1. American Realism

2. Definition
Literary period in which writers focused on the faithful representation of reality.

3. History of the Time Post Civil War Rapid growth in
Rates of democracy
Literacy
Industrialization
Urbanization
Expanding population due to immigration
Rise in Middle Class
in·dus·tri·al·ize       ɪnˈdʌs tri əˌlaɪz/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-duhs-tree-uh-lahyz] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, -ized, -iz·ing.
–verb (used with object) 1.to introduce industry into (an area) on a large scale. 2.to convert to the ideals, methods, aims, etc., of industrialism. –verb (used without object) 3.to undergo industrialization. 4.to follow or espouse industrialism.
urbanization The process by which cities grow or by which societies become more urban.
ur·ban       ˈɜr bən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ur-buh n] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1.of, pertaining to, or designating a city or town. 2.living in a city. 3.characteristic of or accustomed to cities; citified:

4. Characteristics of Realism
Humanities freedom of choice is limited by the power of outside forces
Perceived the individual as simply a person
Realists were pragmatic, relativistic, democratic and experimental
How will this affect the literature of the time period?
(think of the literary devices and how they are used)
prag·mat·ic       prægˈmæt ɪk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[prag-mat-ik] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1.of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations. 2.Philosophy. of or pertaining to pragmatism (def. 2). 3.of or pertaining to pragmatics (defs. 1, 2). 4.treating historical phenomena with special reference to their causes, antecedent conditions, and results. 5.of or pertaining to the affairs of state or community. 6.Archaic. a.busy; active. b.officious; meddlesome; interfering. c.dogmatic; opinionated.
rel·a·tiv·ism       ˈrɛl ə təˌvɪz əm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[rel-uh-tuh-viz-uh m] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun Philosophy. any theory holding that criteria of judgment are relative, varying with individuals and their environments.
de·moc·ra·cy       dɪˈmɒk rə si/ Pronunciation KeyShow Spelled Pronunciation[di-mok-ruh-see] Pronunciation KeyShow IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -cies. 1.government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

5. Characteristics of Realist Literature
Plot
Drew on the grim realities of everyday life
The middle class and the urban poor
Complex ethical choices
Events are plausible
Avoided sensational or dramatic elements
Setting
Close to reality
Comprehensive detail
plau·si·ble       ˈplɔ zə bəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[plaw-zuh-buh l] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1.having an appearance of truth or reason; seemingly worthy of approval or acceptance; credible; believable: a plausible excuse; a plausible plot. 2.well-spoken and apparently, but often deceptively, worthy of confidence or trust: a plausible commentator.

6. Characters Characters are more important than action or plot
Have an important ethical decision to make
Characters appear in real complexity of temperament and motive
Relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, and to their own past
Class is important
Usually middle class or poor
Characters spoke in regional dialect and/or diction

7. Other Characteristics
Relations between people and society are explored
Purpose of writing was to instruct and entertain
Language is not heightened or poetic
No allegory or symbolism everything was clearly communicated
Depended on the use of images
Tone may be comic, satiric or matter-of-fact
Objectivity in the presentation is important
Objective: not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased: an objective opinion.

8. Principles of Realism
1. Insistence upon and defense of "the experienced commonplace".
2. Character more important than plot.
3. Attack upon romanticism and romantic writers.
4. Emphasis upon morality often self-realized and upon an examination of idealism.
5. Concept of realism as a realization of democracy.

9. Realist Authors
Henry James
William Dean Howells
Mark Twain

10. Techniques used by Realist Writers
1. Settings thoroughly familiar to the writer
2. Plots emphasizing the norm of daily experience
3. Ordinary characters, studied in depth
4. Complete authorial objectivity
5. Responsible morality; a world truly reported

11. Mark Twain 1835—Missouri Trained as riverboat pilot
Pen name: safe water
Humorist, lecturer, journalist, author
Nationally recognized in his time

12. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Written by Mark Twain
Finished in 1883 and ready for publication in 1884
Set in St. Petersburg Missouri by the Mississippi River
Story of a young boy, Huck, and his adventures with a slave named Jim as he is travels to freedom

13. Characters
Huckleberry Finn -  The protagonist and narrator of the novel. Huck is thirteen.
Tom Sawyer -  Huck’s friend
Widow Douglas and Miss Watson -  Two wealthy sisters who live together in a large house in St. Petersburg and who adopt Huck.
Jim -  One of Miss Watson’s household slaves.
Pap -  Huck’s father, the town drunk and ne’er-do-well.
Judge Thatcher  -  The local judge who shares responsibility for Huck with the Widow Douglas and is in charge of safeguarding the money that Huck and Tom found at the end of Tom Sawyer.

19. Gustav Courbet– The Stone Breakers

20. Henry O. Tanner The Banjo Lesson

21. AMERICAN NATURALISM

22. Madeleine Danova:
Darwin's most famous book was at first envisaged as only a brief overview of his central case, that "species have changed, and are still slowly changing by the preservation and accumulation of successive slight favorable variations." Inevitably, it drew in a broad range of the issues and evidence he had been contemplating for so long. He began writing in July 1858, and the whole text, totaling nearly 500 pages, was in proof by the following September. By the time it was first offered for sale to the public, on November 22nd 1859, the first edition of 1250 copies (less review and presentation copies) had all been taken by the trade. Darwin's apprehension about public response to the book can be seen in his careful choice of the two epigraphs that face the title-page.
Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or, The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for life. London: John Murray, 1859
Revealed the animalistic struggle underlying all human behaviour 22

23. Naturalist Characters
A thoroughly different sense of character emerges:
- dehumanized
- determined
- moved by inner and outer forces beyond conscious moral control 23

24. Naturalist Vs. Realist Characters
Realist characters - effective choice, free will, autonomous action
Each character has the ability to choose and characteristically does so through scenes that enact a process of deliberation
Weighing of alternative actions through consideration of consequences
The possibilities for the self are conceived in terms of responsible choice 24