American Literature: The Literary Realism Movement

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

an activist and writer who felt that her own life needed to change in order to stop her own destruction. She used writing as a way to communicate what she thought and felt about the world - specifically, the ways in which the gender structure needed to change. Adapted into many film, stage and radio productions, her story , The Yellow Walpaper, is popular because it's one-of-a-kind. Fascinating and chilling in its narration along with being historically representative, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' was and is one of the most unique representations of feminist fiction in our country.

Willa Cather

"My Antonia" is her most famous literary work. The last of her Prairie Trilogy, (The first two being O Pioneers! and Song of the Lark).

Mark Twain

(born Samuel Clemens) was who many consider to be the first authentically American voice in writing. Through his stories, the reader felt a kinship to characters who were, for the first time, typical folk. was the first writer who really focused his work on a specific area of the United States; his characters remained in the playground of his boyhood along the Mississippi River. As a result, Twain emerged as a one-of-a-kind writer with a body of work that garnered him the position of 'leader of the pack' in both the Regionalism and Realism movements in literature. his most famous works are: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County, The Million Pound Bank Note, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin", a novel that galvanized abolitionist Northerners in their cause while creating resentment in the pro-slavery South. Many credit the novel with inching the country closer to war and ultimately, presenting slavery as a moral issue on a national scale.The legacy of the story has earned a permanent place in this country's history.

The Naturalistic Literary Movement

a literary movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Related and tied into realism, naturalism was a reaction against romanticism and Victorian literature. Its major characteristics include an emphasis on social Darwinism and the inescapability of heredity and class. Rather than happy endings, nature's cruel indifference often triumphs in the end. Naturalistic authors wrote in a journalistic, objective style, eschewing overt symbolism. Major naturalist authors include Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser, Jack London (The Call ofthe Wild), Frank Norris (McTeague) and Edith Wharton. Among the most significant works in this style are Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, Dreiser's Sister Carrie and London's 'To Build a Fire.'

Literary Realism

a movement that followed Romanticism. In sharp contrast to Romanticism, the writing of this time was characterized by the choice of the everyday - the use of very typical and authentic settings, believable characters and very relatable plotlines. In order to support the goals of these works, authors, for the first time, created dialogue that truly represented class, gender and geographic location. The topics of class and money often appeared in these works. It's important to remember that this had never been done before, so Realism was a real acknowledgement of the working class. To the reader, it felt honest, and it was ultimately easy to sympathize with characters.

Kate Chopin

a regionalist writer whose stories take place in the South - most often in Louisiana. published short stories and articles in notable periodicals like The Atlantic Monthly, Vogue and the St. Louis Post- Dispatch in 1889. And by 1890, she had finished her first novel, At Fault, set in the Louisiana bayou. Two collections of short stories followed. 'The Story of an Hour' is her most famous short story.The Awakening is Chopin's final work and most widely read novel. Throughout her work, Chopin depicts strong, independent women who question their own conformity to traditional gender roles and behavior. Her direct and perceptive style earned her a reputation as a narrative master, while her subject matter, most specifically in The Awakening, initially caused controversy. It wasn't until the late 20th century that her work was re-examined for its historical value and insight into a woman's struggle.

Frederick Douglass

a self-taught man, an escaped slave and an abolitionist orator and writer. He influenced the masses through his stories that were moving and eloquently written and told. His work became a first in the realism movement in literature - it was all true, and it was about more than just the realities of the working-class. It was about an entire social, economic and political framework that existed within this nation, and it was written by someone who experienced it all. In all of these ways and for all of these reasons, there has been no figure in the U.S. who has compared in literary voice or social or political influence.

Henry James

an expatriate writer of the realism movement who created short and long fiction pieces that, through often funny and melodramatic stories, revealed the tension between new America and old Europe. It was because of his childhood traveling between America and Europe that he was able to do this so successfully. He had gained a unique perspective into how social rules not only differed, but were completely incompatible. In his novel The Portrait of a Lady, we learn about an American woman living in Europe and dealing with life in between these new and old worlds after she inherits a large amount of money. The American is a novel about the adventures of an American businessman on his first European trip where his less-than-refined behavior defines him as different (to say the least). The Ambassadors is a novel about an American man who travels to Europe in search of his fiancée's son and in the process finds himself fascinated by Europe. the most commercially successful of all of his stories was his novella, 'Daisy Miller'.

Edith Wharton

an expert in interior decorating, garden design and much more. She wrote novels, short stories, and essays. She grew up in the upper class society of New York, New England and Europe, though she was aware of its ridiculousness, which she mocked in many of her works. Including her novels, collections of stories and non-fiction works, she published over 40 books. However, she is best known for novels like The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence.