NINETEENTH-CENTURY LITERARY MOVEMENTS: REALISM

1. NINETEENTH-CENTURY LITERARY MOVEMENTS:REALISM DEFINITION BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS TECHNIQUES Adapted from: www.pucpr.edu/facultad/johnellis/343/REALISM.ppt

2. REALISM: Definition • THE TERM “REALISM” IDENTIFIES A LITERARY TENDENCY DOMINANT AMONG THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN WRITERS OF FICTION WHO, IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, DEALT WITH THE USUAL CONDITIONS OF URBAN MIDDLE-CLASS LIFE—ITS MANNERS, CUSTOMS, VALUES, AND ETHICAL ISSUES.

3. BACKGROUND • 1. THE GROWTH OF INDUSTRIALISM • ADVANCES IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF MASS PRODUCTION • THE RISE OF THE STOCK-MARKET SYSTEM • CREATED SEVERAL CONDITIONS LEADING TO REALISM • CITIES BECAME MANUFACURING CENTERS; MORE PEOPLE MOVED FROM RURAL AREAS INTO THE CITIES TO FIND JOBS; • A LARGE URBAN MIDDLE CLASS APPEARED, INVOLVED IN MANUFACTURING, WHOLESALE AND RETAIL SALES, BANKING, THE LEGAL AND OTHER PROFESSIONS, AND THE STOCK MARKET.

4. 2. ADVANCES IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF PRINTING ALLOWED • CHEAPER PRODUCTION AND MASS MARKETING OF BOOKS • THE MASS CIRCULATION OF POPULAR MAGAZINES • BOTH OF WHICH PROVIDED FICTION THAT APPEALED TO THE INTERESTS OF MIDDLE-CLASS READERS.

5. 3. TWO INTELLECTUAL INFLUENCES • THE SPREAD OF EDUCATION, THROUGH THE PROLIFERATION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WESTERN WORLD • THE THEORETICAL LEGACY OF THE AMERICAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS OF THE 18TH CENTURY. THESE CONTINUED INTO THE 19TH CENTURY

6. 4. REACTION AGAINST TWO EXAGGERATIONS OF ROMANTICISM: • IDEALISM--THE VISION OF THE WORLD AS POLARIZED INTO GOOD AND EVIL, HIGH AND LOW, NOBLE AND IGNOBLE; • ESCAPISM—THE DESIRE TO ESCAPE FROM THE INSTABILITY, CONFLICTS, AND SUFFERING OF THE REAL WORLD.

7. THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF REALIST FICTION • THE SETTINGS ARE URBAN—HOMES, FACTORIES, OFFICES, AND RESORTS FREQUENTED BY BOTH THE UPPER AND LOWER MIDDLE CLASS. • PLOTS ARE BASED ON ETHICAL AND PRACTICAL PROBLEMS AND DECISIONS THEY MUST MAKE. • THE PROTAGONISTS ARE TYPICAL MEMBERS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS AND REFLECT THOSE ATTITUDES AND VALUES

8. CHARACTERS ARE NEITHER EXTREMELY GOOD NOR BAD, BUT HAVE A MIXTURE OF BOTH • THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CHARACTERS IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE EXTERNAL ACTION OF PLOT • NARRATORS AVOID THE OVERTLY EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE OF ROMANTICISM; NEUTRAL TONE, COMICAL, OR SATIRICAL

9. NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES OF REALISM • IN ESTABLISHING THE SETTING OR INTRODUCING A CHARACTER, THE AUTHOR PRESENTS A FEW VIVID PHYSICAL DETAILS THAT SUGGEST THE ENVIRONMENT OR THE PERSONALITY. • THE AUTHOR AVOIDS PERSONIFICATION IN ESTABLISHING THE SETTING. • THE REALIST NEITHER INVENTS NOR EXAGGERATES, BUT OBSERVES AND RECORDS.

10. 4. THE VALUES ARE IMPLIED OR SUGGESTED THROUGH THE DETAILS RATHER THAN EXPRESSLY STATED. 5. THE WRITERS USE DIALOGUE, BODY LANGUAGE, AND EXPLANATION TO REVEAL A CHARACTER’S PSYCHOLOGY, EMOTIONAL STATES AND MOTIVATION.

11. Mark Twain an American Icon Adapted from: http://202.202.80.1/mweb/waiyuxy/userdata/2007112680824113.ppt.

12. “Mark Twain was a lifelong creator and keeper of scrapbooks. He took them with him everywhere and filled them with souvenirs, pictures, and articles about his books and performances. But in time, he grew tired of the lost glue, rock-hard paste, and the swearing that resulted from the standard scrapbook process. So, he came up with the idea of printing thin strips of glue on the pages to make updates neat and easy to do. In 1872, he patented his “self-pasting” scrapbook, and by 1901, at least 57 different types of his albums were available. It would be his only invention that ever made money.”

13. As a young man Twain worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. When he started his writing career, Samuel Clemens adopted the name “Mark Twain,” which meant two fathoms, a safe depth for a riverboat. Pictures from www.pbs.org

14. In 1861, Samuel Clemens avoided the brewing Civil War by going west. He took his first writing job as reporter at the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. Serious news was often mixed with “reports” that had to be taken with a grain of salt. Soon, he began using the name Mark Twain and affixing it to sketches, reportage, and an occasional hoax. It was a time when he first discovered his talent, his calling, and his voice. Pictures from www.pbs.org

15. At 34 years of age he married Olivia Langdon Clemens. She was the daughter of a New York coal magnate, a member of the country’s wealthy elite. She would be partner, editor, and fellow traveler in success and failure for the next thirty-five years. She would also furnish him her family’s home in Elmira, New York, a place where he visited often and wrote many of his best-loved books. Pictures from www.pbs.org

16. Though his most famous novel is criticized for being racist, Mark Twain never expected nor intended the controversy that arose with the publication of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain was not racist, but depicted life in his times. “I vividly remember seeing a dozen black men and women chained to one another, once, and lying in a group on the pavement, awaiting shipment to the Southern slave market. Those were the saddest faces I have ever seen.”– Mark Twain Pictures from www.pbs.org

17. "I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse." Pictures from www.pbs.org

18. By 1900 Twain had become America’s foremost celebrity. He was invited to attend ship launchings, anniversary gatherings, political conventions, and countless dinners. Reporters met him at every port of call, anxious to print a new quip from the famous humorist. To enhance his image, he took to wearing white suits and loved to stroll down the street and see people staring at him. Pictures from www.pbs.org

19. In time, the Clemens home became a revolving door for the leading names of the day: Howells, Sherman, Cable, Harte, and others. But it also saw Clemens involve himself in fanciful investment schemes that led to his bankruptcy—and eventual departure. Pictures from www.pbs.org

20. Because of financial problems, Clemens lived in Europe from 1891-1901, but this was neither his first nor last trip abroad. In fact, he was an inveterate traveler. From the age of 17 to the last few weeks of his life he was always discovering new places and revisiting old. He crisscrossed the Atlantic more than a dozen times and also saw Turkey, Palestine, Hawaii, Australia, India, and South Africa. Pictures from www.pbs.org

21. He developed as a speaker and traveled on lecture circuits, much in demand. His early performances combined humor, information and eloquence in measures that delighted most people. Pictures from www.pbs.org

22. When he died on April 21, 1910, newspapers around the country declared, “The whole world is mourning.” By then, Sam Clemens had long since ceased to be a private citizen. He had become Mark Twain, a proud possession of the American nation. He was one authentic icon of our national literature. “I was sorry to have my name mentioned as one of the great authors, because they have a sad habit of dying off. Chaucer is dead, Spencer is dead, so is Milton, so is Shakespeare, and I’m not feeling so well myself.”—Mark Twain Pictures from www.pbs.org

23. “I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: "Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together." Mark Twain died in 1910, the year Halley’s Comet appeared. Pictures from www.pbs.org

24. Mark Twain was one of the great artists of all time. He was and is one authentic giant of our national literature. Twain's quotes and humor are as popular today as at any time in American history. 

25. “Wisdom teaches us that none but birds should go out early, and that not even birds should do it unless they are out of worms.”

26. “Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.” "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress." Picture from www.pbs.org

27. “Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live.” Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

28. “Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

29. “Nothing is made in vain, but the fly came near it.” “I'd rather have ten snakes in the house than one fly.”

30. “Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

31. “The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man's.” Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

32. “Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.” “Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”

33. “In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made School Boards.” Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

34. “By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity--another man's I mean.” Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

35. “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.” “Classic--a book which people praise and don't read.”

36. “The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money." Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

37. “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”

38. "Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person."

39. “Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.” The End Picture from Dave Thomson collection: www.twainquotes.com

40. Works Cited "Mark Twain." Public Broadcasting Service. 12 Aug 2004 <http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/index.html>. Schmidt, Barbara. "Mark Twain's Quotations, Newspaper Collections, and Related Resources." 4 Sep 1997. 12 Aug 2004 <http://www.twainquotes.com>. Pictures from the Dave Thomson collection are found at:http://www.twainquotes.com "easylit. com." Mark Twain. 12 Aug 2004 <http://www.easylit.com/marktwain/twainhistory.htm>. Railton, Stephen. "Mark Twain and His Times." University of Virginia. 12 Aug 2004 <http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/>.

41. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Introduction Adapted from a lesson by Lindsay Gampel, M.Ed.

42. Racism & Slavery • written after Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery, but time period of story set during slavery • during Reconstruction, a less institutionalized form of slavery existed in the South (Jim Crow laws) • allegorical portrayal of conditions of “blacks” in U.S. after end of slavery • hypocrisy of “civilized” society which values morality, but condones slavery

45. Hypocrisy of “Civilized” Society • society’s laws (Miss Watson and Widow Douglas) vs. higher moral values (Huck and Jim) • rules and precepts that reflect faulty logic • civilized vs. natural • a “just” society that condones slavery • unsteady justice is blinded by cowardice, prejudice, and a lack of common sense • seemingly good characters are slave-owners

47. Freedom • importance of individual thinking and ideas • escaping an illogical and oppressive society • Mississippi River as a safe haven • slavery vs. liberty • outcasts labeled by citizens (mob mentality) are arguably the only truly free characters

48. Maturation and Development • a significant factor in Huck’s moral education is his youth • being open-minded is a quality that Huck represents, as a child, which allows for his development and maturation • Huck’s relationship with Jim assists his progression throughout the novel • Huck’s experiences and apprehension about society help lead to his maturity

49. Symbols • The Mississippi River • a source of freedom; a safe haven • Raft • tool for escape • Money • separates the civilized from the “outcasts”