Unit 5&6 American Realism & Naturalism Terms

Mitchell Weir

came up with the “rest cure” for nervous women who were put on bed rest & given no physical or mental stimulation

American realism

faithful representation of reality in fiction

verisimilitude

literary technique practiced in many schools of writing which can be defined as a "slice of life" quality in fiction

subjects of American Realism

representation of middle class in mundane detail; a reaction against romanticism; criticized ordinary reality

characteristics of American Realism

reality in close & comprehensive detail; emphasizes verisimilitude; character more important than action & plot; focuses on ethical choices; complex characters; the importance of social class; believable events & realistic stories; diction is natural vernacular w/ various tones; objectivity is important; interior psychological realism; moral dilemmas & freedom of choice

the Realism War

debates over the suitability of realism as a mode of representation led to this critical exchange

Regional Realists vs. "The Genteel Tradition"

the literary hub of the U.S. had always been the east coast, but now it was shifting to include other regions in of the U.S. (west, southwest, midwest)

Mark Twain

paved the way for modern American literature & authors; realist; author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; used realism to write about the issue of race during the Reconstruction (post-Civil War); born Samuel Clemens

regional realism

exposing regional life using their vernacular, dialects, & tone by American realist authors; authors of this include Mark Twain (midwest), Charles Chestnut (deep south), & Kate Chopin (cajun south)

Charles Chesnutt

mixed-race American realist author from the deep south; wrote about slaves who lived on plantations in the deep south in their dialect; author of Goophered Grapevine w/ famous African-American character Uncle Julius; known for writing African-Americans as psychologically complex characters (deconstructing stereotypes)

Kate Chopin

female American realist author who wrote using the cajun dialect & wrote about the issue of race & struggles of women; author of The Awakening and "The Story of an Hour"; a voice for American women

Determinism

all moral choices are completely determined by previously existing causes; precludes free will bc it says humans cannot act otherwise

Naturalism

founded by Emile Zola (French author); examining humans through relationships to their surroundings (socially critical), which should be impartial without moralizing; people are simply products of their environments & heredity; "pessimistic, materialistic, determinism"; "reveling in the extraordinary, the excessive, & the grotesque in order to reveal the immutable bestiality of Man in Nature"

Naturalism characteristics

characters are ill-educated or lower class; characters attempts at exercising free will or choice are hampered by forces beyond their control; emphasis on ordinary, commonplace, & unheroic; tension between characters conditioned & controlled by the environment, heredity, indistinct, change & desire to present the truth to find meaning in the human experience; uses verisimilitude; often "chronicle of despair"

Naturalism themes & conflicts

survival, determinism, violence, & taboo; the "beast/brute" within each individual who fights for survival in a moral, indifferent universe; conflict is often man vs. nature & man vs. himself; nature is an indifferent force; forces of heredity & the environment govern & shape human beings; the universe is indifferent & deterministic; human attempts to exercise free will are often futile; free will is an illusion

Social Darwinism

scientific theories applied to human beings who were at the mercy of 19th-century economics; theory that people are also subjected to Darwins theory of evolution

Laissez-faire Capitalism

factory owners could do whatever they wanted without limits bc there were no labor laws

Materialism

martial goods are more important than intellectual or spiritual things

Emile Zola

French author who is credited as the funder of naturalism

William Dean Howells

American realist author and editor of The Atlantic Monthly; popularized the works of Mark Twain & Henry James & many other realist authors; a leading voice in American literature at the turn of the 20th century & in the realism wars; author of "Editha"; wrote about social issues including race, labor, & women

"Editha"

the story of a woman pushing her fiancee to fight in the Spanish-American War where he ends up dying & his mother is cold towards her; American realist story written by Bret Harte

Social criticism

depiction of acts of racism, prejudice, and/or social injustice in literature; also focused on the struggles of lower middle/lower class

Civil War

four-year war (1861-1865) between the United States and 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America; fought over debates about slavery

Genteel Tradition

traditional romantic literature mostly found on the east coast of the US

Huck Finn excerpt

a young boy grapples with the morals of society vs his morals when deciding to not turn in his friend who is an escaped slave; American realist story written by Mark Twain

"Two Ways of Seeing a River"

story changing in attitude of a person before & after he becomes a riverboat pilot; American realist story written by Mark Twain

"The Story of an Hour"

a woman w/ heart troubles finds out her husband has died in a work accident & she feels overjoyed to be free of an oppressive 19th-century marriage, but when she finds out her husband is alive, she promptly dies of grief for her lost freedom; American realist story written by Kate Chopin

Bret Harte

American realist author who traveled west & was exiled after writing a newspaper article condemning the massacre of a peaceful Native tribe; served as editor of a newspaper & hired young Mark Twain to write articles for The Atlantic Monthly; author of "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" and "The Luck of Roaring Camp"

"The Outcasts of Poker Flat"

a secret committee decides to exile a group of people who stop to camp, meet up with others, & they all die in a blizzard after running out of supplies; American realist story written by Bret Harte

"scientific" study of humanity

the study of humanity should be absent of partiality & morals; part of naturalism

People as "products" of environment

naturalist idea that people are shaped by the people and societal conditions surrounding them & their heredity; also an idea of Emile Zola heredity

Human beast/brute within

naturalist theme used to describe how we can examine humans through their relationship to their surroundings; study of human beings scientifically, impartially, & without moralizing; an individual who fights for survival in an indifferent universe; doing what it takes to survive

Darwin

his scientific theory was applied to economies as social Darwinism; survival became a theme of naturalist literature; led to laissez-faire capitalism

Survival of the fittest

the process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called natural selection (attributed to Darwin)

Ambrose Bierce

American naturalist author who was the only one to serve in the Civil War including at Shiloh, Chickamauga, & Shermans March to the Sea; columnist in San Francisco, nicknamed "Bitter"; wrote The Devils Dictionary &

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

Peyton Farquhar (Confederate) is being hung by Union soldiers for attempting to burn down a bridge but the rope breaks and he escapes by swimming down the river and escapes home to his wife, but when he reaches her he feels a sharp blow on the back of his neck and sees a blinding white light; it is then written that he is dead & his broken body is swinging from the side of the bridge; short story written by Ambrose Bierce

"The Blue Hotel"

American naturalist short story by Stephen Crane; tells the story of the Swede, the Cowboy, & the Easterner all staying at a hotel w/ the owner & his son; a blizzard makes them stuck at the hotel & they play cards, the Swede is paranoid & accuses the son of cheating; they fight & the Swede beats the son up then leaves the hotel for the town saloon; in the saloon, the Swede pleads for people to drink with him & brags about beating up the son & is stabbed & killed; months later the Easterner talks with the cowboy about the guilt he feels over the Swedes death

Women and Economics

non-fiction novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman arguing for female independence both financially & intellectually and for the evolution of marriage, family, & home life

Mitchell Weir

came up with the "rest cure" for nervous women who were put on bed rest & given no physical or mental stimulation

The "rest cure"

a medical "treatment" by Mitchell Weir who put depressed women on bed rest & gave them no physical or mental stimulation to "cure" their insanity, but it just made them go insane; seen in "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Herland

American naturalism novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman depicting a society without men & females who reproduce asexually that is then discovered by men

"The Yellow Wallpaper"

an American naturalist short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; the narrator is a women locked in an attic with yellow wallpaper as part of "the rest cure" for her nervous (postpartum) depression; she goes insane & sees a woman creeping around her room & she beings to peel off the

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

American naturalist author of Women in Economics & "The Yellow Wallpaper"; argued for financial & intellectual independence for women; given "the rest cure" for her postpartum depression; diagnosed of inoperable breast cancer & committed suicide