The Period of Realism and Naturalism (1870-1910)
Introduction
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The Civil War was a defining moment in American history. It was a time of sadness and anger, causing less optimism and certainty about the future for individuals. The war brought about a new literary movement called Realism. Realism is defined as “the art of depicting nature as it is seen.” It was a literary movement that stressed the actual reality opposed to the imagined. Then with the event of the Industrial Revolution, Realism was able to prevail. The economic, social, and political changes that occurred after the war helped Realism succeed. Naturalism branched off of Realism, but both were based off of reality.
Realism included stories about very typical people in ordinary situations. The characters tended to be the focal point; the plot and setting were no longer the most important aspects of the story. The subject of the story centered on the choices that the characters made. Realism painted a picture of the real-life events of everyday middle class people. It is easier for more people to relate to these stories. The diction used is not very poetic, common language is used. Tones used may be comical, sarcastic, or matter-of-fact. The author’s purpose is to inform or entertain using events of everyday life.
Naturalism focused on everyday life in a slightly different way. It tended to be more pessimistic than Realism. Naturalist authors were affected by negative events. The Civil War, life on the frontier, and hardships in urban life inspired sorrowful stories about the difficulties people were facing. It was very similar to Realism, because it depicted people in real situations. The difference is the fact that Naturalists thought that forces like nature, fate, and heredity shaped one’s destiny. They wrote about lower class people, survival of man against nature or himself, and violence. Since fate determined lives, sad stories about poor and illiterate people seemed to fit into the category of Naturalism.
Realism and Naturalism allowed more people to relate to literature. In Romanticism and Transcendentalism, the symbolism and diction were only understood by the wealthy citizens. People of a lower class were able to understand and relate to these stories, because they experienced similar events in their own lives. The war brought about negative feelings, and Americans could express this negativity through writing.
Realism included stories about very typical people in ordinary situations. The characters tended to be the focal point; the plot and setting were no longer the most important aspects of the story. The subject of the story centered on the choices that the characters made. Realism painted a picture of the real-life events of everyday middle class people. It is easier for more people to relate to these stories. The diction used is not very poetic, common language is used. Tones used may be comical, sarcastic, or matter-of-fact. The author’s purpose is to inform or entertain using events of everyday life.
Naturalism focused on everyday life in a slightly different way. It tended to be more pessimistic than Realism. Naturalist authors were affected by negative events. The Civil War, life on the frontier, and hardships in urban life inspired sorrowful stories about the difficulties people were facing. It was very similar to Realism, because it depicted people in real situations. The difference is the fact that Naturalists thought that forces like nature, fate, and heredity shaped one’s destiny. They wrote about lower class people, survival of man against nature or himself, and violence. Since fate determined lives, sad stories about poor and illiterate people seemed to fit into the category of Naturalism.
Realism and Naturalism allowed more people to relate to literature. In Romanticism and Transcendentalism, the symbolism and diction were only understood by the wealthy citizens. People of a lower class were able to understand and relate to these stories, because they experienced similar events in their own lives. The war brought about negative feelings, and Americans could express this negativity through writing.
Key Literary Themes
The Period of Realism highly reflected the themes of honesty and development. The country was going through a great change by advancing and developing new technology. Cities became urbanized, and more jobs were available in factories instead of farms. People began to help the slaves, women began to work, and our country was expanding greatly. It was no longer just the East Coast, The United States of America stretched towards the West Coast now allowing more people to immigrate. The development in the country led to a development in literature. The topics for writing broadened, people wrote about the war, new land, and about their personal lives. Also, honesty played a big role. In Realism, authors focus on what is really happening, not just what they imagined. Instead of books about a perfect life, books were focused on the ups and downs of life. Individuals could be honest with one another. It made it easier to relate to other people, because now they knew that everyone went through bad times. The country changed and literature changed along with it.
Frederick Douglass
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Frederick Douglass was born in 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. He was born to a slave woman and an unknown white man. It was very common for masters to impregnate their slaves to produce more slaves to work for them. Therefore it is very likely that his father was his mother’s master. Douglass was separated from his mother, Harriet, at a young age. All of the children that were too young to work lived together. At the age of seven, Douglass went to live in Baltimore with Hugh and Sophia Auld. Sophia tried to teach him his alphabet, but when Hugh found out he forbid the lessons. The small amount of teaching that Douglass received inspired him to learn more. Douglass would ask children to teach him to read and write.
In 1826, his original master died. Douglass was inherited by Thomas Auld. Then, in 1832 he went to live in St. Michael’s with Thomas Auld. Life was hard in St. Michael’s, he was worked very hard. The master was harsh towards Douglass; he was beaten terribly for the first six months he was there by Mr. Convey, a man who worked for Douglass's master. Douglass once said, “Mr. Convey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in mind, body, and soul.” The next 6 months he continued working in the fields with fewer beatings. His next master was named Mr. Freeman. While he was a slave for Freeman, Douglass taught his fellow slaves how to read behind closed doors. At the age of sixteen he began to formulate a plan of escape. Four others joined him in this scheme. They traveled along the Chesapeake Bay on their way to Baltimore. Before they even got to leave they were all arrested. Hugh Auld bailed Douglass out, and then he arranged a job at the shipyard for him.
The job at the shipyard did not work out well for Douglass. A group of white carpenters beat him up. In response to his difficulty, Hugh Auld took him in to live with them again. They arranged a job for Douglass at another shipyard. He showed talent in his work. He still was not content. He decided to attempt escape once again. He did so by getting forged free man’s papers. He used them to get to the free state of New York. There he met David Ruggles, the secretary of the New York Vigilance Committee. He aided many slaves in their search for freedom. He even married Douglass to Anna Murray, and they had five children. Douglass moved to Bedford, Massachusetts due to the fact that is was safer than living in New York. He landed a job in a brass foundry, but he continued to help slaves find freedom.
Douglass joined the American Anti-Slavery Society where he began to speak about his life as a slave. He wrote his “Narrative,” an account of his escape. He continued speaking, and he even traveled to England to do so. He toured England for two years. Some were outraged, and others developed a great respect for him. He made many friends, one bought Douglass freedom on December 5, 1846. Douglass spent his free life in Rochester, New York with his family. He wrote for newspapers, wrote another biography, and he even continued speaking publicly on the issue of slavery.
Douglass spent his whole life fighting slavery. After he fought his own way out, he helped others. He used literature to spread the facts. Because of Frederick Douglass, people were able to see how bad slavery was. He inspired people to fight for their freedom; the freedom that everyone deserves.
In 1826, his original master died. Douglass was inherited by Thomas Auld. Then, in 1832 he went to live in St. Michael’s with Thomas Auld. Life was hard in St. Michael’s, he was worked very hard. The master was harsh towards Douglass; he was beaten terribly for the first six months he was there by Mr. Convey, a man who worked for Douglass's master. Douglass once said, “Mr. Convey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in mind, body, and soul.” The next 6 months he continued working in the fields with fewer beatings. His next master was named Mr. Freeman. While he was a slave for Freeman, Douglass taught his fellow slaves how to read behind closed doors. At the age of sixteen he began to formulate a plan of escape. Four others joined him in this scheme. They traveled along the Chesapeake Bay on their way to Baltimore. Before they even got to leave they were all arrested. Hugh Auld bailed Douglass out, and then he arranged a job at the shipyard for him.
The job at the shipyard did not work out well for Douglass. A group of white carpenters beat him up. In response to his difficulty, Hugh Auld took him in to live with them again. They arranged a job for Douglass at another shipyard. He showed talent in his work. He still was not content. He decided to attempt escape once again. He did so by getting forged free man’s papers. He used them to get to the free state of New York. There he met David Ruggles, the secretary of the New York Vigilance Committee. He aided many slaves in their search for freedom. He even married Douglass to Anna Murray, and they had five children. Douglass moved to Bedford, Massachusetts due to the fact that is was safer than living in New York. He landed a job in a brass foundry, but he continued to help slaves find freedom.
Douglass joined the American Anti-Slavery Society where he began to speak about his life as a slave. He wrote his “Narrative,” an account of his escape. He continued speaking, and he even traveled to England to do so. He toured England for two years. Some were outraged, and others developed a great respect for him. He made many friends, one bought Douglass freedom on December 5, 1846. Douglass spent his free life in Rochester, New York with his family. He wrote for newspapers, wrote another biography, and he even continued speaking publicly on the issue of slavery.
Douglass spent his whole life fighting slavery. After he fought his own way out, he helped others. He used literature to spread the facts. Because of Frederick Douglass, people were able to see how bad slavery was. He inspired people to fight for their freedom; the freedom that everyone deserves.
Timeline
Key Literary people
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
“Mary Chestnut’s Civil War” by Mary Chesnut
“Recollections of a Private” by Warren Lee Goss
“A Confederate Account of the Battle of Gettysburg” by Randolph McKim
“An Episode of War” by Stephen Crane
“My Bondage and My Freedom” by Frederick Douglass
“Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas” by Fredrick Douglass
“ The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln
“Letter to His Son” by Robert E. Lee
“An Account of an Experience With Discrimination” by Sojourner Truth
“Life on the Mississippi” by Mark Twain
“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
“The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir” by Bill Bryson
“To build a Fire” by Jack London
“Heading West” by Miriam Davis Colt
“I Will Fight No More Forever” by Chief Joseph
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
“Douglass” and “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
“Lake Havergal” and “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson
“Lucinda Matlock” and “Richard Bone” by Edgar Lee Masters
“A Wagner Matinee” by Willa Cather
“My Antonia” by Willa Cather
“What They Fought” by James McPheson
“Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters
“Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad” by David Howard Bain
“Mary Chestnut’s Civil War” by Mary Chesnut
“Recollections of a Private” by Warren Lee Goss
“A Confederate Account of the Battle of Gettysburg” by Randolph McKim
“An Episode of War” by Stephen Crane
“My Bondage and My Freedom” by Frederick Douglass
“Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas” by Fredrick Douglass
“ The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln
“Letter to His Son” by Robert E. Lee
“An Account of an Experience With Discrimination” by Sojourner Truth
“Life on the Mississippi” by Mark Twain
“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain
“The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir” by Bill Bryson
“To build a Fire” by Jack London
“Heading West” by Miriam Davis Colt
“I Will Fight No More Forever” by Chief Joseph
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
“Douglass” and “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
“Lake Havergal” and “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson
“Lucinda Matlock” and “Richard Bone” by Edgar Lee Masters
“A Wagner Matinee” by Willa Cather
“My Antonia” by Willa Cather
“What They Fought” by James McPheson
“Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters
“Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad” by David Howard Bain