1. Realis m 1865-1910

2. Historical Background Civil War dashed Romantic hopes and sentimentality Nation was changing –Memories of the war were fading –Frontier was closing –Railroads connected the nation –Science & industry were making leaping advancements

3. Background, Cont’d Nation was becoming grounded in the faithful reporting of all facets of everyday life –Growth of investigative journalism –Rise of muckraking Journalism that exposed scandals in big business and government –Fascination with the camera

4. Realism Realism RealismRegionalism Naturalism

5. Realism Accurately portrays life without filtering it Characters appear in the real complexity of temperament and motive Vernacular diction Relies on insight and observation Close, observant detail Sought to explain why people behaved the way they did Relations between people and society are explored

6. Regionalism Captures the essence of life in different regions “local color” writing Uses regional dialect and vivid descriptions Can be sentimental about characters and social environment

7. Naturalism Human behavior is determined by heredity and environment Tended to be pessimistic Humans are subject to natural forces beyond our control Dissected behavior with detached objectivity

8. Genre American Author(s) Perceived the individual as... RomanticsRalph Waldo Emersona god Realists Mark Twain Kate Chopin Upton Sinclair simply a person Naturalists Stephen Crane Jack London Ambrose Bierce a helpless object Realists vs. Romantics

9. Unit Preview “A Pair of Silk Stockings” Short story by Kate Chopin “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” Short story by Bret Harte “To Build A Fire” Short story by Jack London “The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Short story by Ambrose Bierce