1. Literary Excerpt Analysis
“To Build a Fire” by Jack London
Naturalism literature
Excerpt # 2
“Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving, 1819
Romantic literature
Rip Van Winkle, the protagonist of the story is an amiable man who enjoys solitary activities in the wilderness, but is also loved by all in town—to escape his nagging wife, he retreats to the Catskill Mountains where he meets some unusual Dutch men in dated clothing. He partakes in the drinking of their liquor, gets drunk, and returns home to find that everything has changed . . .

2. American Realism : the art and Literature (1860-early 1900S)
Reflection of society and the social conditions of the time

3. AMERICAN REALISM
Writer, Van Eyck Brooks claims that “American literature was distinguished by its utter lack of personality.” In scanning the America’s literary past he “saw no vital expression of American life, no middle plane between “vaporous idealism” and “self interested practicality.” That is until Realism literature birthed.

4. American Realism Art
Before we further examine Realism literature, you will be exposed to Realism art. Objective: tell me why you think the image belongs in the Realism era using what you know thus far.

5. Realism in Art

6. Realism in Art
Andrew Newell Wyeth known as the "Painter of the People”

7. “Master Bedroom” -Wyeth

8. Willem Heda "Banquet Piece with Mince Pie" 17th Century Dutch Still Life

9. So, what is realism?
In your own words, brainstorm a definition of realism based upon your comparison of this artwork to the artwork that we studied during our unit on Romanticism.
Once you have a working framework of a definition, make sure that your definition can then be applied to literature.

10. Characteristics of Realism
Complex ethical choices are often the subject.
Characters appear in the real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in direct relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, and to their own past.
Humans control their destinies; characters act on their environment rather than simply reacting to it.
Events will usually be plausible.  (Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.)
Usually urban settings or setting where Nature is not celebrated.
Use of dialect for emphasis on “local color”.
Reaction to historic event (in our case the Civil War and Industrial Revolution) or a historical invention (Gatling gun, telephone, phonograph, the “rest cure”)
Emphasizes plight of the common man. Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class: life is tough!

11. Stephen Crane 1871-1900 NATURALIST
The eighth surviving child, Crane began writing at the age of 4 and had published several articles by the age of 16.
Stylistically, Crane's writing is characterized by vivid intensity, distinctive dialects, and irony.
Common themes involve fear, spiritual crises, and social isolation.
He won international acclaim for his 1895 Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage, which he wrote without any battle experience.
Plagued by financial difficulties and ill health,
Crane died of tuberculosis in a Black Forest
sanatorium at the age of 28.