1. Realism Naturalism

2. Realism Historical Context
A. Civil War brings demand for a ‘truer’ type of literature that doesn’t idealize people or places
B. People in society defined by ‘class’; materialism
C. Reflect ideas of Darwin (survival of the fittest) and Marx (how money and class structure control a nation)

3. Realism Style A reaction against romanticism; told it like it was
Focus on lives of ordinary people; rejected heroic and adventurous
Anti-materialism; rejected the new ‘class’ system
View of nature as a powerful and indifferent force beyond man’s control
Often aims to change a specific social problem

4. Naturalism Style Like Realism, but a darker view of the world
The universe is unpredictable; fate is determined by chance; free will is an illusion
Characters’ lives shaped by forces they can’t understand or control

5. Genres
Novels
Short stories

6. Dominant themes
Survival
Fate
Violence
Nature as an indifferent force

7. Major Writers The Civil War (1811-1896) Harriet Beecher Stowe
The most famous woman writer of her day
Uncle Tom’s cabin
Most influential book of the 19th century
1st to sell 1 million copies
One of the most effective documents of propaganda; helped fuel the Civil War
Fredrick Douglass
An escaped slave
One of the most effective orators of his day
Influential newspaper writer; abolitionist; diplomat
Autobiography an instant and enduring classic

8. Major Writers The Frontier (1865-1915) Mark Twain
Samuel Longhorn Clemens
Great humorist and novelist
Used vernacular, exaggeration, deadpan narrator
“Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, The Prince and the Pauper

9. Major Writers The Frontier (1865-1915) B. Stephen Crane
A. Attacked patriotism, individualism, organized religion
B. Confronted meaninglessness in the world
C. Writing known for images and symbolism
D. Red Badge of Courage, The Open Boat, An Episode of War

10. Stephen Crane III In the desert I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter -- bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter.
And because it is my heart." IX
I stood upon a high place,
And saw, below, many devils
Running, leaping,
and carousing in sin.
One looked up, grinning,
And said, "Comrade! Brother!"

11. Major Writers The Frontier (1865-1915) C. Jack London
A. Pushed Naturalism to its limits
B. Call of the Wild (tame dog forced to revert to his primitive state)
C. To Build a Fire (survival of the fittest)

12. The Local Colorists
Regional writers tried to capture the essence of a particular area – its ‘local color’
Bret Harte
The Old West in Outcasts of Poker Flatt
Kate Chopin
The Louisiana bayou in The Awakening
Willa Cather
Life on the Nebraska prairie
Won Pulitzer Prize
Chopin