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American Realism 1850-1900

American Realism 1850-1900. Lit Book Pg. 410. The Civil War (1861-1865): April 1861: Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, opening shots of Civil War Deadliest conflict in American history (more American lives lost than in all other wars– combined)

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American Realism 1850-1900

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  1. American Realism1850-1900 Lit Book Pg. 410

  2. The Civil War (1861-1865): • April 1861: Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, opening shots of Civil War • Deadliest conflict in American history (more American lives lost than in all other wars– combined) • Destroyed American lives, property, and sense of identity

  3. Writers & Thinkers Respond to the War: • Optimism (Whitman & Emerson) • Many had optimisticand idealisticresponse to war • Saw it as just and inevitable (abolition of slavery) • Filled with patriotic pride • Pessimism (Melville) • Others were disillusionedby war and its effects • Their writing examined humanity’s basic evil

  4. The War in Literature: • Very little literary output • Most major American writers did not see the war first hand (at home, abroad, or dead) • Whitman, a hospital volunteer, was one of the few who witnessed it first hand • Traditional literary forms not sufficient to express horrors of war • “Realistic novel” not developed yet

  5. Realism: • Began in Europe • Portrays real life objectively and accurately—not romanticized or idealized • Focuses on a wide range of ordinary subjects • Attempts to explain why people behave the way they do • Dependent on new social sciences (psychology, sociology) and on biology

  6. Psychological Fiction: • Psychological novel focuses on character motivation • Exploration of complex social and psychological situations • Behavior in the midst of stress Regionalism: • Focuses on a particular geographical region of the country (including speech, culture, etc.)

  7. Ironists: • Juxtaposing human pretensions (arrogance) with the indifference of the universe A man said to the universe: “Sir, I exist!" “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” - Stephen Crane

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