1. How History Influences Texts
American Realism

2. American Realist Period (1860 – 1910)
A time of tremendous change in the United States
During this period, an isolated rural nation transformed into an industrialized world power.
Realism is “a strategy for imagining and managing the threats of social change.”
Amy Kaplan, Social Construction of American Realism ix

3. American Realism is a reaction to:
Early:
The horrors and injustices of slavery
The heroism and futility of the fighting on both sides during the Civil War
Late:
Industrialism, urbanization, immigration
America’s rapid growth and ensuing social change

4. Values of American Realism
rejects the unrealistic, idealized world of Romanticism
centers its attention on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action and its consequence
attempts to document history
is interested in psychology and rational philosophy
respects science and empirical data

5. Characteristics of Realist texts
Devoted to the accurate representation and an exploration of American lives in various contexts
Character is more important than plot.
Characters are complex, as are their relationships and motivations.
Events of the plot are believable, not fantasy.
Diction is natural and regional, not poetic or heightened.

6. More characteristics of Realist texts
The author’s objectivity is valued
No overt moralizing
Texts aim to depict people as they actually speak and behave.
More importantly, they try to offer insight into why they behave that way.
Because Realists see life as full of irony, texts are frequently ironic.
Ethical choices are often the subject of plots.
Situations rarely involve tragic or cataclysmic consequences.

7. Regionalism Literature that emphasizes a specific geographic setting
Based on the fear that rapid changes in the U.S. would destroy the country as it was and leave behind no record
Local traditions are valued—literature is an attempt to document and preserve “local color”
Makes use of the speech and manners of the people who live in that region

8. Naturalism Also called “Sordid Realism” Based on Darwinism
Central tenet: Human behavior is determined by heredity and environment
Our fate is not in our hands
Human life is a grim, losing battle
Relies on emerging disciplines: Psychology and Sociology
Tries to dissect human behavior with the objectivity of a scientist
Often focuses on the fringes of society: the criminal, the fallen, the down-and-out
Some Naturalists are better thought of as Ironists

9. The Progression of American Thought
Genre
American Author
Perceived the individual as …
Romantics
Ralph Waldo Emerson
a god
Realists
Henry James
William Dean Howells
Mark Twain
simply a person
Naturalists
Stephen Crane
Frank Norris
a helpless
Realist writers use plot and character development to state their philosophy about how much control mankind has over his own destiny.

10. Bandit's Roost , Jacob Riis, from How the Other Half Lives, 1888.
This image is the Bandit's Roost slum at 59½ Mulberry Street, considered one of the most crime-ridden, dangerous parts of New York City.
OVERVIEW – What is the overall impression you get from this photograph?
PARTS – What are some of the specific details you observe in the photo?
TEXT – What does the text say?
INTERACTION – How does the text interact with the photo to present an argument?
CONCLUSION – Considering all of the above, what is the thesis of the photograph?
OPTIC –
Five analysis questions for any visual argument