Realismverisimilitude (ver-uh-si-mil-i-tood, -tyood),

noun: the appearance of truth or reality

Literary movement following romanticism Attempted to portray the “cultural

exhuberance” of figurative American landscape and peoples

Showed the reality of American life◦ Often dealt with serious or “gritty” topics

What is realism?

Focused in the 19th century◦ (1865 – 1910)◦ Tail end of the Civil War and reparations after

Began with French works◦ William Dean Howell was the first American realism

writer, writing about the upper class of Boston Set during a time of industrial, economic, cultural,

and social change◦ Industrial revolution◦ Increase in immigration◦ Structured class system◦ Important people like Darwin, Ford, Carnegie, Edison, and

Teddy Roosevelt

History of realism

A movement in art, music, and journalism as well as literature◦ Muckrakers: journalists

influenced by the realism movement who would expose greed and corruption, usually of business Ex: The Jungle by

Upton Sinclair

Realism as a cultural movement

Mark Twain◦ Most famous

realism/regionalism writer◦ Huckleberry Finn

Stephen Crane◦ Showed the grittiness of the

Civil War in The Red Badge of Courage

Kate Chopin◦ Showed the plight and strength

of women in her various stories such as The Awakening

Jack London◦ Categorized as a naturalist

writer◦ Often showed pioneer or

wilderness life in his stories such as Call of the Wild

Important participants

Realism as an Umbrella

REALISM

Regionalism

NaturalismSlave Narratives

Classic Realism

Literature set in or about one specific region Uses the language, slang, customs, and

ideas of that area Mark Twain

◦ Mississippi area Kate Chopin

◦ New Orleans and Louisiana

Regionalism

Literature based on the written accounts of American slaves, usually after freedom

Made popular by abolitionists or religious missionaries

Often written by the former slaves themselves◦ Frederick Douglass◦ Sojourner Truth◦ Amos Fortune

Slave Narratives

Naturalism: subset of realism, seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality◦ Seeks not only to describe a believable reality

(like realism) but also to define underlying forces influencing its subjects

◦ Very influenced by Darwin and psychology◦ Explored very harsh themes like poverty,

racism, sex, violence, disease, corruption, etc.◦ Held a large belief in determinism: the

philosophical belief that events are shaped by forces beyond the control of human beings

Naturalism

Very detailed Characters were more important than plot

◦ This means conflict and irony are also more important

Class structure was a focus◦ Often the middle and lower classes

Diction is natural vernacular◦ Characters will speak like they should according

to their region (“My dogs was pooped.”)

But what about the literature?

Genre American Author Perceived the individual as...

RomanticsRalph Waldo Emerson a god

Realists Henry JamesWilliam Dean HowellsMark Twain

simply a person

Naturalists

Stephen CraneFrank Norris

a helpless object

Direct characterization◦ The author tells the reader what the character is like physically and

emotionally Indirect characterization

◦ The reader must figure out what the character is like based on their actions

Round◦ A character with many characteristics, emotions, flaws

Flat◦ A stereotypical character who has one or two strong characteristics

Static◦ A character that does not change

Dynamic◦ A character that experiences a change

Some terms to know/relearn…