What is Realism?

1. What is Realism? • A faithful representation of reality in literature, also known as “verisimilitude.” • Emphasis on development of believable characters. • Written in natural vernacular, or dialect. • Prominent from 1860-1900.

2. Realism • William Dean Howells said realism “is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of something.”

3. Realist Writers • Mark Twain • William Dean Howells • Henry James • Edgar Lee Masters

4. Why did Realism develop? • The Civil War • The urbanization and industrialization of America • As a reaction to Romanticism • Increasing rates of democracy and literacy • The emerging middle class • Upheaval and social change in the latter half of the 19th century

5. What is Regionalism? • Often called “local color.” • Focuses on characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other features specific to a certain region (eg. the South) • Coincided with Realism and sharing many of the same traits. • Prominent from 1865-1895.

6. Why did Regionalism develop? • Dual influence of Romanticism and Realism • The Civil War and the building of a national identity • An outgrowth of realism with more focus on a particular setting and its influence over characters

7. Points to Remember… • Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism are intertwined and connected. • Their influence has dominated most literature created since 1920, though the movement itself is dated to roughly that point. • They are truly American modes of writing.

8. Twain’s realism • Twain’s work was realistic in his use of colloquial and vernacular speech, including regional dialects, and his parade of characters from everyday life.

9. The picaresque novel • The picaresque novel (Spanish: "picaresca" from "pícaro" for "rogue" or "rascal") is a type of fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero (picaro) of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society.

10. Origin of picaresque novel • This style of novel originated in 16th century Spain and flourished throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. It continues to influence modern literature.

11. Don Quixote • Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote is a famous example of a picaresque novel Don Quixote by Pablo Picasso

12. The Don is an anti-hero(opposite of traditional hero): an old knight instead of a young one. He is poor. He reads book on knighthood and makes a fool of himself trying to imitate the heroes in those books. • His companion is not a noble squire but a simple peasant, Sancho Panza, who is the opposite of the Don. He is a realist. He hasn't read any books. The Don's adventures are absurd, lower-class parodies of the adventures of the nobility in the medieval romances.

13. Plaza de España , Madrid

14. Huck Finn as a picaro • Huck Finn is Twain’s version of a picaresque novel, and Tom Sawyer even alludes to Don Quixote at the beginning of the novel. This reference is called a literary allusion. • What role do Huck and Tom play in the book in relation to Don and Sancho? How is Huck Finn a picaresque novel?