Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

22
Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period

Transcript of Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Page 1: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Realism and Mark TwainThe Civil War and Post-War Period

Page 2: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTCjHZWmgG0 A reaction against romanticism, an

interest in scientific method, the systematizing of the study of documentary history, and the influence of rational philosophy all affected the rise of realism.

Page 3: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

According to William Harmon and Hugh Holman, "Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and the verifiable consequence" (A Handbook to Literature 428).

Page 4: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

In American literature, the term "realism" encompasses the period of time from the Civil War to the turn of the century during which William Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis, Henry James, Mark Twain, and others wrote fiction devoted to accurate representation and an exploration of American lives in various contexts.

Page 5: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

As the United States grew rapidly after the Civil War, the increasing rates of democracy and literacy, the rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization, an expanding population base due to immigration, and a relative rise in middle-class affluence provided a fertile literary environment for readers interested in understanding these rapid shifts in culture (Social Construction of American Realism ix).

Page 6: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Plot and Character

Character is more important than action and plot; complex ethical choices are often the subject.

Characters appear in the real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.

Humans control their destinies; characters act on their environment rather than simply reacting to it.

Page 7: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail.  Selective presentation of reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of a well-made plot.

Events will usually be plausible.  Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.

Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class.

Page 8: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Interpretation and analysis

Realism is viewed as a realization of democracy.

The morality of Realism is intrinsic, integral, relativistic – relations between people and society are explored.

Realists were pragmatic, relativistic, democratic and experimental.  The purpose of writing is to instruct and to entertain.

Page 9: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Structure of ProseDiction is the natural vernacular, not heightened or poetic;

tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact.

The use of symbolism is controlled and limited; the realists depend more on the use of images.

Objectivity in presentation becomes increasingly important: overt authorial comments or intrusions diminish as the century progresses.

Page 10: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Mark Twain Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in

Florida, Missouri in 1835 At the age of four, he moved to

Hannibal on the Mississippi River He eventually became a riverboat

pilot; he derived the name Mark Twain from the riverboat leadsman’s signal “By the mark, Twain”- meaning the water was deep enough for safe passage

Page 11: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

“All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huck Finn . . .There was nothing before. There has been nothing so good since.”

-Ernest Hemingway

Page 12: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKvhjvBap0o Huck Finn was published in 1884 It received great public and critical

acclaim.

Page 13: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Facts about the novel time and place written · 1876–1883; Hartford,

Connecticut, and Elmira, New York date of first publication · 1884 narrator · Huckleberry Finn point of view  · Huck’s point of view, although Twain

occasionally indulges in digressions in which he shows off his own ironic wit

tone  · Frequently ironic or mocking, particularly concerning adventure -novels and romances; also contemplative, as Huck seeks to decipher the world around him; sometimes boyish and exuberant

tense · Immediate past setting (time) · Before the Civil War; roughly 1835–

1845; Twain said the novel was set forty to fifty years before the time of its publication

setting (place)  · The Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas

Page 14: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Possible Themes Individual Vs. Society Emotional Vs. Rational Appearance Vs. Reality (Hypocrisy and

Phoniness) The role of superstitions Tolerance Vs. Prejudice Dehumanization Death and Rebirth Coming of Age The Hero’s Journey Nature Humanity (Gullibility, Ignorance, etc.) Quest for Freedom Real Vs. Romantic

Page 15: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Huck Stands for The worth, goodness and wisdom of common, lowly people

Insistence of freedom as a condition of good life

Individualism

Brotherly association

Spontaneity

Page 16: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

The novel also depicts Huck’s maturation and development.

He distrusts the morals and precepts of a society that fails to protect him.

He begins to question many of his teachings- especially those regarding race and slavery

I’ll “go to hell”

Page 17: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Even though written after slavery was abolished, things had not gotten much better for blacks in the South.

We may read this story as an allegorical representation of the conditions of blacks in the US even after the abolition of slavery.

Twain exposes the hypocrisy of slavery.

Page 18: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Motifs Childhood Lies and Cons Superstitions and Folk Beliefs Parodies of Popular Romance Novels

Page 19: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Symbols The Mississippi River- The ultimate

symbol of freedom Land Shipwrecks Floods

Page 20: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

On a raft, away from society, he becomes free from society’s rules and makes his own conclusions.

The river symbolizes freedom; the shore symbolizes civilization and the people who live in it.

Page 21: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

SatireReligion (Heaven and tent revival)

Southern aristocrats (Grangerfords)

Materialism (Duke & King)

Slavery (Jim)

Sentimental novels

Page 22: Realism and Mark Twain The Civil War and Post-War Period.

Satire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-

KlV5cPUo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOEamZJmvgc