William Dean Howells was born at Martin's Ferry,Ohio,On March 1,1837,and died on March 11,1920.

His
father was a native of wales,and it was because of his father that he learned the printing trade and later
on began his career as a printer and journalist,he worked in many journals mostly earned by his father
and went through many phases in his career.He was regarded as the major American novelist and critic
of his age,Howells gave the world the true meaning of"Great American Novels",he gave his readers a
spitting image of american life through his great skills of portraying the details of human nature along
side a keen sense of humor,a gift of expression,and an experience in National and international affaire
have given him a major expreince in his life wich few had have.His theory in writing was reflecting the
what realism was,his theory was that "only the true literature to human nature is worth writing",his
status as the major American theorist of realism was established by his book'Criticism and
fiction'(1891),in this book he declares his common ground with Jhon addington,who had expressed a
hope that future literature might abandon"Sentimantal or academical seekings after the ideal",wich was
true when realism emerged and came against the idealism of romanticism.William pushed the realists to
use simple language and unstructered plots to portray realist subjects and situation,and by that
regionalism was born in literature,it focuses on the characters,dialect,customs topography,and other
features particular to a specific region,that is why with every story you can hear a different dialect based
on the region and the settings of that story.

Mark Twain (born November 30, 1835, Florida, Missouri, U.S.—died April 21, 1910, Redding,
Connecticut).He was considered among one of the great American realist writers,he is known for the
story he tells and the way in wich he tells them,his stories dealt with everyday issues and his works were
heavily based on his personal experience in life,the mississippi river was a big influence on him,all the
adventures that his characters experienced on the mississippi relate directly to twain's
experiences,"Mark Twain" is the pseudonym for Samuel Langhorne Clemens, The term “mark twain”
signifies the depth at which a Mississippi boat could make safe passage. The literary world of Mark Twain
revealed the true nature of human the good side and the dark side,the one wich is loved and the side
wich is hated in the individuals,his writings defined the trasformations in the american society during
and after the civil war,and the influence of the enviroment on the choice of the individuals.Realism
under the influence of Mark Twain was not only a technique of writing to represent the real life of
inividuals and their enviroment but it became a way to represent the middle class subjects that
happened within the American society,Twain's pen was the flag that represent the middle class,their
traditions,their dalect.Mark Twain was always triying to plant a message withing his works,such as the
conflict between classes in the American society,the issues of religion and the problems that faced the
life of the western countryside.

Henry James,born on (April 15,1843-Died in February 28,1916).James was a special sort of realist,his
realism was different than the other realist writers, realism supposed to be the mirror of life ,some
writers like Mark Twain adopted the issues of class colficts and religion,but James had another view of
life,he was not concerend with all the aspects of life,such as poverty or the middle class people who had
a real struggle in life to make a living,instead he was intrested in portraying the devotion of some people
who could devote their lives to make life better.The realism of James is embodied in his characters,in
other words his characters are more understanable for any reader and any reader can relate to
them,because those characters face reali life problems,problems that sooner or later every human will
encounter in real life,Howells regarded the writings of James as "character painting,a matter of painting
what he sees".Like all realists,Jmaes used his own experience in travelling to portray different cultures,he
always put his characters against social and cultural differences,he also had a unique way in analyzing
and describing the psychological side of his characters,almost all of his novels were a study of identity.

MAJOR WORKS:Mark twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

It is one of Mark Twain's best known and most important novels,it is a sequel to The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer,The novel tells the story of Huckleberry Finn’s escape from his alcoholic and abusive father and
Huck’s adventurous journey down the Mississippi River together with the runaway slave Jim.At first the
novel looks like it is meant for children,but the meaning behind it and it's themes is much greater than
just a children's story full of adventures and excitement.It is dark in places,dealing with difficult topics
such as slavery,lies,betrayel,moral actions and true friendship.It is a portrayel of the American society
before the civil war.the novel is a mixure of adventure story,social setire and picaresque novel.In it's true
essence the story is aboout freedom and escaping slavery to freedom.

Dean Howells: The Rise of Silas Lapham

published in 1885,the novel describe the rise and the fall of the Aùerican entrepreneur of the paint
bussiness,a newly wealthy self made businessman who has climbed over his former partner on the
ladder of success.The events set in Boston and around New England during the Gilded Age wich is the
period following the civil war in America,the novel represent an unrelenting and realistic display of the
shortcomings and trials of wealthy society in Gilded Age America,combining romanticism and realism,the
novel is a way to show how romantic things can be harmful in real situations.the rise of silas from
barefoot farm boy to a millionaire wich ends in a finincial disaster,money and business were too close
and too precious to Silas than God ever was.the novel serves the desire of Howells to create a story that
is anti romanticism.

Henry James: The Portrait of A Lady

first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880–81 and then as a
book in 1881.It is regarded as a protypical novel of American Realism,the novel depicts process of
learning,a young woman named Isabel Archer whois affronting her destin,she comes to europe where
she is exposed to different social and cultural influences wich help her later on to learn and get
cultivated. Like many of James's novels, it is set in Europe, mostly England and Ital, the novel explore
intercultural connections, this novel reflects James's continuing interest in the differences between the
New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the
themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal.