1. Realism (1865 – 1915)
A reaction against romanticism; told it like it was (not sentimental)
Focus on lives of ordinary people; rejected heroic adventure

2. Realism Cont. Anti-materialism; rejected the new “class” system
Most art and literature came from the middle class or focused on the middle class.

3. Realism Cont.
View of nature as a powerful and indifferent force beyond man’s control
Focus on individual responses and thoughts

4. Realism Cont.
Literature: Focus on novels and short stories during this period. Often aims to change a specific social problem.
Dominant themes: survival, fate, violence, and nature as an indifferent force

5. Regionalism (Local Color)
fiction and poetry focusing on
Characters
Dialect
Customs
Topography
Etc. as they relate to a specific region

6. Regionalism Cont. Influenced by romanticism and realism
the author looks away from ordinary life to
distant lands
strange customs
exotic scenes
but retains, through small details a sense of honesty and accuracy of description
features regional vernacular or the use of local speech

7. Regionalism Cont.
Common types of literature include the sketch or short story
Some have argued that this literary movement contributed to the reunification of the country after the Civil War and to the building of national identity toward the end of the nineteenth century

8. Naturalism A sub-genre of realism (narrower view)
Like realism but a darker view of the world
Applies scientific determinism to literature: heredity & environment are most important part of humans. Man does not have control over that to which he is responding.
The universe is unpredictable; fate is determined by chance; free will is an illusion
Characters’ lives shaped by forces they can’t understand or control

9. Naturalism Cont. Naturalism can be summed up as “the open boat theory”
The “open boat theory” says that they (man) are animals in an environment (in a boat out at sea) trying to survive. There is no transcendence. There is no God there to help them. All they have is their reaction to the environment.