Wages were so bad that one or two working adults could not support a family, so child labor became a common necessity.

Stephen Crane Urbanization Video→ Read excerpt from Maggie: A Girl On The Streets and answer the WS’s questions

Performance Tasks Recall: What childhood trials do Jimmy and Maggie face in the narrative? Analyze: What does Stephen Crane’s narrative reveal about life in the city in the age of Realism and Naturalism? Synthesis/Evaluate: Research sex trafficking. Examine the circumstances that many of these victims are reared under. Using Crane’s narrative discuss why or why not much has changed in the last 115 years.

Closing What was life like in the early city; how have things changed? How are the 2 Stephen Crane excerpts the same? How are they different? How do these narratives show the struggles of the common man in literature are they same in real life?