Title: Realism and Mark Twain
1Realism and Mark Twain
- The Civil War and Post-War Period
2- A reaction against romanticism, an interest in
scientific method, the systematizing of the study
of documentary history, and the influence of
rational philosophy all affected the rise of
realism.
3- According to William Harmon and Hugh Holman,
"Where romanticists transcend the immediate to
find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual
or superficial to find the scientific laws that
control its actions, realists center their
attention to a remarkable degree on the
immediate, the here and now, the specific action,
and the verifiable consequence" (A Handbook to
Literature 428).
4- In American literature, the term "realism"
encompasses the period of time from the Civil War
to the turn of the century during which William
Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis, Henry James,
Mark Twain, and others wrote fiction devoted to
accurate representation and an exploration of
American lives in various contexts.
5- As the United States grew rapidly after the Civil
War, the increasing rates of democracy and
literacy, the rapid growth in industrialism and
urbanization, an expanding population base due to
immigration, and a relative rise in middle-class
affluence provided a fertile literary environment
for readers interested in understanding these
rapid shifts in culture. In drawing attention to
this connection, Amy Kaplan has called realism a
"strategy for imagining and managing the threats
of social change" (Social Construction of
American Realism ix).
6Plot and Character
- Character is more important than action and plot
complex ethical choices are often the subject. - Characters appear in the real complexity of
temperament and motive they are in explicable
relation to nature, to each other, to their
social class, to their own past. - Humans control their destinies characters act on
their environment rather than simply reacting to
it.
7- Renders reality closely and in comprehensive
detail. Selective presentation of reality with
an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the
expense of a well-made plot. - Events will usually be plausible. Realistic
novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements
of naturalistic novels and romances. - Class is important the novel has traditionally
served the interests and aspirations of an
insurgent middle class.
8Interpretation and analysis
- Realism is viewed as a realization of democracy.
- The morality of Realism is intrinsic, integral,
relativistic relations between people and
society are explored. - Realists were pragmatic, relativistic, democratic
and experimental. The purpose of writing is to
instruct and to entertain.
9Structure of Prose
Diction is the natural vernacular, not
heightened or poetic tone may be comic,
satiric, or matter-of-fact. The use of
symbolism is controlled and limited the
realists depend more on the use of images.
Objectivity in presentation becomes
increasingly important overt authorial comments
or intrusions diminish as the century progresses.
10Mark Twain
- Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida,
Missouri in 1835 - At the age of four, he moved to Hannibal on the
Mississippi River - He eventually became a riverboat pilot he
derived the name Mark Twain from the riverboat
leadsmans signal By the mark, Twain- meaning
the water was deep enough for safe passage
11- Huck Finn was published in 1884
- It received great public and critical acclaim.
12Facts about the novel
- time and place written 18761883 Hartford,
Connecticut, and Elmira, New York - date of first publication 1884
- narrator Huckleberry Finn
- point of view Hucks point of view, although
Twain occasionally indulges in digressions in
which he shows off his own ironic wit - tone Frequently ironic or mocking,
particularly concerning adventure -novels and
romances also contemplative, as Huck seeks to
decipher the world around him sometimes boyish
and exuberant - tense Immediate past
- setting (time) Before the Civil War roughly
18351845 Twain said the novel was set forty to
fifty years before the time of its publication - setting (place) The Mississippi River town of
St. Petersburg, Missouri various locations along
the river through Arkansas
13The Adventure of Huck Finn- Themes
- Themes
- Racism and slavery
- Intellectual and moral education
- The hypocrisy of civilized society
- Societys values and laws can be in conflict with
higher moral values. - People must live outside of society to be truly
free. - Freedom means different things to different
people.
14The novel also depicts Hucks maturation and
development. He distrusts the morals and
precepts of a society that fails to protect
him. He begins to question many of his
teachings- especially those regarding race and
slavery Ill go to hell
15- Even though written after slavery was abolished,
things had not gotten much better for blacks in
the South. - We may read this story as an allegorical
representation of the conditions of blacks in the
US even after the abolition of slavery. - Twain exposes the hypocrisy of slavery.
16Motifs
- Childhood
- Lies and Cons
- Superstitions and Folk Beliefs
- Parodies of Popular Romance Novels
17Symbols
- The Mississippi River- The ultimate symbol of
freedom - Land
- Shipwrecks
- Floods
18- On a raft, away from society, he becomes free
from societys rules and makes his own
conclusions. - The river symbolizes freedom the shore
symbolizes civilization and the people who live
in it.
19Satire
- https//www.examplesofsatire.com/
- https//skeptically.org/cartoonsatire/
- https//politicalhumor.about.com/