civil war 13th amendment...
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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.