Introduction:
The period of Realism and Naturalism was between 1870 and 1910. The main focus of the period of Realism is the actual as opposed to the imaginative. This literary period came on the heels of the Civil War. The American people wanted to deal with the real, actual hardships they were enduring in life, as opposed to the imaginative literature from the previous period.
Naturalism is a branch of Realism. Like Realism, Naturalism focuses on the actual. The difference in Naturalism is people believed something larger than the individual shaped the individual's destiny. They believed fate, nature, or heredity were the determining factors in an individual's fate. Due to the shift from fantastical, imaginative literature to real, actual occurrences their was a distinct shift in the dialect used. In the previous Romantic Period the diction and syntax was very poetic and exaggerated, In the period of Realism and Naturalism the diction shifted to being plain and simple.
The brutality and harshness of the Americans experiences during the Romantic Period deeply affected the mentality of the American people during the period of Realism and Naturalism. The American people no longer wanted to focus on the imaginative, but the real, harsh occurrences of their everyday lives. The authors of this time no longer tried to set their stories in far off places, but rather right where they were so that the audience could see what they were experiencing. The Americans hadn't ever had to deal with war between their own country before. They had to adjust and figure out a way to cope with the situation and the writing of this period reflects that.
The period of Realism and Naturalism was between 1870 and 1910. The main focus of the period of Realism is the actual as opposed to the imaginative. This literary period came on the heels of the Civil War. The American people wanted to deal with the real, actual hardships they were enduring in life, as opposed to the imaginative literature from the previous period.
Naturalism is a branch of Realism. Like Realism, Naturalism focuses on the actual. The difference in Naturalism is people believed something larger than the individual shaped the individual's destiny. They believed fate, nature, or heredity were the determining factors in an individual's fate. Due to the shift from fantastical, imaginative literature to real, actual occurrences their was a distinct shift in the dialect used. In the previous Romantic Period the diction and syntax was very poetic and exaggerated, In the period of Realism and Naturalism the diction shifted to being plain and simple.
The brutality and harshness of the Americans experiences during the Romantic Period deeply affected the mentality of the American people during the period of Realism and Naturalism. The American people no longer wanted to focus on the imaginative, but the real, harsh occurrences of their everyday lives. The authors of this time no longer tried to set their stories in far off places, but rather right where they were so that the audience could see what they were experiencing. The Americans hadn't ever had to deal with war between their own country before. They had to adjust and figure out a way to cope with the situation and the writing of this period reflects that.
Mark Twain:
Mark Twain was born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri under the name Samuel Langhorne Clemons. He was the sixth of seven children, but only three of his siblings survived childhood. When he was four his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal inspired the fictional town of St. Petersburg in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At the time Missouri was a slave state, so Twain was exposed to slavery at a very young age. His early exposure is evident in some of Twain's works. His father was an attorney and judge. In 1847 when Twain was eleven years old his father died of pneumonia. The following year he became a printer's apprentice. In 1851 he began working as a typesetter and contributing to humorous sketches in the Hannibal Journal. The Hannibal Journal was the newspaper of Twain's older brother Orion. When he turned eighteen Twain moved away and worked as a printer in New York City, Cincinatti, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. In the evenings he educated himself in public libraries. Twain became a steamboat pilot on the Mississppi. After studying the Mississippi for two years he got his piloting license in 1859. He got his pen name of "Mark Twain" from this occupation. "Mark Twain" was the leadman's cry for a specific measured river depth. Twain convinced his younger brother Henry to come work with him. In 1858 Hentry was killed when the steamboat he was working on exploded. Twain said he had foreseen Henry's death in a dream a month earlier. He felt terrible grief over his brother's death, but continued to work as a steamboat pilot until the Civil War broke out in 1861. When the war first broke out Twain briefly enlisted as a soldier for the confederacy.
Twain joined his brother Orion and began traveling to Salt Lake City to visit the Mormon community. His brother was the secratary to the Nevada Territory governer. He stopped in Virginia City, Neveda and became a miner. His attempts at being a miner failed, so he went back to writing and began working for the Virginia City newspaper Territorial Enterprise. Working at the newspaper is where he first used his pen name in 1863 when he signed a humerous travel account as "Mark Twain". In 1864 he moved to San Francisco as a journalist. His first major success in writing came when "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published in The Saturday Press in 1865. He received national attention from this publication. In 1867 a local newspaper funded his trip to the Mediterranean. During his travels he wrote a collection of letters which were later published in 1869 as The Innocents Abroad.
Among literature Twain was fascinated with science. He developed a very close friendship with Nikola Tesela. He pattented three inventions. In 1909 Thomas Edison showed up to Twain's house and filmed him. Some of the footage is in The Prince and the Pauper. The footage Edison took is said to be the only existing footage of Twain. Later in life Twain went through a period of financial trouble and then the loss of many loved ones. Due to his losses he went through a period of depression and began his autobiography. In 1906 he formed a club called "The Angel Fish and Aquarium Club" with girls he viewed as surrogate grandauaghters. He said the girls were his life's chief delight. Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910 in Connecticut.
Key Historical Events and Timeline of the Time Period:
- John D Rockefeller founds the Standard Oil Company-1870
- Enforcement Act-1870
- The Great Chicago Fire-1871
- Barb wire becomes available-1874
- Second Sioux War-1875
- Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone-1876
- Rutherford B Hayes elected president-1876
- Thomas Edison establishes Edison Electric Light Company-1878
- Edison invents the first functioning lightbulb-1879
- Department of Labor and Commerce created by Congress-1903
Themes of the Realism and Naturalism Period:
The main themes of this time period are the focus on the ordinary and man against power greater than self. In the Realism period the authors were focused on the actual of what was going on in the everyday life of the American people. The authors wrote about where they actually lived and normal everyday situations. The period of Realism and Naturalism came right off of the Civil War. Therefore, Americans were dealing with the feelings of being up against something greater than themselves. The theme of man against power greater than self is very evident in many of the works produced from this literary period. The man against power greater than self also relates to their belief of something greater than the individual shaping the individual's destiny.
The main themes of this time period are the focus on the ordinary and man against power greater than self. In the Realism period the authors were focused on the actual of what was going on in the everyday life of the American people. The authors wrote about where they actually lived and normal everyday situations. The period of Realism and Naturalism came right off of the Civil War. Therefore, Americans were dealing with the feelings of being up against something greater than themselves. The theme of man against power greater than self is very evident in many of the works produced from this literary period. The man against power greater than self also relates to their belief of something greater than the individual shaping the individual's destiny.