Unit 3: Civil War Disillusionment and Realism

Disillusionment in Writing, Civil War to WWI

“There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us the merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.”

– Friedrich von Schiller In your Journal, write your reaction to this quote – what does it mean, and what is your response to it?

• “The mould of a man’s fortune is in his own hands.” – Sir Francis Bacon

Respond in the same way to this quote; which do you identify with most? Is there a black and white answer, or are there grey areas?

A. Reflections of Post-Civil War problems

1. diversification of American experience, ethnic and regional2. insistent literary movement to combat social inequities3. diversity of characters, no unified “American” ideal4. formulation of Realism movement

a. aim for truthful representation in literature of realityb. analogies to science, consider the procedure of writing identical to science experiment c. stress on reporting observations, hereditary and natural environmentd. sympathy for heroes drawn from the middle and lower classese. subject is treated objectively, includes evil, sordidf. aim to present readers with a “slice of life”

What do they Value? Where do they discover truth?

Romanticism• Value subjectivity• Truth is in feeling, intuition(what feels right, instincts)• truth accompanied by

powerful emotion, associated with natural beauty

Realism• Value objectivity• Truth is in reason (What we think is right, after

careful deliberation and weighing of consequences)

• aim for truthful representation in literature of reality, includes not only good, but the sordid evil of nature

Where/When are the typical settings?

Romanticism• Exotic, foreign settings• Often in supernatural

realms• Use of legends, folklore• Aimed to rise above “dull

realities”• Extraordinary events

Realism• Specific geographical

settings, everyday world• Use of vernacular language

to show regional associations

• Stress the importance of natural environment

• Aimed to show “slice of life”• Ordinary events

What is their point of view?

Romanticism• Free Will, choice• Goal to aim for human

perfectibility

Realism• Deterministic,

nature/instinct decides• behavior determined by

forces beyond power, control

What kinds of characters do they use?

Romanticism• Unusual protagonists• Often idealistic, god-like• Affect positive change on

environment, see the beauty in nature

Realism• Every day characters• Often lower class• Helpless object caught in

the threshes of nature

What is the tone of their pieces?

Romanticism• Optimistic: emotional

intensity

Realism• Ranges from Optimistic

(Regionalism, Comic) to Pessimistic: emotional coldness

What is their view of nature and the environment?

Romanticism• Positive• Draw moral lessons from

nature• Nature as beautiful, awe-

inspiring• Experience of nature leads

to spiritual understanding

Realism• Indifference• Viewed with scientific

objectivity (as is, emotionless)

• human life a grim losing battle against nature

• often place human illusions in contrast with the indifference of the universe

B. Naturalism

1. represent life scientifically2. concentrate on lower-classes3. behavior determined by forces beyond power,

control (biology, environment) – called social determinism (influenced by Darwin’s Origin of the Species)

4. characters have few choices, animalistic/instinctual

5. human life a grim losing battle against nature

Regionalism

1. emphasis on specific geographical setting2. reflects speech, manners of people in region3. record peculiarities of customs, speech,

temperament4. called “local color”5. meant to document regional distinctions before

industrialism erased it6. usually sentimental; relied on nostalgia to

generate interest

Bret Harte

• published his first work at age 11

• formal schooling ended when he was 13 in 1849

• moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist

• married Anna Griswold on August 11, 1862

Bret Harte

• irst literary efforts, including poetry and prose, appeared in The Californian (literary journal)

• became editor of The Overland Monthly, 1868

• story, ”The Luck of Roaring Camp", appeared in the magazine's second issue, propelling Harte to nationwide fame.

Bret Harte• he and his family traveled back

East, to New York and eventually to Boston, where he contracted with the publisher of The Atlantic Monthly for an annual salary of $10,000 (which was a lot of money at the time)

• His popularity waned, and by the end of 1872 he was without a publishing contract

• spent the next few years struggling to publish, delivering lectures about the gold rush, and selling an advertising jingle to a soap company

Bret Harte

• appointed to the position of United States Consul in Germany and Glasgow

• Continued to write, eventually settled in London

• He died in 1902 of throat cancer

Psychological Realism

1. explore the human minda. concentrate on distinction of motivesb. interest in complex social and psychological situations

2. place characters under stress, pressure3. often place human illusions with indifference

of the universe4. interest in complex moral situations

Psychological Realism: Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?)

1. Backgrounda. born tenth of 13 children to unsuccessful farmerb. lived in log cabin in Ohio, educated through exploring father’s libraryc. joined services and entered battle of Shiloh

i. part of Sherman’s March to the Seaii. severely wounded, cited for bravery many times

d. left army to work at US Mint in San Franciscoe. became editor of the “News Letter”f. became successful as a witty scholar, but not for his fictiong. bored with old age, left to Mexico in 1913 to join its revolution (was never heard from again)

2. Writingsa. attitude of scorn for sentimental illusions humans cling tob. dark vision of life centers on warfare and cruel joke it plays on humanityc. disillusionment with deceit, greed of his timed. most known work “Devil’s Dictionary” 1906 filled with irony

Ambrose Bierce, death unknown.