Realism naturalism

1. Realism--NaturalismRealism--Naturalism
RegionalismRegionalism
Late Nineteenth Century
American Literary Techniques

2. Real--Natural--RegionalReal--Natural--Regional
•Reactions against Romanticism
•Better described as “writing techniques”
than “philosophies”
•Naturalism developed from Realism
•Regional writers could also be Realists or
Naturalists

3. Real--Natural--RegionalReal--Natural--Regional
•Romantics / Transcendentalists tried to find the
ideal; believed the individual was equal to a god
•Realists focus on “the faithful representation of
reality”; believed the individual was simply a
person
•Naturalists apply scientific principles to the study
of humans without moralizing; believe the
individual is a helpless object
•Regionalists try to capture a location: description,
dialect, traditions and heritage

4. RealismRealism
Humans control their own
destinies; characters act on their
environment rather than simply
reacting to it.
Character is superior to
circumstance

5. Realism-DefinitionRealism-Definition
•About recreating life in literature: “the
experienced commonplace.”
•Character more important than plot
•Interpret the actualities of any aspect of life
without idealism
•Stresses the real over the fantastic
•Emphasis on morality
•Humans are in control of their own destinies

6. Realism-CharacteristicsRealism-Characteristics
•Character more important than action or plot;
complex ethical choices
•Characters appear in real complexity:
temperament, motive, social class, past
•Class is important
•Events will be plausible
•Diction is natural, written as people talk, not
poetically

7. Realism in LiteratureRealism in Literature
•Settings thoroughly familiar to the writer
•Plots emphasizing the norm of daily
experience
•Ordinary characters studied in depth
•Responsible morality; a world truly
reported

8. NaturalismNaturalism
Characters do not have free will; external
and internal forces, environment, or
heredity control their behavior.
Determinism: free will does exist, but the
will is often enslaved on account of
different reasons.

9. Naturalism-DefinitionNaturalism-Definition
•An extension or continuation of Realism
with the addition of pessimistic
determinism
•Deals with raw and unpleasant experiences
which reduce characters to “degrading”
behavior in their struggle to survive
•Set in the commonplace and unheroic; life
is usually the dull round of daily existence

10. Naturalism-CharacteristicsNaturalism-Characteristics
•Objectivity and detachment in study of human
beings; people are to be studied impartially,
without moralizing about their natures/choices
•Characters mostly from lower middle or the
lower classes; poor, uneducated, unsophisticated
•Discussion of fate; generally the controlling
force is society and the surrounding environment

11. Naturalism in LiteratureNaturalism in Literature
•Naturalist introduced new topics to broaden
the scope of American fiction: exposure of
social conditions and social evils, lives of the
lower classes
•Characters conditioned and controlled by the
environment, heredity, chance, or instinct
•Struggle for life and to maintain human
dignity becomes heroic

12. RegionalismRegionalism
•Also called “local color” literature
•Focuses on the characters, dialect, customs,
landscape, and other features particular to a
specific region.
•Typically a short story technique
•May at times seem overly sentimental or
nostalgic

13. RegionalismRegionalism
Setting
Emphasis on nature and the limits it
sets. Settings are frequently remote and
are always integral to the story.
Setting may sometimes become a
character in itself.

14. RegionalismRegionalism
Characters
Concerned with the character of the region
rather than the individual; characters may
become “character types” sometimes
stereotypical. Marked by adherence to the
old ways, dialect, and personality traits
central to the region.

15. RegionalismRegionalism
Narrator
Typically an educated observer from
another area; serves as a go-between for
audience and rural folk of the story
Plots
Little action; stories include storytelling by
the characters and revolve around
community and its rituals

16. RegionalismRegionalism
Themes
•Antipathy toward change
•Nostalgia for a past “golden age”
•Celebration of community and
acceptance in the face of adversity
•Conflict between urban ways and old-
fashioned rural values