Realism Overview by Vince Pham [Student WHS]

General Overview

vqpham1021_2 — 2020-01-06 22:04:21 UTC

From 1865 to 1900, Realism was a very popular American literature movement.

Writings usually included the daily lives of lower/middle classes as gritty and unpleasant in detail. Writers did this to improve the world without being too preachy about it. Other writers like Charlotte Perkins Gilman portrayed Realism by finding truth and reality in the thoughts and emotions of their characters. However, something that all realist authors had in common was that they had an interest in truth and a belief that that by honestly depicting the gritty details of everyday life, good writing could change the world. Also, photography was used a lot because it offered stark depictions of its subject matter.

Historical Events

vqpham1021_2 — 2020-01-06 22:04:31 UTC

The Industrial Revolution was a period of newly introduced steel, chemicals, and electricity that helped fuel production of mass-produced consumer goods and weapons. This impacted realism by increasing the terrible and dangerous lives workers in this age lived through. With grueling factory jobs and child labor exposed, people began to notice how ugly the world was.

The Civil War affected realism with Americans wanting to escape into an ideal world by abandoning all the death and tragedy from war.

The Progressive Era was an period of time where people aimed towards creating a better society with intense social & political reform. People's reactions to this showed in writing where it showed themes of yearning for a simpler world and the force of good prevailing in the end.

Realist Authors

vqpham1021_2 — 2020-01-06 22:04:43 UTC

Mark Twain was an American writer in the Realism time period who wrote the book "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." This book is important because it helps people understand why others like Huck keep secrets, have moral instincts that are not always shared by society, and create worlds that are more real to them than the corruption of adult society.

William Dean Howells was an American author who created the book "The Rise of Silas Lapham." This book is important because it teaches readers that romantic aspects that people cherish can lead to harmful tragedies in real situations.

Stephen Crane was an American novelist that authored the book "The Red Badge of Courage." This book is important because it is a symbol because of the book's influence, long-lasting quality, and relevance to human experience.

Regionalism

ktran1371_2 — 2020-01-06 22:06:11 UTC

Description of Regionalism: Regionalism was a feeling of pride and loyalty that people had for their region.

Regionalism and Realism: Regionalism evolved from Realism in the aspect of how people would describe the characteristics of their surroundings, but instead of portraying their lives, they would discuss specific traits of their own region that were unique to only their region.

Main Focus: Regionalism would be comprised of characters, their dialect, customs in that region, topography, and features that were unique to only one region.

Naturalism

ktran1371_2 — 2020-01-06 22:15:48 UTC

Description of Naturalism:
Naturalism is the belief that nothing exist beyond this natural world. Naturalist would not agree with supernatural or spiritual explanations but instead focus on explanations that come from the law of nature

Naturalism and Realism:
Both Naturalism and Realism focus on things just the way they are but Naturalism has twisted the concept to also focus on the inability of people to resist their circumstances, in particular the inability of a common man.

Main Focus: Naturalism would mainly be focused on the roles of a family, social conditions, and the environment shaping human characteristics. Naturalistic writers would base their stories on the idea that the environment decides one's characteristics.

Realism vs Romanticism

ktran1371_2 — 2020-01-06 22:25:32 UTC

Similarities
1- The perspective of life of either a legend of a contemporary life

2- Both types of literature aim at a person's view on the world cognitively or realistically

3- Both realism and romanticism discuss about nature but each have a different view on it

Differences
1- Realism discuss events realistically while Romanticism relays message using fiction

2- Realism depicts ordinary everyday experiences while Romanticism shows fantastical situations

3- Romanticism idealizes nature while Realism focuses on the harsh facts of nature and the affect on the human being

Citations

ktran1371_2 — 2020-01-07 22:00:41 UTC

"Romanticism and Realism Comparison." UKEssays.com. 11 2018. All Answers Ltd. 01 2020 .

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Naturalism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 June 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/naturalism-philosophy.

VZ, Prof. “Realism, Naturalism, Regionalism, Romanticism.” Realism, Naturalism, Regionalism, Romanticism |, 16 Mar. 2017, blogs.cofc.edu/american-survey/2017/03/16/realism-naturalism-regionalism-romanticism/.

Niiler, Eric. “How the Second Industrial Revolution Changed Americans' Lives.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 25 Jan. 2019, www.history.com/news/second-industrial-revolution-advances.

Layson, Hana, and Murison, Justine. “Digital Collections for the Classroom.” Literature of the American Civil War : Digital Collections for the Classroom, dcc.newberry.org/collections/literature-of-the-american-civil-war.

Schuster, Marc. "Get Real: An Introduction to Realism in American Literature." Youtube, commentary by Marc Schuster, 26 February 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTCjHZWmgG0&feature=youtu.be.

Khan Academy. Accessed 7 January 2020. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/rise-to-world-power/age-of-empire/a/the-progressive-era.

“What We Can Learn From Huck Finn?” Mark Twain House, 3 May 2018, marktwainhouse.org/2016/06/06/what-we-can-learn-from-huck-finn/.

“The Rise of Silas Lapham.” Romanticism and Realism in The Rise of Silas Lapham, www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/r/the-rise-of-silas-lapham/critical-essays/romanticism-and-realism-in-the-rise-of-silas-lapham.

Waters, Tommi. "Why is The Red Badge of Courage a Classic?" Study.com, 29 August 2016, study.com/academy/lesson/why-is-the-red-badge-of-courage-a-classic.html