1. REALISM LATE 19TH CENTURY
BASIC
CHARACTERISTICS

2. First Characteristic
Depicts commonplace experiences happening to average people
No extremes
Nothing improbable

3. Second Characteristic
Characters are more important than plot
Emphasizes characterization
Two types of characterization
Direct
Indirect

4. Third Characteristic Rejections of Romanticism
Quest for beauty
Faraway settings
Gothic themes
Reliance on imagination
Improbable events
Larger than life heroes
Realism
Life can be ugly
Familiar settings
Reality is scary enough
Reliance on familiar
Commonplace events
Average people

5. Fourth Characteristic
Emphasis on relativistic morality
Considers impact of actions on other people
Considers impact of actions on society as a whole

6. Fifth Characteristic Implied belief in free will
People can change their environment instead of just reacting to it
Character is superior to circumstances

7. Some Important Authors
Walt Whitman
Emily Dickinson
Sarah Orne Jewett
Bret Harte
Mark Twain
Henry James
Kate Chopin
Henry Adams