What is American Realism? Definition: The literary movement that dominated American fiction from the late 19 th to the middle of the 20 th century. Realist writers sought to accurately portray life without filtering it through personal feelings, romanticism, etc. In a nutshell, they “told it like it was.”

What was going on? Realists were writing during the Civil War period and post war period. Honestly, there were few people writing at the time. America was unsettled and divided by the war. 1865: Lincoln assassinated 1876: Telephone 1886: Statue of Liberty

Who were the writers? Louisa May Alcott-Little Women Mark Twain-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Kate Chopin-A Pair of Silk Stockings Ambrose Bierce-An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Harriet Beecher Stowe-Uncle Tom’s Cabin Frederick Douglass-Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Romantics Emerson Perceived the individual as a god Mark Twain Perceived the individual as simply a person Naturalist: human behavior is beyond the individual’s control-they saw life as a grim, losing battle Realists

Their subjects were drawn from the slums of the growing cities and factories: factory workers, corrupt politicians, prostitutes, criminals, soldiers, etc. Instead of escaping into nature, the Realist writers address the issues head on. They sought to explain why ordinary people behave the way they do…they relied on science and human behavior.

Born: Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain was his pen name) He uses Hannibal, Missouri, his hometown, for the setting of most of his stories Twain worked as printer’s apprentice, a steamboat pilot on the Miss. River, and served in the military

He later became a reporter for newspapers in Nevada and San Francisco…this is when he became Mark Twain Married: Olivia Langdon; had several children The family settled in Hartford, Connecticut Works: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calveras County (1867) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) Life on the Mississippi (1883) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)

Truly an American novel-could not have taken place anywhere else but America: dialect, location, history, and social issues. Dialect: Dialect is a way of speaking that is localized geographically. Characteristics of dialect are sound (pronunciation): cot/caught; cah/car word formation: crick/creek variations in syntax: on accident/by accident word choices: soda/pop figures of speech (idioms) “…I don’t take no stock in dead people.”

The Concord Library banned the book from their shelves-Twain didn’t care-he said now people will just have to buy it! Both Booker T. Washington and Ralph Ellison (African Americans) saw the novel as dignified and human 1995: NAACP wanted the book banned from high school reading lists # 5 on the Top 100 Banned Books in America

The value of the book lies in its ability to take people out of their comfort zones…it pushes all the right buttons, and that is why we must read it/teach it. Why is the “N” word used? Racism Culture Time Period

Deception Trust Friendship Escape Persecution Tolerance Slavery/Racism Maturity Freedom Self-discovery

“One of my theories is that the hearts of men are about alike, all over the world, whatever their skin complexions may be.” “Nearly all black and brown skins are beautiful, but a beautiful white skin is rare.” “There are many humorous things in the world; among them is the white man’s notion that he is less savage than all other savages.”

Freeing the slaves was only the first step…then America had to decide how African Americans would be treated by society. If America would progress, if it would truly become the land of opportunity, belief systems would have to change first.

He wanted to write a novel that would address slavery…a novel that would not allow us to forget.

This is a story of a journey… From confinement to freedom From ignorance to awareness It is the story of a river- endlessly flowing, changing, and always there-no matter who or what travels upon it