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Review: Branches of Realism

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Those who cannot adapt die ... Tough childhood- worked from age 8 on ... Died at 40 from an overdose of pills as a fat alcoholic. Stephen Crane. Man vs. Man (War) ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Review: Branches of Realism


1
Review Branches of Realism
  • Smiling Realism
  • People goofy, foolish, selfish and even mean, but
    eventually their good qualities win out.
  • Regionalism- realistically portraying
  • Speech patterns, customs, day-to-day life
  • Psychological Fiction
  • concentrated on detailed studies of characters
    motivations
  • Naturalism

2
Branches of Realism Naturalism
  • Stephen Crane, Jack London, Ambrose Bierce
  • Realist to the extent that it is an attempt to
    portray life as it really is (as opposed to
    Romantics, who were uninterested in the dull
    realities of everyday life).
  • BUT- Went Beyond mainstream Realism in attempt to
    also attempts to determine "scientifically" the
    underlying forces (i.e. the environment or
    heredity) influencing these subjects' actions
  • Tended to view life as a grim, losing battle
    where people have few choices and live according
    to natural laws out of their control.
  • Often placed its characters in life-or-death
    situations to emphasize the Darwinian aspects of
    life.

3
Social Darwinism
  • Darwin- pioneering biologist who developed theory
    of evolution
  • When applied to human society
  • Strong prey on the weak
  • Those who cannot adapt die
  • Also has disturbing implications regarding race
    superiority, eugenics, etc.

4
The Extreme
  • Naturalistic works often include uncouth or
    sordid subject matter.
  • Exposed the dark harshness of life, including
    poverty, racism, prejudice, disease,
    prostitution, filth, etc
  • But also felt these settings exposed the true
    nature of what drives us

5
Example in Huck Finn Sherburns Speech (p.146)
  • Idea of man versus coward
  • People the same all around
  • Average mans a coward
  • Armies are mobs, with borrowed courage
  • Peoples wills always bend to a man

6
Jack LondonMan vs. Nature
  • 1876-1916
  • Tough childhood- worked from age 8 on
  • Adventurous early adulthood- fisherman, seal
    hunter, misc. odd jobs. Ventured to Klondike in
    1897- almost died
  • Most famous works To Build a Fire (1908), Call
    of the Wild (1903)
  • Became as millionaire from his writing, famous
    (but also criticized by T.R. and others as a
    nature faker)
  • Died at 40 from an overdose of pills as a fat
    alcoholic

7
Stephen CraneMan vs. Man (War)
  • 1871-1900 (died at 28)
  • Interest in writing from early age
  • Became a reporter at 16, gained artistic
    education in slums of New York city
  • 1893- Wrote Maggie, Girl of the Streets- not a
    popular success, but pioneering work of
    Naturalism
  • 1895- Red Badge of Courage- became a definitive
    work of the Civil War.
  • Spent last 5 years of his short life trying to
    live up to the adventure of his writing- led to
    great writing, but aggravated his TB, which ended
    up killing him

8
Abrose Bitter BierceMan vs. Self
  • 1842- 1914 (?)
  • Lifelong hatred of sentimentality
  • Fought in Civil War- cited for bravery 15 times
  • Long career as a muckraking reporter in San
    Francisco- hung out with Twain
  • 1870s- became respected columnist and literary
    figure
  • Biggest success at time was Devils Dictionary in
    1906.
  • 1913- Bitter old man- went to Mexico to report on
    (or join) their revolution- never seen again

9
Activity
  • Watch selection of Touching the Void
  • Be thinking
  • Why would you ever, ever do something so
    incredibly dangerous?
  • How does your answer coincide with this concept
    of Naturalism?
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