Civil War 13th Amendment Reconstruction

■ Population 42 million: Immigration now from eastern Europe, Russia, Scandinavian countries

population is increased almost by 10% overnight (ends of slavery)

■ Key to settlement, shapes subject matter and attitudes of writers

■ Civil War ■ Growth of industry

(causes slums and labor unrest)

■ Agricultural problems- No more slavery

■ Takes the place of Romanticism.

■ Portrays ordinary life as real people live it.

■ Attempts to show characters and events in an objective, almost factual way.

■ Portrays frontier life.

■ Portrays problems with cities, slums, and labor unions.

■ Realism finds meaning in the commonplace.

■ Realistic writers can deal honestly with characters that Romantic writers either avoided or glossed over such as factory workers, bosses, politicians and gunfighters.

■ More than realism – naturalism shows the inescapable work through natural forces.

naturalism shows the inescapable work through natural forces

■ People have no control over events (writers tended to be pessimistic)

■ Naturalist writer – Jack London

The most notable Naturalist is Jack London

People have no control over events

■ Destiny is decided by:1. heredity2. environment 3. physical drives4. economic

circumstances

is decided by

1. heredity

2. environment

3. physical drives

4. economic circumstances

■ Also called Local Color Movement

■ Writer Brett Harte is consider its founder.

(aka Local Color Movement)

■ Emphasis on specific geographic setting; can be sentimental/ unrealistic

■ Regional dialect (speech/ manners)

Emphasis on specific geographical settings

dialect, speech, and mannerism

■ Portrays vivid descriptions of landscapes.

■ Seeks to capture essence of life in various regions of growing nation.

vivid descriptions of landscapes

seeks to capture essence of life in various regions of a growing nation

argue: is caused by the Civil War (a divided nation)

■ Henry James looks at distinctions in character motivation.

■ Portrays social and psychological

situations.

American Realism:1850-1900

Ambrose Bierce

Mark TwainFrederick Douglass

The Most Important Event:THE CIVIL WAR

The Most Important Person:

Walt Whitman

Bridge Poet Medic during the Civil War Personal friend of A. Lincoln 1st National Poet Laureate

“Song of Myself” “Leaves of Grass” ‘I Hear America Singing”

Walt Whitman’s Stupid Prediction?

“A great literature will arise out of the era of those four years”

--Walt Whitman■ Almost none of the great American writers saw

battle. Almost no one who fought wrote about it.■ The great book of the Civil War was written by a

man who was not born until six years after the war had ended: Stephen Crane

The Rise of Realism

■ Realism defined: Literature written from approximately 1850-1900 that aims at a “very minute fidelity” to the common course of ordinary life.

■ Subjects are taken from– Slums– Factories– Corruption of politics– Even prostitution

Realism as a Reaction to Romanticism

■ No more:– Romantic adventures– Courageous acts and daring escapes– Idealized escapes into nature– Imaginative descriptions of the evil of the

human soul

Naturalism

■ A subset of realism that– Claims to portray life exactly as it is, with detachment

and objectivity– Relies heavily on the growing scientific disciplines of

psychology and sociology– Attempts to dissect human behavior with objectivity

like a scientist dissecting a frog– Looks at human life as a grim human behavior– Is super-influenced by Charles Darwin– Believes that human behavior is determined by

heredity and environment– Sees Human beings as subject to natural forces

beyond their control

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

ROE

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

literature

nonfiction,

fiction, or

both?

Regionalism

What Is Realism?

• Developed in the 19th century

• Depicts life accurately without romanticizing it

• Literature based on author’s daily experiences

• Conflicts and social/political movements

–28

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Realism vs. Romanticism• REALISM

– Emphasizes accuracy and objectivity

– Depicts common, everyday heroes

– Views the world scientifically

– Focuses on real-life situations

• ROMANTICISM– Emphasizes

imagination and emotion

– Depicts larger-than-life heroes

– Views the world poetically

– Focuses on exotic, supernatural, and imaginary worlds

What Caused the Rise of Realism?

•Several events and conditions led to the rise of realism.

1. The Civil War

2. Advances in Technology

3. Advances in Science and Education

4. Social Changes

Cause #1: The Civil War

• The Civil War was a major cause of the rise of realism in America. The four-year conflict

–31

–destroyed cities, industries, and lives

–left bitter memories and economic desolation in the South

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Cause #2: Technology

• Technological advances also contributed to the rise of realism in America.–Photography allowed people to see real, sometimes dismaying, images of war and poverty.

–Telephones and coast-to-coast railways allowed more people than ever to hear about events that affected the nation.

Cause #3: Science & Education

– Advances in psychology, biology, and geology contradicted long-held beliefs about the nature of humans, the world, and the universe.

– More people, especially women, minorities, and the poor, had access to an education and learned to read.

•Newspapers and the new mass-circulation magazines were widely read.

Cause #4: Social Changes

– In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, outlawing slavery, was ratified.

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Social Changes (cont.)–35

• Industrialization led to overpopulation and poverty in the cities.

–The rural economy of the South was devastated by the war and by the loss of slave labor.–Many newly freed slaves and other Southerners moved to Northern cities looking for work.

also leads to sharecropping in the South

Social Changes and Realism–36

• Industrialization led to overpopulation and poverty in the cities.

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–Immigrants from strife-torn Europe arrived in great numbers.–Northern cities grew quickly and without planning. Slums housed many of the new arrivals.

Realistic Literature–37

–Contains themes that center on contemporary society and on the lives of the middle and lower classes

–Describes the details, even when unpleasant, of everyday life

–Features characters drawn from the poor and outcast of society

Realistic Literature

–Avoids extravagant language in favor of simpler, everyday diction

–Tries to show real life without letting personal feelings or idealistic thoughts color the writing

–Brings science to the story to explain human behavior

Psychology

American Realism: Regionalism

• Often called “local color”• Focuses on characters, dialect, customs,

topography, and other features specific to a certain region (e.g. the South)

• Three distinct types:1. Northeast2. Southeast3. Midwest

• Each type has a distinct voice, theme, and dialect

Why did Regionalism develop?

•Westward expansion before the railroads were built to connect the country

•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

American Realism: Naturalism–The human struggle is fruitless as we are really at the mercy of nature and our surroundings–“God” in any form either does not exist or does not care about human plights or struggles–Life often does not make sense–We exist simply because we do–Humans overestimate their control over their lives and their importance to the universe–Existentialism: questioning the validity of human existence

– this concept sits at the heart of all naturalistic literature

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.