Definition:
Realism in American Literature spanned the years from 1865-1900. It was a time of great turmoil in American history, with the Civil War just ended and the inevitable aftermath of so much devastation: Reconstruction and urbanization. Industrialization and technological advances were also making their marks on the American psyche.
Realism - Novel and Its Future
In "The Novel and its Future," George Parsons Lathrop said, "Realism sets itself at work to consider characters and events which are apparently the most ordinary and uninteresting, in order to extract from these their full value and true meaning. It would apprehend in all particulars the connection between the familiar and the extraordinary, and the seen and unseen of human nature."
William Dean Howell said, "Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material."
Realism in American Literature spanned the years from 1865-1900. It was a time of great turmoil in American history, with the Civil War just ended and the inevitable aftermath of so much devastation: Reconstruction and urbanization. Industrialization and technological advances were also making their marks on the American psyche.
Realism - Novel and Its Future
In "The Novel and its Future," George Parsons Lathrop said, "Realism sets itself at work to consider characters and events which are apparently the most ordinary and uninteresting, in order to extract from these their full value and true meaning. It would apprehend in all particulars the connection between the familiar and the extraordinary, and the seen and unseen of human nature."
William Dean Howell said, "Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material."
Also Known As:
Realism
Realism
Examples:
Examples of the Realistic Period include: Charles W. Chestnutt, Stephen Crane, Henry James, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton.
