American

Realism, and Naturalism

1860-1920(ish)
*The Civil War to 1914
What is Realism?
A faithful representation of reality in
literature, also known as “verisimili-
tude” (the appearance of truth, the
quality of truth)
Emphasis on development of believ-
able characters.
Written in natural vernacular, or di-
alect (common words of a region).
Prominent from 1860-1890.
Realism
Realism sought to portray life as faith-
fully and accurately as possible, focusing
on ordinary people suffering the harsh
realties of everyday life. It depicts ordi-
nary people coping with everyday reali-
ties.
Authors included Mark Twain, Henry
James, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and
Dunbar
The Literature
Presented life objectively
Favored science and technology
Found meaning in the mundane
Focused on socials ills and social conflict
Elements of Realism
Rejection of the idealized, larger-than-life hero
of Romantic Literature
Detailed depiction of ordinary characters and
realistic events
Emphasis on characters from cities and lower
classes
Avoidance of the exotic, sensational, and overly
dramatic
Use of everyday speech patterns to reveal
class distinctions
Focus on the ethical struggles and social issues
of real-life situations
Sought to explain why ordinary people behave
the way they do
Realist Writers
Mark Twain
William Dean How-
ells
Henry James
Edgar Lee Masters
Why did Realism develop?
The Civil War – horror / reality of war
Personal accounts of horrors and injus-
tices of slavery (violation of American prin-
ciple of equality)
The urbanization and industrialization of
America
As a reaction to Romanticism
Increasing rates of democracy and literacy
The emerging middle class
Upheaval and social change in the latter
half of the 19th century
What is Naturalism?
Applied scientific principles of objectivity
and detachment to the study of human be-
ings.
Influenced by Darwinism (natural selection)
and psychology (Freud)
Posited that individuals were governed by
heredity and environment.
Often depict man in conflict with nature,
society, or himself.
Prominent from 1880-1920(ish)
Naturalism-Focuses on people’s
helplessness in the face of chance

Sought to portray ordinary people’s lives, but

suggested that environment, heredity, and
chance, or forces they could neither under-
stand nor control, determined people’s fate.
Authors included Stephen Crane, Kate
Chopin, Theodore Dreiser, Jack London
Man’s destiny was determined by heredity
and natural selection, society, psychological
impulses, and economic class
Created the representative, not the actual
Naturalism

Influenced by emerging disciplines of psychol-

ogy and sociology
Attempt to analyze human behavior objectively,
as a scientist would
Belief that human behavior is determined by
heredity and environment
Sense that human beings cannot control their
own destinies
Sense of life as a losing battle against an uncar-
ing universe
Naturalist Writers
Stephen Crane
- The Red Badge of Courage
- How do people behave under
pressure?
Ambrose Bierce
Jack London
Edwin Arlington
Robinson
Katherine Anne
Porter
Charlotte Perkins
Gilman
Edith Wharton
Why did Naturalism develop?
The swell of immigrants in the latter half of
the 19th century, which led to a larger lower
class and increased poverty in the cities
The prominence of psychology and the
theories of Sigmund Freud
Pessimism in the wake of the Civil War and
Reconstruction
Publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of
the Species
Points to Remember…
Realism, Regionalism, and Natural-
ism are intertwined and connected.
Their influence has dominated most
literature created since 1920, though
the movement itself is dated to
roughly that point.
They are truly American modes of
writing.