The romantic authors utilized nature as a means of escape, writing about it as a peaceful, lovely domain.

They aspired to write less formal, conversational works that reflected the shifting nature of American culture, rejecting the writing standards that they perceived as restrictive.

Individualism

Appreciating Nature

Uniqueness and Imagination

Feelings

Aspects of the supernatural

Celebrating isolation and the aesthetic beauty

Dark Romanticism's four major aspects are the human tendency toward sin and death, nature as gloomy and spiritual, and the impossibility of positive personal development.
The underlying meaning of Gothic and Dark Romantic literature is what sets them apart from one another. Dark romantics place a strong emphasis on how frail humans are.

-"Moby-Dick or, The Whale" by Herman Melville

-"Uncle Tom’s Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe

-"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

We can define it as: a made of thought (religious, moral or philosophical) glorifying nature and excluding supernatural and spiritual elements close adherence to nature in art or literature, esp. (in literature) the technique, chiefly associated with Zola, used to present a naturalistic philosophy.

https://youtu.be/sFAIN1mUMwM?si=proZbvN1wxN6ihtI

1- The swell of immigrants in the latter half of the 19th century, which led to poverty in the cities and increased

2- The prominence of psychology and the theories of Sigmund Freud

3- Pessimism in the wake of the Civil War and Reconstruction

4- Publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species

There were a lot of writers as: Stephen Crane, Ambrose Bierce, Jack London, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Katherine Anne Porter, Charlotte, Perkins Gilman And Edith Wharton, but I’m going to mention 3 writers only which are the most influential and most popular writers.

• "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain: A classic novel about the journey of Huck Finn and Jim on the Mississippi.

  
  

• ”Winesburg, Ohio" by Sherwood Anderson: A collection of interconnected short stories that explore human relationships and fulfillment in a small Ohio town.

  
  

• "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck: A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a family's migration from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374914269_REALISM_IN_LITERATURE

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/literary-movements/american-realism/

“The most important aspect of American realism is that it depicts reality with close attention to detail. It is essential that the events occurring will appear plausible when compared to their time and setting. The realist writer avoids the sentimental, overly emotional prose favoured by romanticism.”

2. “Characterization”

“The characters are more important than the plot in realist literature. Much of a realist novel is often consumed by a character tackling complex moral issues and dealing with personal struggles related to broader social and political difficulties like war and government.”

3. “Social Criticism”

“Many American realist writers were interested in critiquing the conditions of their societies. Authors aimed to depict the acts of racism, prejudice, or social injustice common to their time. Specific focus was often placed on the experience of the lower classes, who were vital to the strength of the country, but lived in terrible conditions and were frequently treated poorly.”

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/literary-movements/american-realism/

“Other early, influential American realists include Samuel Clemens (better known by his pen name, Mark Twain (1835-1910), Henry James (1843-1916) and Stephen Crane (1871-1900). Mark Twain was famed for his realistic, colloquial dialogue that provided America with a new way to define its national voice.”

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/literary-movements/american-realism/

The Rise of Silas Lapham follows Silas, a man chasing materialistic goals and values. He attains good fortune, but through his greedy mistakes, he falls from grace, losing his business and livelihood. Silas must begin a journey to think of others instead of himself, and better himself morally. Howells presents realistic characters in the novel, showing their individual flaws and strengths and commenting on societal issues in the process.”

“Frank Norris, “McTeague: A story of San Francisco” (1899)

The novel illustrates in brutal detail that human lives and fates are not always determined by conscious choices but by external forces.”

“Henry James, “What Maisie Knew” (1897)

The book is a scathing commentary on relationships, the dark side of human nature, and the untenable position in which children are often placed.”

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/literary-movements/american-realism/

https://www.supersummary.com/realism/

Determinism is basically the opposite of the notion of free will. For determinism, the idea that individual characters have a direct influence on the course of their lives is supplanted by a focus on nature or fate. Human beings are living in a natural environment like animals. They can react toward the exterior and interior forces but they are helpless before these forces (Lin Xianghua, 1989, p.528). Often, a naturalist author will lead the reader to believe that a character's fate has been pre-determined, usually by heredity and environmental factors, that the destiny of humanity is misery in life and oblivion in death and that he/she can do nothing about it.

2- Objectivism:

The author often tries to maintain a tone that will be experienced as 'objective.' The author presents himself or herself as an objective observer, similar to a scientist taking note of what he or she sees. Of course, no human being can ever be truly objective, but by detaching the narrator from the story he or she tells, an author can achieve objectivity. Also, an author will sometimes achieve detachment by creating nameless characters (strictly speaking, this is more common among modernists such as Ernest Hemingway). This puts the focus more on the plot and what happens to the character, rather than the characters themselves.

3- Pessimism:

Very often, one or more characters will continue to repeat one line or phrase that tends to have a pessimistic connotation, sometimes emphasizing the inevitability of death. Naturalistic works often include uncouth or sordid subject matter, for example, Emile Zola’s works had a frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, sex, prejudice, disease, prostitution, and filth.

4- a surprising twist at the end of the story:

Equally, there tends to be in naturalist novels and stories a strong sense that nature is indifferent to human struggle.

• Realism depicts real conditions, such as chronicling the lives of middle-class workers. It appeals to the readers’ emotions to see real life in action.

• Naturalism shows how humans are dictated by their behaviors and environment. Natural forces of both society and heredity govern the world, and only the strongest will survive.

However, it should be noted that a few authors were considered both naturalists and realists such as John Steinbeck and William Faulkner. It’s all about the way you look at it and how you view everything you see.

Transcendentalists believed that humanity was Godlike and saw the world in which only good existed. They chose to focus on the positive rather than evil & darkness. Also, proposes a belief in a higher reality than that found in sense experience or in a higher kind of knowledge than that achieved by human reason. They also suggests that every individual is capable of discovering this higher truth on his or her own, through intuition.

The doctrine of the Unitarian church as taught at Harvard Divinity School was of particular concern.

Among the transcendentalists' core beliefs was the inherent goodness of both people and nature. They believe that society and its institutions-particularly organized religion and political parties-ultimately corrupt the purity of the individual.

They have faith that people are at their best when truly "self-reliant" and independent.

"Self-reliant" differs from the traditional usage of the word, however, and refers mainly to a fierce intellectual independence that believed itself capable of generating completely original insights with as little deference paid to past masters as possible.

- "Self-Reliance" 1841

2)Henry David Thoreau

- Walden 1854

- "Civil Disobedience"

"To have done anything just for

money is to have been truly idle."

Walden is more than just an exercise in back-to-nature bravery. It’s a spiritual quest to find universal truth in the particular, to regain personal integrity and freedom through simple living, and to search for nothing less than the meaning of life.

It was written after Thoreau spent a night in jail after refusing to pay a poll tax.

Not to forget,Thoreau refused to pay the $1.50 tax because the revenues went to the government which was allowing slavery to continue and which was waging an unjust war against Mexico.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-jefferson-english102/chapter/the-romantic-period-1820-1860-essayists-and-poets-american-literature-i/

It’s mainly centered around people of color From different cultural groups

Written by African American writer Octavia E butler , Kindred examines issues of race and gender, the dynamics of hierarchal power, and the possibility of a future based on social equality. Kindred is about Dana, an African American woman who finds herself time travelling involuntarily to Maryland in the early nineteenth century. It is not explained how or why this happen to her, The novel is about her experience of slavery in the past.

Written by Mexican American writer Sandra cisneros “The House on Mango Street" is about finding identity and a sense of belonging. Esperanza is a female coming of age in a man's world, and not only does she have to deal with men's advance's in her own community, but she also has to face prejudice from the outside as a Mexican American.

Written by Native American writer Louise Erdrich , The Round House by Louise Erdrich is a powerful novel that delves into the story of a Native American boy seeking justice for his mother's attack. It explores themes of identity, family, and the complexities of the legal system.

https://libguides.mtaloy.edu/c.php?g=1065318&p=7838700#:~:text=Reading%20this%20type%20of%20fiction,oversimplified%20or%20based%20upon%20generalizations