American Realism

1
American Realism

• 1850-1900

2
The Catalyst

• The eras origins lie in the increasing tension
  between the North and South
• The Civil War prompted a shift in philosophy,
  literature, art, and politicsevery aspect of
  American society.

3
Responses to the War

• Some responded with Idealism
• Emerson optimistic, full of patriotic fervor
• had long warned that this would happen if slavery
  wasnt abolished
• Whitman saw horrifying images but maintained
  optimism
• Believed the war did reveal strength and heroism

4
Other Reactions

• Disillusionment
• Herman Melville war increased pessimism
• Believed war revealed humanitys basic evil

5
Images of War

• Walt Whitman wrote of the appalling condition of
  medical services
• Wounded on field for days
• No anesthesia
• Amputation and death

6
The War in Literature

• Many historical works
• Letters, journals, diaries
• Very little literature producedwhy?
• Few major writers saw the war first-hand
• traditional literary forms were inadequate to
  express the horrifying details
• Realistic novel had not been developed in U.S.

7
1st Realism novel about the war

• The Red Badge of Courage
• by Stephen Crane
• He was born 6 yrs. after the war
• Ironist juxtapose human pretensions with
  indifference of the universe

8
The Rise of Realism

• Reaction against Romanticism
• Romanticism did not capture real people and real
  circumstances
• Realist writers aim at a minute fidelity to
  ordinary life
• Wrote about slums, factories, corruption, cities
  rather than romantic settings

9
Goals of Realism

• Inspired by European writers
• Attempted to portray extreme accuracy and detail
• Focused on not just WHAT people dobut WHY
• Psychology
• Biology
• Sociology

10
American Regionalism

• Literature that emphasizes a specific geographic
  setting
• Illustrates speech and customs of that region
• Most famous American Regionalist
• Mark Twain

11
Realism in Journalism

• Strongest advocate William Dean Howells
• Realism should
• Deal with the lives of ordinary people
• Be faithful to development of character
• Discuss social questions perplexing Americans

12
Naturalism

• Dissect human behavior with as much objectivity
  as possible
• Scientific approach
• Human behavior is determined by forces beyond the
  individuals power
• view life as a grim, losing battle
• Human beings are subject to the natural laws of
  the universe
• Fate over freewill

13
Psychological Fiction

• Concentrated on distinctions in character
  motivation
• Believed in freewill more than naturalists
• Famous writers of psychological novels
• Henry James
• Stephen Crane