American Literary Realism: 1865-1915

Posted on Mar 18, 2025 in English Studies

Realism (1865-1915)

I. Historical Context

  • A. Civil War brings demand for a “truer” type of literature that doesn’t idealize people or places.
  • B. People in society defined by “class”; materialism.
  • C. Reflect ideas of Darwin (survival of the fittest) and Marx (how money and class structure control a nation).

II. Genre/Style

  • A. Realism
    1. A reaction against Romanticism; told it like it was.
    2. Focus on lives of ordinary people; rejected heroic and adventurous.
    3. Anti-materialism; rejected the new “class” system.
    4. View of nature as a powerful and indifferent force beyond man’s control.
  • B. Naturalism (sub-genre of Realism)
  1. Like Realism but with a darker view of the world.
  2. The universe is unpredictable; fate is determined by chance; free will is an illusion.
  3. Characters’ lives shaped by forces they can’t understand or control.
C. Novels, short stories. D. Often aims to change a specific social problem. E. Dominant themes: survival, fate, violence, nature as an indifferent force.

III. Major Writers

  • A. The Civil War (1855-1865)
    1. Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)
      • a. The most famous woman of her day.
      • b. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
        • (1). Most influential book of the 19th Century; 1st to sell 1 million copies.
        • (2). One of the most effective documents of propaganda; helped fuel the Civil War.
    2. Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)
      • a. An escaped slave; one of the most effective orators of his day.
      • b. Influential newspaper writer; militant abolitionist; diplomat.
      • c. Autobiography an instant and enduring classic of courage.
  • B. The Frontier (1865-1915)
    1. Mark Twain (1835-1910)
      • A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It.
      • American humorist and one of our greatest novelists.
      • b. Used vernacular, exaggeration, and a deadpan narrator to create humor.
    2. Stephen Crane (1871-1900) (Naturalist)
      • a. Crane attacked patriotism, individualism, and organized religion; confronted the meaninglessness of the world.
      • b. Crane’s writing is known for its images and symbolism.
      • c. Red Badge of Courage (most famous work; set in Civil War).
      • d. The Open Boat (man vs. Nature’s indifference).
      • e. An Episode of War (short story).
    3. Jack London
      • a. Pushed Naturalism to its limits.
      • b. Call of the Wild (tame dog forced to revert to its original primitive state).
      • c. To Build a Fire (survival of the fittest).
    4. The Local Colorists (1865-1930)
      • a. Regional writers tried to capture the essence of a particular area, or its “local color.”
      • c. Kate Chopin (1851-1904)
        • A Pair of Silk Stockings