What is Realism?

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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.

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Realism

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

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Realist Writers

• Mark Twain
• William Dean Howells
• Henry James
• Edgar Lee Masters

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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Twains realism

• Twains work was realistic in his use of
  colloquial and vernacular speech, including
  regional dialects, and his parade of characters
  from everyday life.

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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.

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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.

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Don Quixote

• Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote is a famous example
  of a picaresque novel

Don Quixote by Pablo Picasso
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• 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.

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Plaza de España , Madrid
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Huck Finn as a picaro

• Huck Finn is Twains 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?