American Realism and Naturalism Quiz

American Realism and Naturalism

• Romanticism rose to prominence before the Civil War

• Key tenets include: celebrating human will over adversity, focusing on individual triumph, valuing the spiritual and emotional over rational, and valuing nature/connections to it.

• Key authors include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, and Emily Dickinson

• Literary style employed symbolism and allegory, explored the body/soul relationship, and focused on personal experience and individual intuition.

• Themes included individualism, nature, spirituality, democracy, freedom, and revolution.

• This movement emerged in the 19th century, reacting against rationalism and religious tradition, influenced by European Romanticism, and contrasted with realism and naturalism.

• American Realism emerged after the Civil War, opposing Romanticism

• Focused on depicting ordinary people's everyday lives (regionalism/dialects)

• Presented the limitations of free will by external forces

• Key authors include Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, and Henry James.

• Naturalism believed individuals have no control over fate, determined by heredity and environment

• Key figures are Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser

• Naturalism explored the struggle of farmers, city pressures, and upper-class life.

• Naturalism did not gain popularity in the US, contradicting the myth of self-determination.

Muckrakers

• Investigative journalists who exposed 20th-century social/political problems
• Were active at the beginning of the 20th century
• Contributed to social/political reforms
• Key figures include Jacob Riis who photographed and documented New York slums and Upton Sinclair, who exposed meat industry problems in "The Jungle."

Emily Dickinson & Walt Whitman

• Emily Dickinson wrote poetry about death, immortality, love, suffering, faith, nature
• Poems characterized by short lines, lack of titles, unconventional punctuation, and slant rhymes
• Many works published posthumously
• Walt Whitman, considered the father of free verse, combined transcendentalism and realism, believing American literature should draw upon American experiences.
  • His work "Leaves of Grass" was controversial due to sexual themes
  • He believed that everything is a good topic for poetry, and that form shouldn't bound poetry
  • His work reflects American values: democracy, freedom, and revolution

Mark Twain and Henry James

• Mark Twain, from a plebeian background, drew inspiration from American folklore
• His characters are often taciturn
• His language was plain, avoiding abstract words
• He was an observer of the emerging American culture, with works like "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" addressing racial prejudice.
• Henry James, from an aristocratic background, inspired by European literary tradition, portrayed the clashes between American and European cultures, while creating a narrator with limited omniscience.

Ernest Hemingway and the "Lost Generation"

• "Lost Generation" refers to individuals who came of age during World War I, with a loss of faith and disillusionment
• Hemingway's style focused on economy, understatement, a focus on dialogue and action.
• His style was shaped by his war experiences, perceiving language as devalued by war and writing in a style where most meaning is found outside of the words
• His characters are often taciturn, and he uses simple language, avoiding abstract words.

Romanticism (Pre-Civil War, 19th Century) 

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson – Transcendentalist, celebrated individualism, nature, and spirituality, wrote essays on self-reliance and the human soul. 

2. Walt Whitman – Father of free verse, combined realism and transcendentalism, emphasized democracy, self, and equality, wrote Leaves of Grass. 

3. Henry David Thoreau – Transcendentalist, focused on nature, simplicity, and self-sufficiency, wrote Walden. 

4. Emily Dickinson – Innovative poet, explored death, immortality, and faith, used short lines, slant rhyme, and unconventional punctuation. 

Realism (Post-Civil War, late 19th Century) 

5. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) – Regionalism, humor, social critique, used vernacular speech, wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

6. William Dean Howells – Defined realism as "truthful treatment of material", focused on middle-class struggles, wrote The Rise of Silas Lapham. 

7. Henry James – Psychological realism, explored clashes between American and European cultures, introduced non-omniscient narrators, wrote The Portrait of a Lady. 

8. Upton Sinclair – Muckraker journalist, exposed corrupt industries, wrote The Jungle (about the meatpacking industry). 

9. Paul Laurence Dunbar – African American poet and novelist, used dialects and formal verse to portray black life in America. 

10. Charles Chesnutt – African American writer, explored race and identity in post-Civil War America. 

11. Kate Chopin – Early feminist writer, explored women’s roles and marriage, wrote The Awakening. 

12. Jacob Riis – Muckraking journalist, used photography and writing to expose poverty in New York slums, wrote How the Other Half Lives. 

Naturalism (Late 19th – Early 20th Century) 

13. Stephen Crane – Proto-naturalist, wrote about war, survival, and psychological turmoil, wrote The Red Badge of Courage. 

14. Frank Norris – Criticized capitalism, focused on economic forces controlling human fate, wrote The Octopus (farmers vs. railroad companies). 

15. Theodore Dreiser – Urban naturalism, depicted ambition and struggles of ordinary people, wrote Sister Carrie. 

16. Edith Wharton – Upper-class naturalism, examined social expectations and restrictions, wrote The Age of Innocence. 

17. Ambrose Bierce – Dark realism and naturalism, focused on war, death, and psychological horror, wrote Chickamauga. 

Modernism / Lost Generation (Post-World War I, Early 20th Century) 

18. Ernest Hemingway – Minimalist style, Iceberg Theory, war influence, human endurance, wrote The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms. 

19. F. Scott Fitzgerald – Lost Generation writer, explored wealth, excess, and the decline of the American Dream, wrote The Great Gatsby. 

20. T.S. Eliot – Modernist poet, used fragmented structure, symbolism, and despair, wrote The Waste Land. 

21. Erich Maria Remarque – Anti-war novelist, depicted WWI’s horrors and emotional trauma, wrote All Quiet on the Western Front. 

22. Gertrude Stein – Mentor of the Lost Generation, hosted expatriate writers in Paris, coined the term "Lost Generation". 

WORKS 

Romanticism (Pre-Civil War, 19th Century) 

1. Walt Whitman – Leaves of Grass (poetry collection) 

1. Song of Myself 

2. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry 

3. Drum-Taps 

2. Henry David Thoreau – Walden (philosophical work on nature and self-sufficiency) 

3. Emily Dickinson – Various poems (published posthumously) 

1. Because I Could Not Stop for Death 

2. I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died 

3. Wild Nights – Wild Nights 

Realism (Post-Civil War, late 19th Century) 

4. Mark Twain – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 

5. Henry James – The Portrait of a Lady 

6. William Dean Howells – The Rise of Silas Lapham 

7. Upton Sinclair – The Jungle (exposed conditions in the meatpacking industry) 

8. Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives (muckraking journalism on urban poverty) 

9. Kate Chopin – The Awakening (explored women’s roles and marriage) 

Naturalism (Late 19th – Early 20th Century) 

10. Stephen Crane – The Red Badge of Courage (psychological realism in war) 

11. Frank Norris – The Octopus (farmers vs. railroad corporations) 

12. Theodore Dreiser – Sister Carrie (urban struggles and ambition) 

13. Edith Wharton – The Age of Innocence (upper-class social expectations) 

14. Ambrose Bierce – Chickamauga (naturalistic war story about a deaf-mute child) 

Modernism / Lost Generation (Post-World War I, Early 20th Century) 

15. Ernest Hemingway – 

• The Sun Also Rises (Lost Generation’s disillusionment) 

• A Farewell to Arms (love and war) 

16. F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby (the decline of the American Dream) 

17. Erich Maria Remarque – All Quiet on the Western Front (WWI’s emotional trauma)