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American Realist Period (1860 – 1910)
A time of tremendous change in the United States
During this period, an isolated rural nation transformed into an industrialized world power.
Realism is “a strategy for imagining and managing the threats of social change.”Amy Kaplan, Social Construction of American Realism ix
American Realism is a reaction to:
Early:The horrors and
injustices of slaveryThe heroism and futility
of the fighting on both sides during the Civil War
Late: Industrialism,
urbanization, immigration
America’s rapid growth and ensuing social change
Values of American Realism
American Realism …
rejects the unrealistic, idealized world of Romanticism
centers its attention on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action and its consequence
attempts to document history
is interested in psychology and rational philosophy
respects science and empirical data
Characteristics of Realist texts
Devoted to the accurate representation and an exploration of American lives in various contexts
Character is more important than plot.
Characters are complex, as are their relationships and motivations.
Events of the plot are believable, not fantasy.
Diction is natural and regional, not poetic or heightened.
More characteristics of Realist texts
The author’s objectivity is valued
No overt moralizing Texts aim to depict people
as they actually speak and behave.
More importantly, they try to offer insight into why they behave that way.
Because Realists see life as full of irony, texts are frequently ironic.
Ethical choices are often the subject of plots.
Situations rarely involve tragic or cataclysmic consequences.
Regionalism
Literature that emphasizes a specific geographic setting
Based on the fear that rapid changes in the U.S. would destroy the country as it was and leave behind no record
Local traditions are valued—literature is an attempt to document and preserve “local color”
Makes use of the speech and manners of the people who live in that region
Naturalism
Also called “Sordid Realism” Based on Darwinism Central tenet: Human behavior
is determined by heredity and environment
Our fate is not in our hands Human life is a grim, losing
battle Relies on emerging disciplines:
Psychology and Sociology Tries to dissect human
behavior with the objectivity of a scientist
Often focuses on the fringes of society: the criminal, the fallen, the down-and-out
Some Naturalists are better thought of as Ironists
The Progression of American Thought
Genre American Author
Perceived the individual as …
Romantics Ralph Waldo Emerson
a god
Realists Henry JamesWilliam Dean HowellsMark Twain
simply a person
Naturalists Stephen CraneFrank Norris
a helpless
Realist writers use plot and character development to state their philosophy about how much control mankind has over his own destiny.
This image is the Bandit's Roost slum at 59½ Mulberry Street,
considered one of the most crime-ridden, dangerous parts of
New York City.
OVERVIEW – What is the overall impression you get from this photograph?
PARTS – What are some of the specific details you observe in the photo?
TEXT – What does the text say?
INTERACTION – How does the text interact with the photo to present an argument?
CONCLUSION – Considering all of the above, what is the thesis of the photograph?
Bandit's Roost , Jacob Riis, from How the Other Half Lives, 1888.
OPTIC – Five analysis questions for
any visual argument
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