Introduction to Realism/Naturalism/Determinism

The Rise of Realism: 1860-1914

I. The American Renaissance:

a giant shift towards humanism after the Civil War

Deism gave rise to Realism in literature

Social Darwinism Intercontinental rail system &

transcontinental telegraph Influx of immigrants 1860 to 1910

A. Farmers: 1860 to 1919 1860

1919

J.P. MorganJohn D. Rockefeller

B. Millionaires: from 100 to 1,000

1860

1875

C. From Debtors to a Major World Power: 1860 - 1914

1860

1914

D. Small Town Mentality Shrinks

The small town comfort and security gave way to an empty city life, displayed in the current literature

II. American Authors

A. Stephen Crane Red Badge of CourageThe Men in the Storm Open Boat

B. Jack London, Call of the Wild, To Build a Fire

"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." - Jack London

III. Realism in literature - the harsh reality of life

A. Life is Short: and then you die

B. Survivors

IV. Sliding from Theism to Deism, to Romanticism/Naturalism

Wm. Faulkner Ernest Hemmingway Stephen Crane John Steinbeck

From Providence to Self-Reliance

We see the American understanding of God move from a personal experience to that of an impersonal force, to that of denial of the existence of God.

V. Frontier Humor and Regionalism

Began in the 1830s: Casey Jones – railway engineerPaul Bunyan – giant loggerKit Carson – Indian fighterDavy Crockett – the scout

A. Local Colorists

1. Mark Twain

Samuel Clemens

1835-1910

Huck Finn

2. Bret Harte 1839-1902

VI. Naturalism/Realism/Determinism - Common Themes Found in Literary

Plots

a. The universe is unpredictable, spontaneous, and discontinuous.

b. Our fate is determined by our environment, heredity, and chance.

c. Free will is an illusiond. Life is a cruel joke

VII. More Realism Authors - Crane, London, and Henry James

A philosophy of naturalism

A literary expression of determinism

A. Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

1. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

A literary milestone in 1893

A. Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

2. The Red Badge of Courage

A. Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

3. Crane’s Poetry

A man said to the universe: "Sir, I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation."

A. Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

4. The Open Boat

based on a true experience from 1896

4. The Open Boat

Like Romanticism, naturalism/realism first appeared in Europe. It daringly opened up the worst of society with such topics as divorce, sex, adultery, poverty, and crime.

B. Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain (1835-1910), journalist, author,

satirist

“All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.”

Ernest Hemmingway

1. His Style of Humor

Deadpan humor

Cigar

White suit

2. His Life and the Time he lived in

The real West

3. Vernacular and Tall Tales

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)

Huckleberry Finn (1885)

4. The motifs that are predictable in Twain’s writing are as follows;

A. VernacularB. ExaggerationC. HumorD. Deadpan narratorE. Unexplained appearance of a mysterious

stranger.

5. Mark Twain and God

I am plenty safe enough in his hands; I am not in any danger from that kind of a Diety. The one that I want to keep out of the reach of, is the caricature of him which one finds in the Bible. We (that one and I) could never respect each other, never get along together. I have met his superior a hundred times-- in fact I amount to that myself.- Letter to Olivia Clemens, 7/17/1889