The Rise of Realism

The Civil War to 1914

Painting: Home, Sweet Home (1863) by Winslow Homer

Pages 378-395

Civil War: What do you know?

1. Why was the war fought? (382-386)2. How was the war fought? What did the

fighting look like? (382-386)3. What was the result of the war? (380, 386)4. Was any war literature produced? Why or

why not? (388-389)5. After the Civil War, what type of writers

emerged and what did they write about? (391)

Literature During this Period

• Short stories, novels, poetry, muckraking journalism

• Famous Writers:Mark Twain Harriet Beecher Stowe

Stephen Crane Kate Chopin

Henry James W.E.D Dubois

Jack London Willa Cather

The only reason for the existence of a novel is that I does attempt to represent life. -Henry James

Elements of Realism

Page 391

Real-life situations (ethical struggles & social issues)

Ordinary characters & realistic events

Everyday speech patterns are used to reveal class and geographic distinctions (regionalism)

What type of

literature were realists reacting against?Is realistic literatur

e nonficti

on, fiction,

or both?

Elements of Naturalism (an offshoot of realism)

• Belief that human behavior is determined by heredity and environment

• Sense of life as a losing battle against an uncaring universe

Page 393-394

“A Mystery of Heroism” (435)by Stephen Cane

1. What is the author’s style?2. Apply ROE3. Identify the situational

irony4. Turn to page 440 “When

he came to the wall”: where do you see a naturalistic perspective expressed?

Mark Twain

“The Lowest Animal”

How is this essay a satire?How is it an example of

realism?

1835-1910

Psychological Realism: Inside the Human Mind

• Look at why ordinary people behave the way they do: character motivation

• Look at how social and psychological situations influence behavior

• Juxtapose human illusions with the indifference of the universe

• Henry James & Stephen Crane & Ambrose Bierce

Elements of Naturalism (an offshoot of realism)

• Analyze human behavior objectively like a scientist

• Belief that human behavior is determined by heredity and environment

• Sense that humans cannot control their own destinies

• Sense of life as a losing battle against an uncaring universe

Page 393-394