1. Realism

2. Definition Literary realism defined as “faithful and honest representation of reality” the honest and object depiction of life

3. Key Elements Lack of sentiment and idealism Lacks the flowery language of traditional Romantic works Contains a great deal of detail and imagery Contains a straightforward narrative voice Realist writers focused mainly on the lower and middle classes of society.

4. Stylistic Devices Attention to detail Straight forward tone to the story Text lacks the emotion and glorification of Romantic work Text is undistorted by personal bias No hint of author/narrator personal tone Contains a great deal of imagery Uses the original voice or dialect of a character

5. Realism in A Doll’s House A Doll's House - An overview Written in Rome at a time of revolution in Europe A play in the realist genre, it did challenge the traditional well-made play mode which worked from the exposition, through to the rising action of the situation to the final solution or unravelling of a play's tensions or issues.

6. The last moments of the play where Nora tells Torvald she will leave him turns the tradition upside down for the audience. Characters portrayed in realistic mode as imperfect and dimensional The most obvious underlying theme is that of feminism; Nora's rejection of marriage and motherhood shocked audiences and many German productions of the 1880's altered the ending, which deeply upset Ibsen. (he called this 'a barbaric outrage!')

7. Male and female: The place of women is explored through the institutions of motherhood and marriage (the children are like 'dolls' to Nora) Torvald holds tight to the traditional view of women as homemakers and good mothers, the moral guardians of the children and the home.

8. He regards women rather like children who are helpless who need protection from the harsh realities of life; men are independent and the guardians Nora is called many names throughout the play, 'little songbird.' 'little skylark,' 'little person,' 'squirrel.' 'lark,' 'little featherhead.' 'little woman,' 'little rogue,' 'helpless little mortal,' 'child.' 'charming little darling,' 'my frightened little singing bird,' 'miserable creature,' 'thoughtless woman,' 'blind foolish woman,' 'a heedless child,' - all indicating a lack of equality and respect for Nora's personage.

9. Focus on thematic, metaphoric and symbolic underpinnings Setting: Dramatic action takes place in one room where Nora has been described as being 'trapped in domestic comfort'.

10. Materialism versus people A great deal of importance is place on materialism rather than people Money and materialism are viewed as ways of avoiding dealing at a personal and close communicative level with people.

11. Notable symbols: Black hat and black cross - a symbol for death Fisher girl costume - symbolises Nora's pretence of enjoying life Italy - the good false image of Nora's life Norway - reality Doll house - the tendency of the characters to role- play Toys - the act of pushing the roles onto Nora's children

12. Macaroons - Nora's deceit to her husband Tarantella - Nora's agitation at her struggle with Krogstad and her husband Christmas tree - the mood of the play Stockings - Nora's attitude trying to please men and flirting with Rank Letterbox and letter - stereotypes pressed on woman Ring - marriage and its demise Skylark - Torvald treating Nora like a child

13. Authors and Contributions Willa Carter: o Works related to most women o Made universl statements of human condition o O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and One of Ours Mark Twain: o Brought ordinary American voices to life o Formed new sytle of literature o The Gilded Age: The Tale of Today, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer William Dean Howells: o Comtemporary and sometimes controversial social themes o Based characters on ordinary people o A Modern Instance, A Hazard of New Fortunes, and Rise of Silas Lapham

14. Themes Writers Focused On The attempt to present life objectively and honestly with lack of sentiment or idealism that colored early literature The realist base their writing on careful observations of contemporary life, often on the middle or lower classes Writing included authentic dialect to reveal class distinctions Focused on social issues Rejected the idealized Romantic hero

15. Views on Man and Nature Man: competitive & self-interested based on observation Nature: Nature is centered around on how they (men) directly observe it

16. Characteristics of Heroes Earnest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Similarities Differences

17. Culture Many things that the United States inherited were from France In the Romantic times women’s dresses were fussy and decorative, skirts became fuller In the Realist times, compared to the Romantic times, is that women stared to show more skin and the hem line began to rise. Art: o -In the Realist times, most paintings were of the working class, showing the struggles they had to pursue and expressing their honest lifestyles. -In comparison, the Romantic style of art had a strong emhacise and it evoked strong emotion. Music and Dance: o Ragtime:  Scott Joplin

18. Ethics Moral Realism o Two branches  Ethical intuitionism & ethical non-naturalism  Ethical naturalism Moral Anti-Realism o Three branches  Ethical Subjectivism  Non-cognititism  Error theory

19. Political Political realism in very selfish and only cares for the well being for ones self or state. Corruption in the government ran rampant at the time Lower classes and working class did not trust the government Child labor laws and wage laws Writers made commentary on the political climate in their literature

20. Spiritual Leaving the Puritan train of thought and moving toward more of a science based standpoint Preferred to look at life objectively and question the world and society· Time of questioning and curiosity There was a glorification of heroes (Romantic) There also was a strong belief in God and Puritan Views (romantic)

21. Intellectual Intellectuals of the movement choose to be critical thinkers (first) Philosophers include Pierre Proudhon and Karl Marx Many of the beliefs were inspired by Rene’ Descartes and John Locke. Thomas Reid (later) Beliefs on reality: independence