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The Rise of Realism
The Civil War and Postwar Period
1850–1900
What Is Realism?
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Realism is a style of writing, developed in the nineteenth
century, that attempts to depict life accurately without
idealizing or romanticizing it.
Realism vs. Romanticism
REALISM
ROMANTICISM
•Emphasizes accuracy
and objectivity
•Emphasizes imagination
and emotion
•Depicts common,
everyday heroes
•Depicts larger-than-life
heroes
•Views the world
scientifically
•Views the world
poetically
•Focuses on real-life
situations
•Focuses on exotic,
supernatural, and
imaginary worlds
What Caused the Rise of Realism?
Several events and conditions led to the rise of realism.
•The Civil War
•Advances in Technology
•Advances in Science and Education
•Social Changes
The Civil War and Realism
The Civil War was a major cause of the rise of realism in
America. The four-year conflict
•left bitter memories and
economic desolation in
the South
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•destroyed cities,
industries, and lives
Technology and Realism
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.
Science, Education, and Realism
•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.
Social Changes and Realism
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•In 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, outlawing slavery, was ratified.
Social Changes and Realism
•Industrialization led to overpopulation and poverty in
the cities.
•The agrarian 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.
Social Changes and Realism
•Immigrants from strife-torn
Europe arrived in great
numbers.
•Northern cities grew quickly
and without planning. Slums
housed many of the new
arrivals.
The Granger Collection, New York
•Industrialization led to overpopulation and poverty in
the cities.
Realistic Literature
•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
•Avoids extravagant language in favor of simpler,
everyday diction
Realistic Literature
•Tries to show real life without letting personal feelings
or idealistic thoughts color the writing
•Brings science to the story to explain human behavior
Regionalism: American Realism
Regionalism is literature that emphasizes a specific
geographic setting and reproduces the speech,
behavior, and attitudes of the people who live in that
region.
•Regionalist writers differed from strict realists by
portraying their characters in a somewhat sentimental
fashion.
•Some important American regionalists are Sarah Orne
Jewett, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Bret Harte, and Mark
Twain.
Naturalism: One Step Further
•Naturalism is a nineteenth-century literary movement
that was an extension of realism and that claimed to
portray life exactly as it was. Naturalists
•relied heavily on the new fields of psychology and
sociobiology
•argued that behavior was determined by heredity and
environment and was beyond human control
•Important American naturalists include Stephen Crane,
Theodore Dreiser, and Frank Norris.
A Harsh Reality
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
from War Is Kind by Stephen Crane
What Have You Learned?
1. Regionalism describes the speech, behavior, and attitudes
of the people in a particular geographic area.
a. true
b. false
2. Realistic novelists reject
a. scientific explanations b. dialogue
c. accurate detail
d. glorious heroes
3. Naturalists try to describe people
a. sentimentally
b. idealistically
c. objectively
d. romantically
The End