1865 - 1914: Realistic Period - Naturalistic Period

Mark Twain - (Samuel L. Clemens): 1835 - 1910

• Journalist & Humorist - Realist & Regional writer

• Tom Sawyer (1876)

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)

• Novels, Short Stories & Essays

William Dean Howells - 1837 - 1920

• Most vocal advocate of anti-Romantic realism

• The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885)

• Editha (1905)

Henry James - 1843 - 1916

• Most influential Realist in British & American Lit.

• International themes

• The Americans (1877)

• Portrait of a Lady (1881)

• Short stories, including "The Turn of the Screw" and "Daisy Miller"

Bret Harte Sarah Orne Jewett Stephen Crane - 1871 - 1900

• Realism & Naturalism

• Like Twain, a journalist

• Maggie, Girl of the Streets (1893)

• The Red Badge of Courage (1895)

• Short stories, including "The Open Boat" and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky"

Ezra Pound Emily Dickinson Frank Norris - 1870 - 1902

• Mixture of Naturalism & Romanticism

• McTeague (1899)

• The Octopus (1901)

• Short stories

Jack London - 1876 - 1916

• Naturalism, mostly from personal experience

• The Call of the Wild (1903)

• The Sea Wolf (1904)

• White Fang (1906)

• Many short stories, including "To Build a Fire," etc.

Theodore Dreiser

The dominant literary style of prose fiction from 1865 to 1900 departs from the nostalgic and idealized life of the Romantics.

The major themes of American Realism are:

• setting is generally the here-and-now

• much of the writing stems from a journalistic documentary style (period of "Yellow Journalism")

• often Regional with local dialect

• characters contend with ethical problems

• psychological overtones (Henry James)

• plausible and everyday experiences

• characters are rooted in social classes

Often included within Realism and Naturalism to indicate literature that is regional in narration and/or dialect. Regional writing is not necessarily associated with a historical period, and extends to present day as a style of fiction.

Characteristics of Regionalism:

• characters speak in the local dialect

• often associated with southern writers like Twain, Chopin, and William Faulkner, et. al.

• setting is a particular "region" of the country where local customs and traditions are an integral part of the story

• present day - not futuristic or historical

An offshoot of Realism, Naturalism shares some of its principles.

Principles of Naturalism:

• Nature dwarfs the individual who has no control over it

• characterized by a pessimistic world-view

• people are less individual than a part of a "class"

• Our fate is not in our hands so everything depends on how we cope (everything is a test of character)

• Nature is "indifferent" and we have only each other (God is not a factor)

• the lessons of life are hard and whining is not allowed * Dr. Paul Douglass, professor, English 68B handout, San Jose State University