1. American Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism

2. Realism
“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?”

3. What is Realism? 1855-1870 A reaction against Romanticism
A faithful representation of reality in literature
Emphasis on complex characters who are ordinary
people, not heroes or villains
Portrays ordinary settings & realistic situations, especially those that allow for accurate depictions of society and culture
Written in true to life dialogue that captures the natural dialect
Detached narration: allows the narrator to
sound unbiased & distant
Tone is ironic, satiric, or matter-of-fact
Social Themes are class conflicts, urbanization,
corruption, marriage, & family life

4. Realist Writers Walt Whitman Emily Dickinson Frederick Douglass
Abraham Lincoln
Ambrose Bierce
Mark Twain

5. 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

6. 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.”

7. Regionalism (1870-1920) Often called “local color.”
Focuses on characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other features specific to a certain region (the South)
Coincided with Realism and shared many of the same traits.

8. Why did Regionalism develop?
The Civil War and the building of a national identity
Boom in publishing in late 1800s; magazines published many short stories
An outgrowth of realism with more
focus on a particular setting and its
influence over characters

9. Regionalist
Mark Twain
Kate Chopin

10. What is Naturalism?
Applied scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to the study of human beings.
Influenced by the science of Darwinism (natural selection), the psychology of Freud, and philosophy of Marx.
Posited that men were governed by heredity, instinct and environment.
Often depict man in conflict with nature, society, or himself.
Nature & universe is cold & indifferent.
Individuals are victims of forces they can
not control (fate)

11. Naturalist Writers Mark Twain EA Robinson Jack London Stephen Crane
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Edith Wharton

12. Why did Naturalism develop?
Pessimism in the wake of the Civil War and Reconstruction
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
Publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species
Publication of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto

13. 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.