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American Reality
Realism
Naturalism
Regionalism
Definition
A
literary style that portrays real life
without filtering it through personal
feelings, romanticism, or idealism.
 Realism encompasses Naturalism
and Regionalism
Characteristics of Realism
Accurate and detailed portrayal of real
life
 Focuses on middle and lower social
classes
 Seeks to explain why ordinary people
behave the way they do
 Presents life objectively and honestly

Characteristics cont...
 Relies
on the sciences of biology,
psychology, and sociology, insight
and observation
 Uses details to re-create a specific
time and place for the reader
Naturalism
Characteristics
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Life is a grim, losing
battle
Darwinism –
“survival of the
fittest”
Fate determined by
forces beyond
individual control
Regionalism
Characteristics
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Detailed settings
Manners and ways
of the people
Dialects of the
region
Humorous plots
Reality Check
3 ways to
look at real life
Realism:
An objective view
Of the world
Naturalism:
A harsh view of the
world
Regionalism:
Captures the
“local color”
of a region
Ambrose Bierce
1842-1914
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Realist who wrote
without sentiment
Used point of view to
create an effect
Very cynical
“An Occurrence at Owl
Creek Bridge”
Stephen Crane
1871-1900
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Naturalist who focused
on war
Provided one
character’s view of
reality
The Red Badge of
Courage
“The Mystery of
Heroism”
Mark Twain
1835-1910
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America’s foremost
regionalist writer and
humorist
Used a natural, slangy 1st
person narration
The Adventures of Huck
Finn and Tom Sawyer
“The Notorious Jumping
Frog of Calaveras County”
Willa Cather
1873-1947
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Regionalist who wrote
from her own
experiences
Many works set in the
Nebraska “frontier”
“A Wagner Matinee”
My Antonia, O Pioneers
Emily Dickinson
1830-1886
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Never intended for work
to be published
Used a hymn-like,
lyrical quatrains
1775 poems written - 7
published anonymously
Known as “The Belle of
Amherst”
Kate Chopin
1851-1904
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Regionalist, feminist
author
Controversial subject
matter for her era
(infidelity)
Captured world of
French Creole
The Awakening
“The Story of an Hour”
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
1860-1935
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Suffered from mental
illness
Writing is semiautobiographical and
examines the
entrapment of women
“The Yellow Wallpaper”