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AMERICAN REALISM

AMERICAN REALISM. 1865-1910. HISTORY. The years following the Civil War symbolized a time of healing and rebuilding. In literary circles, however, this time period is full of upheaval and struggle. A literary civil war raged between the Romantics, the Realists, and the Naturalists.

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AMERICAN REALISM

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  1. AMERICAN REALISM 1865-1910

  2. HISTORY • The years following the Civil War symbolized a time of healing and rebuilding. • In literary circles, however, this time period is full of upheaval and struggle. • A literary civil war raged between the Romantics, the Realists, and the Naturalists.

  3. More History • The industrial revolution took place at the end of the 19th century and changed the country in many ways. • People left the country and went to the city to live. • With new machinery and equipment, the economy focused on factories. Farming was no longer relied on so heavily. • The immigration boom occurred. People worldwide flocked to the USA.

  4. Literary Wars • Verbal wars were waged over the ways that fictional characters were presented in relation to their external world. • Using plot and character development, a writer stated his/her philosophy about how much control mankind has over his destiny

  5. American realists believed that humanity’s freedom of choice was limited by the power of outside forces. A person has choices and some freewill, but environment and others can hamper those choices American naturalists supported the determinism movement. They argued that individuals have no choice because a person’s life was dictated by heredity and the external environment. American Realists vs. American Naturalists

  6. HOW THE GENRES PORTRAYEDTHEIR CHARACTERS • Romantics – a god • Realists – simply a person • Naturalists – a helpless object

  7. Regionalism • Their writing was regional, emphasizing specific geographic settings and made use of the speech and manners of the people that live in that region. • In the face of modernization, people feared the loss of traditions and folk ways, so writers set their stories in specific American regions.

  8. Characteristics of Realism era • They drew on the grim realities of life, the breakdown of traditional values, and the growing plight of the new urban poor (read ghettoes). • Realists built their plots and characters on ordinary, everyday lives. They clearly communicated the complexities of the human experience.

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