English III - Regionalism/Realism/Naturalism - Messina

Big Idea 2: Realism - How did the Realist want to present life? What art form contributed to this?

As it actually was-often cruel and never embellished; the rise of photography

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - What did Masters do for a living?

Attorney

Big Idea 2: Realism - Why is Chopin sometimes considered to be a Regionalist?

Because in some of her stories she depicted the customs of Creoles and Cajuns in Louisiana, using their language and describing their lifestyles

The Rise of Local Color Fiction- What influenced the emergence of women's local color fiction?

By the woman suffrage movement, which had become active again after being halted by the Civil War

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - Describe the usual types of characters in local color stories.

Characters performing everyday tasks and had a regional dialect: Doctors, sailors, mothers, and wives

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - What do his later short stories express?

Crane's belief in the necessity of courage, honesty, and poise in the face of an indifferent universe

Spoon River Poems - In Lucinda Matlock, what kind of life had Lucinda lived?

Full and satisfied life

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - How did Masters devise the characters for this collection?

He based them on the people he knew

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - About what were Bret Harte's stories?

He told stories of the rude, lawless life of the California gold-mining country while describing places few people had ever seen.

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - What types of writing did he publish over his lifetime?

Plays, novels, and biographies

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - How does the narrator come to meet Simon Wheeler and to hear his story? What can you infer about the narrator's attitude toward Wheeler?

He was told by his friend to ask Simon Wheeler about Reverend Leonidas Smiley and then he tells the story of Jim Smiley He is annoyed and bored toward Wheeler

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - What does the use of realistic dialogue do for the reader?

Helps shape the reader's impression of both the character and what the town might be like

Big Idea 2: Realism - Who were some of the most important writers of the time?

Henry James, O. Henry, and William Dean Howells

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - About what were Willa Cather's stories? What were two of her most famous novels?

Her writing reflects her memories of prairie life, and many of her early works focus on the harshness and isolation of pioneers' lives. Two most famous novels: O Pioneers and My Antonia

Big Idea 2: Realism - For what is Paul Laurence Dunbar best known?

His use of rural African American dialect

Big Idea 2: Realism- Who is commonly considered to be the father of Realism?

Honore de Balzac

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - Where are E. A. Robinson's most famous poems set?

In fictional Tilbury Town which was modeled on his childhood hometown of Gardiner, Maine

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - What did local color fiction often reflect?

In many cases, local color fiction reflected old-fashioned values, as if authors were writing to remember the country before it had been ravaged by war.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Where does the story take place?

In the early 1860s in a small mining town called Angel's Camp

Big Idea 2: Realism - Describe the characters of Edith Wharton's fiction.

Inhabited the upper crust of New York society

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - What did people do to relieve the difficult life they led at Angel's Camp?

Invented tall tales, a story with humorous exaggeration

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - What is the effect of personifying the frog?

Invites readers to make fun of both braggarts and politicians

Big Idea 2: Realism - To what can the rise of realism be traced in America? Why?

It can be traced to disillusionment following the Civil War. For many, the war had destroyed the Romantic view of humanity.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - In the story, the narrator makes it clear that he does not particularly want to hear the story of Jim Smiley. Why?

It's a comic device

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - How does Twain capture the flavor of the Old West in this story? Give examples.

Language (dialect) and setting (Angel's Camp)

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - How are the Naturalist writers similar to the Realists? How are they different?

Like the Realist writers, Naturalists wrote ordinary people, but they often focused on the working class and the poor, presenting the futile battles of individuals against a brutal society or an indifferent universe

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - What was the mood of local color writing? Why?

Nostalgic, serving as a reminder of a time before mass production and noisy urban life; at other times it was somber

Big Idea 2: Realism - Who was Paul Laurence Dunbar?

One of the earliest African American poets to gain widespread recognition

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - What awards did he receive for his work?

Poetry Society of America Award, the Mark Twain silver medal, and the Shelley Memorial Award

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - What has influenced the uniformity of our current culture?

Public education and mass media

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - How did this shift influence or reflect the literary movement at the time - Regionalism and local color?

Regionalism and local color are all about portraying things as they are with a focus on creating a very realistic setting, beliefs, and language. These things are all more concentrated at the small regional level. It is much more difficult to see this at a national level.

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - After the Civil War, what group of American writers emphasized local cultures?

Regionalists or local colorists

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - What was the most distinct feature of local color stories? Where did most often take place?

Setting, most often took place in rural towns

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - What did local colorists emphasize in their writing?

Setting; character's speech, dress, beliefs

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - What is Wheeler's purpose in telling us about the mare and the bull pup?

Shows Smiley's gambling habits; sets up the main story, leading in to it so that the irony of the ending is especially; shows that he gets tricked in the end because he loses a bet

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Who is the main character in this story? How do you know this?

Simon Wheeler; We know this because we understand his character better than Jim Smiley through the way he tells the story and the way he behaves around the narrator. In the end he's the one that gets the last word in. He is the protagonist.

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - After the political reunification of the North and South, the focus on national issues waned. With what did the nation begin to concern themselves?

Smaller, regional concerns

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - What conclusions can you draw about Smiley's character, based on the tale Wheeler tells?

Smiley's habits are on the exaggerated end, very obsessed behavior. This exaggeration is what creates the humor. He's obsessive and insensitive (bets on the woman's recovery)

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - What kind of a presence do women have in the local color movement? Why do you think this might be true?

Strong presence; at this time women's rights were very important to the movements

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - What is natural selection?

Survival of the fittest

Big Idea 2: Realism - What did Kate Chopin believe?

That the role of an artist was to rebel

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - What was Mark Twain's masterpiece?

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Big Idea 2: Realism - What are Edith Wharton two most famous novels?

The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - What are two of his most popular novels?

The Call of the Wild and the Sea-Wolf

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - What are some examples of local color fiction that you know from books, movies, or television?

The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County, Forest Gump

Big Idea 2: Realism - In part, to what was the emergence of American Realism a reaction? Why?

The Romanticism of the previous era; Romanticism's glorification of the imagination became unappealing to Realists, who wanted to explore the motivations, behaviors, and actions of real people.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - What is Twain's most famous western tale?

The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County

Big Idea 2: Realism - What do her stories and novel depict?

The desires, prejudices, and foibles of her privileged and affluent characters

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - In this selection, one story serves as a frame for another story. Which story is the frame? Why did Twain chose this structure?

The frame is the narrator meeting Simon Wheeler. It creates comedy and showcases Wheeler as the protagonist especially through the contrast of their language.

Spoon River Poems - What does Lucinda mean by "degenerate sons and daughters"?

The generations that have followed her who have declined in character and strength

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Our first description of Simon Wheeler occurs in the following line: "Simon Wheeler backed me into a corner and blockaded me there with his chair." What does this tell us about both the narrator and Simon Wheeler?

The narrator is annoyed with him and impatient. He is quiet and not inclined to frivolous conversation. Simon Wheeler is an aggressive story teller. He loves to tell tales and loves to have an audience. He is a great story teller. They are opposites.

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - What do many of his stories demonstrate?

The power of nature over civilization

Big Idea 2: Realism - What did the Realist novelists examine?

The psychology of human behavior and created characters who struggle with problems that 19th century readers would have recognized in their own lives or in the lives of their contemporaries

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters- What about these poems was at odds with the romantic and sentimental poetry popular at the time they were written?

The realism and irony expressed through the characters

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - What is the difference between the speaker and the poet? How does this relate to these poems?

The speaker is the voice of the poem and the poet is the author. They are not always the same.

Big Idea 2: Realism - About what was she the first American woman to write frankly?

The suppressed passion and discontentment of women who were confined to the traditional roles of wives and mothers

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - What did the narrator reveal in a local color story?

The tension between the new and old, the modern and the old-fashioned

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - What did authors depict in meticulous detail?

The time, place, and historical background in which events in their fiction occurred.

Literary History: The Two Faces of Urban America - Describe the difference in living conditions between these two classes.

The wealthiest families established fashionable districts in the hearts of cities, where they built fabulous mansions away from poverty. By the contrast, the majority of factory workers squeezed into dark, overcrowded tenements where crime, violence, fire, and disease were constant threats.

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - How did Charles Darwin's views influence the Naturalists?

They believed that human destiny was shaped by powerful forces, including heredity, social and economic pressures, and the natural environment

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - How did they differ from the Romantics writers?

They depicted the ordinary people and everyday places around them instead of using Realism

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Why do you think the animals are named after politicians of the day?

To make fun of the politicians at the time

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - In writing, to what was Stephen Crane attracted?

To war and other forms of violent struggle

Literary History: The Two Faces of Urban America - What two classes did rapid industrialization create?

Wealthy entrepreneurs and poor immigrants from Europe and Asia

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - What is the difference between Wheeler's language and the narrator's? What does this difference suggest about them?

Wheeler speaks a colorful regional dialect and the narrator speaks standard English and has an impressive vocabulary. This suggests that the narrator is more educated.

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - Ruinous

causing ruin; destructive

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Find an example of the following: exaggeration

dog dying

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Find an example of the following: comical situation

frog being filled w the quail shots

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - Repose

relaxation; tranquility; eternal rest

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Who are Daniel Webster and Andrew Jackson in real life?

Andrew Jackson: war hero and politician - senator, gov, and presient Daniel Webster: politician, sec. of state, senator

Spoon River Poems - What is Lucinda's attitude toward the "degenerate sons and daughters"?

Angry with them

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Find an example of the following: Absurd situation

15 min nag, dog

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - Describe E. A. Robinson's tone. How do many of his characters' lives end?

A blend of irony and compassion toward his characters, many of whose lives end in personal failure and despair

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - What is Spoon River Anthology?

A collection of free-verse first-person monologues spoken by the people of a small Midwestern town, who are now "sleeping on the hill" (they're dead)

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - What is dialect?

A variation of a language spoken by a particular group, often within a specific region and time

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - In addition to dialect, what other devices does Twain use to create humor?

Absurd situations, comic characters, and exaggerations, irony

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - On what do E. A. Robinson poems focus?

Almost exclusively on an individual or on individual relationships

Big Idea 1: Regionalism - What kind of narrator often populated a local colorists' stories?

An outsider who observed a world filled with unfamiliar or outdated characteristics and customs

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - Describe the characters in E. A. Robinson's poetry.

Are often loners or misfits who live in communities where people feel pressure to conform and where creativity is misunderstood or simply ignored

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - By what were the Naturalists influenced toward the end of the 1800s?

Charles Darwin's scientific theory of evolution by natural selection, adopted the view that people had little control over their own lives

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - What was the subject of Stephen Crane's novel, The Red Badge of Courage?

Civil War

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - What does much local fiction, especially from women authors, deal with?

Deals with the contrast between traditional values and changing perspectives

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - having declined in condition or character; deteriorated

Degenerate

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - What did he write that took twentieth-century readers by surprise?

Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology

Literary History: The Two Faces of Urban America - Who were the two major Realist writers from the upper class who reflected and criticized its values, and who formed a famous literary friendship?

Edith Wharton and Henry James

Big Idea 2: Realism - For what was Kate Chopin criticized?

For her realistic portrayal of women

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - Define dramatic monologue.

Form of dramatic poetry where the speaker addresses a silent listener

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - How would you compare and contrast local color fiction with its predecessor, Romantic literature?

Local color: Realistic setting and dialogue concerned with everyday events Romantic: ornate language, idealized events, idealistic setting

Big Idea 3: Naturalism - What did Jack London's early experiences convince him?

Made him sympathetic toward the working class and convinced him that capitalist society was brutal and repressive

Meet the Writer: Edgar Lee Masters - What makes Spoon River so complex?

Many of the characters are related so it becomes a complex history of numerous families

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - Who is the best known local colorist?

Mark Twain

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - List the characters in the story and give a brief description of each. (narrator, Simon Wheeler, the horse, Dan'l Webster, the stranger, Rev. Leonidas Smiley, Jim Smiley, Andrew Jackson)

Narrator - gives the framework for story; friend asks him to call on Wheeler Simon Wheeler - tells the story of Jim Smiley with great exaggeration The horse (15 minute nag) - used her to gamble; always sick; wins at the end Dan'l Webster - frog; lost because of quail shot The stranger - the man who bets Smiley in frog race Rev. Leonidas Smiley - fictitious poem; narrator looking for him Jim Smiley - gambler; story is about him Andrew Jackson - the dog; died when he lost to legless opponent

The Rise of Local Color Fiction - How did writers culturally reunite the country after the devastation and fragmentation of America following the Civil War?

Writers culturally reunited the country by crafting stories about real people, small towns, and regional lifestyles.

Big Idea 2: Realism - About what did Chopin write?

Wrote of women "awakening" to their confined state and challenging the social values and patriarchal rules that defined and limited them