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American Realism (1865-1910)

American Realism (1865-1910). Romanticism vs. Realism. Life as we Imagine it. Life as it Really IS. “Realism is nothing more, nothing less, than the truthful treatment of material.” -William Dean Howells (author). Begins in Europe (France)

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American Realism (1865-1910)

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  1. American Realism (1865-1910)

  2. Romanticism vs. Realism Life as we Imagine it Life as it Really IS

  3. “Realism is nothing more, nothing less, than the truthful treatment of material.” -William Dean Howells (author) Begins in Europe (France) In U.S., ushered in by Civil War and social change Realists respond to ½ century of Romanticism, which they saw as tedious, irrelevant, outdated

  4. For Realists, “The redemption of the individual lay within the social world.” (Howells) Realists saw a need to confront social issues through their writing, art, and photography.

  5. Social Factors Which Contributed to the Onset of Realism • Increasing rates of democracy and literacy • Rapid growth in industrialization and urbanization • Expanding population, especially immigrants • Origins of a “middle class”…increasing class awareness • Renewed faith in scientific discovery & progress • Ex. Growing popularity of the camera……

  6. Real images that showed the Real world…un-romanticized

  7. Literary Characteristics of Realism • Character is more important than plot • faced with complex ethical choices • life lacks symmetry and plot, so should fiction • rounded, dynamic, believable characters

  8. B. Importance of class, gender, ethnicity • Examines the plight of lower, socially deprived classes in America • Reflects changing face of America • In America, the novel becomes a staple of the educated middle class

  9. C. Events are Believable • Focus on the ordinary…yet within the ordinary the extraordinary can happen • Nothing supernatural or “beyond belief” • An aversion to Emersonian idealism

  10. D. Diction is natural vernacular • Extensive use of dialogue and dialect…the way people really talk • Regional (or “local color”) writers sought to preserve regional ways and customs amidst social change…esp. language and geography • Walt Whitman’s poetry celebrated the common man and his daily language

  11. E. Change in Author “Voice” • More reliance on first person narrative -Author often removes himself from the story • Decrease in allegory and slow-paced narrative; still a strong reliance on symbolism • Purpose of writing is not merely to entertain, but to instruct as well: Social Purpose

  12. Various Aspects of Realism • Local Colorists: Mark Twain; Bret Harte • Social Critics: William Dean Howells; Mark Twain • Muckrakers: Upton Sinclair; Jacob Riis (photo.) • New Voices: Paul Laurence Dunbar; Kate Chopin • Naturalists: Jack London; Stephen Crane; Kate Chopin

  13. Like Romanticism, Realism continues to influence literature and the arts…

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