The Rise of Realism (1850-1914) Transcendentalism was an optimistic response to the brewing times....
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Transcript of The Rise of Realism (1850-1914) Transcendentalism was an optimistic response to the brewing times....
The Rise of Realism(1850-1914)
• Transcendentalism was an optimistic response to the brewing times.
• Popular forms of literature, such as poems, could not adequately express the carnage that was the war-time reality, nor could they express the depths of poverty and desperation people experienced.
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Romantic South
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Civil War
• April 1861, the Confederate Army attacks Fort Sumter
• The Civil War begins
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Civil War Fact Sheet
• The US invaded Iraq in 2003. • Thus far, over 3,948 American soldiers
have been killed in Iraq. • In the Battle of Antietam, a single fight
during the Civil War, 26,000 men were killed.
• By the time the Confederates surrendered, 620,000 men had been killed.
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War is Kind
• Many of the wounded remained on the battlefield until a hospital bed became available
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A field where a thousand corpses lie
• Rifle balls shatter bones• No antiseptics• Limbs were piled in a cart• No anesthesia• Surgeon’s sharpened their
scalpels on the soles of their boots
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Realism
• Photographs• Need for Journalists• Growing fields of psychology and
natural science (Freud and Darwin)• Why do people act the way they
do?
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Characteristics of Realism
• To write about the common course of everyday life with exactness.
• Very different from the idealism found in Romanticism/Transcendentalism.
• Often focused on the slums, the factories, hardships, etc.
• Character development is more important than the “action.”
• The universe is indifferent to the plight of Man.
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Realism
• People are animals • People are affected by biology and
environment• We have limited choices and
motivations
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Industrialization• Post-war industrialization occurred rapidly.• Factory conditions were horrible: low wages,
no max. work week or overtime, no worker’s comp. or safety rules, child labor, etc.
• Many people lived in squalor in over-priced tenements.
• Local law enforcement/politicians often corrupt.
• Huge influx of immigrants: Polish, Irish, Italians, who rivaled for power and were often met with discrimination.
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Realist Hero
• Lives a hard life (Prostitute, Slave, A man of the streets)
• Is no longer innocent• Discovers truth through his
struggle
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Heroes in Realism
• Not ideal and more often corrupt or “less than ideal” character.
• Events accurately show the harsh reality of everyday life.
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Regionalism
• Focuses on one particular geographic area and realistically presented the region’s dialect, manners and culture.
• Although realistic in representing the region, Regionalists often depicted unrealistic, sentimental character and social development.
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Regionalism
• Mark Twain• Brett Harte• Kate Chopin
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