American History: Age of Realism, 1865-1915

Explore the historical context of the Age of Realism in America, including the Civil War, Reconstruction, Industrial Revolution, and the rise of American Realism in literature. Discover the key events and figures that shaped this period.

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Questions and Answers

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The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1877.

False

The Progressive Era occurred from 1865 to 1890.

False

Mark Twain was the pen name of William Dean Howells.

False

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in 1876.

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American Realism rejected the ideas of Romanticism and Industrialization.

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The novel 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' is an example of a pastoral novel.

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Kate Chopin's novel 'The Awakening' is set in the Creol Country.

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Theodore Dreiser's novel 'Sister Carrier' is an example of a Naturalist novel.

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The novel 'The Octopus' by Frank Norris is set in Europe.

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Mark Twain's novel 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' is an example of a Regional fiction novel.

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Study Notes

The Age of Realism (1865-1915)

Historical context: Civil War (1861-1865), abolition of slavery (13th Amendment, 1863), Reconstruction (1865-1877), Western War Expansion (1890), Industrial Revolutions, Urbanization, European Immigration on the East Coast, and the Progressive Era (1890-1910)

American Realism

Defined as truthful treatment of reality, rejecting Romanticism and Transcendentalism
Focus on truth and fact, faithful representation of reality in ordinary life
Importance of social class, observing contemporary society
Regional fiction: local color, nostalgia, use of natural language, dialect, vernacular, and humor

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

Famous works: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Life on the Mississippi (1883), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
Huckleberry Finn: coming-of-age novel, picaresque novel, pastoralism, local color

Other Authors

Kate Chopin (1850-1904): The Awakening (1899), local color, Creol country
Joel Chandler Harris (1845-1908): Uncle Remus (1881), Trickster Tale, Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Wolf

Naturalism (Subgenre of Realism)

More pessimistic, born in Europe, influenced by Emile Zola and Leo Tolstoy
Influence of Darwinism and Marxism, biological and social determinism
Focus on social problems, social criticism, everyday people, lower class, crushed by society

Notable Authors and Works

Stephen Crane (1871-1900): Maggie: A Girl of the Street (1893), The Red Badge of Courage (1895)
Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945): Sister Carrie (1900)
Frank Norris (1870-1902): The Epic of the Wheat trilogy, The Octopus: A Story of California (1901), The Pit: A Story of Chicago (1903)