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AmericanRealism(1860-1914)I.TheDefinitionofRealism&HistoricalBackgroundII.AmericanRealismIII.MarkTwainIV.TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn(1884)RomanticismImaginationfictionalRealismRealitytruev.s3Realism•Inliterature,faithfulrepresentationoflife.Realismcarriestheconvictionoftruereportsofphenomenaobservablebyothers.ItmaybecontrastedwithROMANTICISM,IMPRESSIONISM,andEXPRESSIONISM,whicharelesstruetoexternalphenomena,althougheachcarriesitsownkindoftruth.•Realismisaslippery(difficulttounderstand)term,sometimesusedtoolooselytobeofvalueexceptasanindicatorofareader'sreaction.4•Thetermrealismrefers,sometimes,confusingly,bothtoaliterarymethodbasedondetailedaccuracyofdescriptionandtoamoregeneralattitudethatrejectsidealization,escapism,andotherextravagantqualitiesofromanceinfavorofrecognizingsoberlytheactualproblemsoflife.5•Itisanti-romantic,andanti-sentimental.Toputitanotherway,realismisappliedbyliterarycriticsintwodiverseways:(1)todesignatearecurrentmodeof,invariouserasandliteraryforms,ofrepresentinghumanlifeandexperienceinliterature,and(2)toidentifyamovementinthewritingofnovelsduringthenineteenthcentury.6•Asamodeofwriting,itgivestheimpressionofrecordingorreflectingfaithfullyanactualwayoflife,ofrepresentinglifeasitreallyis.•Realisticfictioniswrittentogivetheeffectthatitrepresentslifeandthesocialworldasitseemstothecommonreader,evokingthesensethatitscharactersmightinfactexist,andsuchthingsmightwellhappen.•Itischaracterizedbyverisimilitude(逼真)ofdetailsderivedfromobservation.7•Theyofferanobjectiveratherthananidealisticviewofhumannatureandhumanexperience,anobjectiveaccountofreallife.Theyaredetachedobserversoflife.Thenarratorsintheirworkstandbacktoreportwhattheyhaveobserved.Therealisticwritersareusuallyethicalwritersandtheirlanguageislargelyironic.8•Moderncriticismfrequentlyinsiststhatrealismisnotadirectorsimplereproductionofreality(a“sliceoflife”)butasystemofconventionsproducingalifelikeillusionofsome“real”worldoutsidethetext,byprocessesofselection,exclusion,description,andmannersofaddressingthereader.9•Initsmethodsandattitudes,realismmaybefoundasanelementinmanykindsofwritingpriortothe19thcentury;butasadominantliterarytrenditisassociatedchieflywiththe19thcenturynovelofmiddle-or-lower-classlife,inwhichtheproblemsofordinarypeopleinunremarkablecircumstancesarerenderedwithcloseattentiontothedetailsofphysicalsettingandtothecomplexitiesofsociallife.I.TheRiseofRealism:HistoricalBackground“TheindustrialNorthhadtriumphedovertheagrarianSouth,andfromthatvictorycameasocietybasedonmasslaborandmassconsumption.”“anageofextremes”---“ofdeclineandprogress,ofpovertyanddazzlingwealth,ofgloomandbuoyanthope”C.ImmigrantBoomingThenewintercontinentalrailsystem,inauguratedin1869,andthetranscontinentaltelegraph,whichbeganoperatingin1861,gaveindustryaccesstomaterials,markets,andcommunications.Theconstantinfluxofimmigrantsprovidedaseeminglyendlesssupplyofinexpensivelaboraswell.D.SocialProblemsProblemsofurbanizationandindustrializationappeared:poorandovercrowdedhousing,unsanitaryconditions,lowpay(calledwageslavery),difficultworkingconditions,andinadequaterestraintsonbusiness.AmericanRealism1.AmericanRealismTheAmericanCivilWarbroughttheRomanticPeriodinAmericanliteraturetoitsend,andrealism,asaliterarymovement,cameinthelatterhalfofthenineteenthcenturyandbecameamajortrendinthe1870sand1880s.16ThethreemajorrealisticwritersMarkTwainWilliamDeanHowellsHenryJamesII.AmericanRealism(1860-1914)Broadlydefinedasthefaithfulrepresentationofrealityorverisimilitude,realismisaliterarytechniquepracticedbymanyschoolsofwriting.Althoughstrictlyspeaking,realismisatechnique,italsodenotesaparticularkindofsubjectmatter,especiallytherepresentationofmiddle-classlife.A.RealismB.AmericanRealismInAmericanliterature,thetermrealismencompassestheperiodoftimefromtheCivilWartotheturnofthecenturyduringwhichWilliamDeanHowells,RebeccaHardingDavis,HenryJames,MarkTwain,andotherswrotefictiondevotedtoaccuraterepresentationandanexplorationofAmericanlivesinvariouscontexts.C.TheCharacteristicsofAmericanRealisma.Americanrealistsrendersrealitycloselyandincomprehensivedetail.b.Americanrealistsselectivelypresenttherealitywithanemphasisonverisimilitude,evenattheexpenseofawell-madeplot.c.Characterismoreimportantthanactionandplot;his/hercomplexethicalchoicesareoftenthesubject.Charactersappearintheirrealcomplexityoftemperamentandmotive.Theyareinexplicablerelationtonature,toeachother,totheirsocialclass,andtotheirownpast.d.Classisimportant.Thenovelhastraditionallyservedtheinterestsandaspirationsofmiddleclass.(charactersfromallsociallevelsareexaminedindepth).e.Eventsareusuallyplausible.Realisticnovelsavoidthesensational,dramaticelementsofnaturalisticnovelsandromances.f.Dictionisnaturalvernacular,notheightenedorpoetic;tonebeingcomic,satiric,ormatter-of-fact.g.Objectivityinpresentationbecomesincreasinglyimportant:overtauthorialcommentsorintrusionsdiminishasthecenturyprogresses.D.RegionalandLocalColorWritings:theEarlyStageofLiteraryRealismA.Theyareinstancesofrealisminsofarastheydepictcontemporarylife,usethespeechof