American Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism 1855-1910

Introduction to Realism Video “The Civil War was a violent clash, not just of armies, but of ideas. Who was right, and who was wrong? What did it mean to be an American? Was any price too high to pay to keep the nation whole?” Introduction to Realism Video

What is Realism? A faithful representation of reality in literature A reaction against Romanticism Emphasis on development of believable characters. Written in natural vernacular, or dialect. Prominent from 1855-1870.

The History Rapid industrial growth Westward expansion America changing from a farming culture to an urban existence (Farming  Factories)

Problems urban poverty/slums farm struggles labor unrest conflicts in the West the horrors of the Civil War led to uncertainty about the future struggle for freedom (especially immigrants, women, African-Americans

The Roots of American Realism The experience of war- little interest in imaginative / romantic literature Frontier life (conflicts with Native Americans, the hardships of pioneer life) The urban experience (cities with poverty, slums, crime)

Literary Realism driven by scientific and technological changes (see it  believe it) The camera captured reality (i.e. Matthew Brady’s Civil War photographs) American writers felt the need to observe and describe their settings and characters with as much accuracy as possible accurate depictions of setting, customs, manners and speech

The Literature reflected the diversity of the nation the promise and problems of America portrayed ordinary life, characters and events in an objective, almost factual way, free from subjective prejudice, idealism, or romantic color Objective-expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations Subjective-peculiar to a particular individual; modified or affected by personal views, experience, or background

Influence of Realism The novel, which had been born out of romanticism as a more or less fantastic narrative, settled into a realistic mode which is still dominant today Aside from genre fiction such as fantasy and horror, we expect the ordinary novel today to be based in our own world, with recognizably familiar types of characters endowed with no supernatural powers, doing the sorts of things that ordinary people do every day Even comic strips now usually reflect daily life

Characteristics Reality based writing using strong detail. Selective presentation of reality with an emphasis on truth, even at the expense of a well-made plot Character is more important than action and plot; complex ethical choices are often the subject. Characters appear in the real, having to handle real life problems and situations; they are in reasonable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.

Characteristics Cont. Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class Events will usually be believable.  Realistic novels avoid the out of this world, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances. Diction is natural dialect, not heightened or poetic; tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact

Realist Writers Frederick Douglass Walt Whitman Emily Dickinson Abraham Lincoln Ambrose Bierce

What brought about Realism? Cultural Divide The Civil War The urbanization and industrialization of America Increasing rates of democracy and literacy The emerging middle class The immense cost of life from the Civil War caused Americans to turn away from idealism and focus instead and on the hard realities of life The South felt slaves were a necessity for their agricultural way of life while the Northern economy focused on trade and industry

Regionalism and Naturalism “Vast, varied, filled with seemingly limitless possibilities – that was the United States in the years following the Civil War. Yet, all around them in this land of hope and opportunity, writers saw fellow Americans living lives of hardship and even despair. Regionalism tried to capture the reality of ordinary people’s lives; naturalism searched for explanations.”

Regionalism Often called “local color.” Focuses on characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other features specific to a certain region (eg. the South) Coincided with Realism and sharing many of the same traits. Prominent from 1870-1910.

Regionalism or Local Color Regional writers documented the unique ways of life in the rural communities of the nation Distinct dialects, landscapes and communities were shown Tried to capture the what it was REALLY like to live in the different regions of the growing country

Why did Regionalism develop? The Civil War and the building of a national identity An outgrowth of realism with more focus on a particular setting and its influence over characters

During and after the Civil War Time Period & Form Time Period During and after the Civil War End of the 19th Century Form Sketch Short Story

Influence on America This literary movement contributed to the reunification of the country after the Civil War To the building of national identity toward the end of the nineteenth century

Characteristics Setting Characteristics The emphasis is frequently on nature and the limitations it imposes; settings are frequently remote and inaccessible The setting is integral to the story and may sometimes become a character in itself. Characteristics Local color stories tend to be concerned with the character of the district or region rather than with the individual: characters may become character types, sometimes quaint or stereotypical. The characters are marked by their adherence to the old ways, by dialect, and by particular personality traits central to the region. In women’s local color fiction, the heroines are often unmarried women or young girls.

Characteristics Cont. Narrator Plots The narrator is typically an educated observer from the world beyond who learns something from the characters while preserving a sometimes sympathetic, sometimes ironic distance from them. The narrator serves as mediator between the rural folk of the tale and the urban audience to whom the tale is directed. Plots It has been said that "nothing happens" in local color stories by women authors, and often very little does happen. Stories may include lots of storytelling and revolve around the community and its rituals.

Characteristics Cont. Themes Many local color stories share an antipathy to change and a certain degree of nostalgia for an always-past golden age. A celebration of community and acceptance in the face of adversity characterizes women's local color fiction. Thematic tension or conflict between urban ways and old-fashioned rural values is often symbolized by the intrusion of an outsider or interloper who seeks something from the community.

Techniques Use of dialect to establish credibility and authenticity of regional characters Use of detailed description, especially of small, seemingly insignificant details central to an understanding of the region Frequent use of a frame story in which the narrator hears some tale of the region

Regionalist Kate Chopin’s stories set in the Louisiana Bayou Mark Twain’s stories set along the Mississippi River

What is Naturalism? Applied scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to the study of human beings. Influenced by Darwinism (natural selection) and psychology (Freud) Posited that men were governed by heredity and environment. Often depict man in conflict with nature, society, or himself. Suggests that lives and events are decided by forces beyond our control Man is controlled by his instincts or passions, his social and economic circumstances, environment, and /or heredity

Naturalism (a type of realism) Humans have no free will Pessimistic Individual people are not important Nature is not hostile, but indifferent Darwinism: survival of the fittest (biological determinism)

Why did Naturalism develop? The swell of immigrants in the latter half of the 19th century, which led to a larger lower class and increased poverty in the cities The prominence of psychology and the theories of Sigmund Freud Pessimism in the wake of the Civil War and Reconstruction Publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species

Characteristics Frequently ill-educated or lower-class characters whose lives are governed by the forces of heredity, instinct, and passion. Their attempts at exercising free will or choice are hamstrung by forces beyond their control

Frequently an urban setting

Techniques & Plots & Conflict “Man against nature” “Man against himself” Techniques & Plots The naturalistic novel offers "clinical, panoramic, slice-of-life" Drama that is often a "chronicle of despair"

Themes Survival, determinism, violence, and taboo The "brute within" each individual, comprised of strong and often warring emotions: passions, such as lust, greed, or the desire for dominance or pleasure; and the fight for survival in an amoral, indifferent universe Nature as an unforgiving force acting on the lives of human beings Romanticist View of Nature-”nature never did betray the heart that loved her” Naturalist View of Nature-”She did not seem cruel to him then, nor beneficent, nor treacherous, nor wise. But she was indifferent, flatly indifferent.”

Stephen Crane Jack London Naturalist Writers

Points to Remember… Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism are intertwined and connected. Their influence has dominated most literature created since 1910, though the movement itself is dated to roughly that point. They are truly American modes of writing.