Realism and Regionalism
Postwar period
The Civil War (1861-1865) marks a historical- political dividing line in U.S. history --> historians have described it as a second foundational moment
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ended slavery in the United States in 1865 and freed 4 million African Americans
equal participation in the U.S. was still a far ways off for most African Americans and other (ethnic) minorities
the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s granted African Americans equal rights under the law but racism and the legacies of slavery continue to impact the U.S. to this day
Social and economic developments also triggered far-reaching changes
- new immigrants
- industrial growth
- urbanization
- ethnic tensions
The so-called Gilded Age witnessed a rise in wealth and materialism as well as technological innovations and the rapidly expanding railroad system that encouraged the expansion of national markets
cultural, racial, religious, and economic inequalities were rising and became more obvious --> dire working conditions for many, child labor, poverty, and the exploitation of workers became widespread
The term "gilded age" draws attention to the veneer of incredible prosperity and that which remains hidden underneath
Civil war as a cultural divide
U.S. literary history suggests that the Civil War also marks a cultural divide, namely the shift from romantic to realist modes of writing
possible explanation: social realities were changing fast & Realist literature tends to focus on these changes
realist texts often explore new social spaces (e.g. urban centers, slums, or even western prairies) and new social types (e.g. entrepreneurs, factory workers)
The expanding book and magazine market provides great opportunities for authors who bring this new range of experiences to the fore.
Another way of explaining the rise of realist modes of representation is related to the invention and rise of photography in the course of the 19th century, which was associated by many with objectivity, accuracy, and truthfulness --> This raises the question what "reality" is in the first place
it is important to note that while there is a gradual shift in taste and dominant representational paradigms, late 19th-century U.S. literary culture also displays many continuities with the previous decades. Overall, there is great diversity regarding literary forms of expressions.
Realism
The term realism suggests a fidelity to reality, an imitation (or mimesis) of something found in "real" life. The term verisimilitude is also key in this context: It denotes the appearance or semblance of truth or reality, the quality of seeming true.
What creates this impression of a semblance to reality is, first and foremost, an adherence to natural laws, culturally accepted knowledge, and representational conventions --> "realism" in literature is a literary convention for representing reality that we judge on the basis of other conventions defining reality.
characteristics of literary realism: its rejection of metaphysical explanations of world (e.g. religion) and its emphasis on empirical knowledge, which can best be gained by experience and/or observation
Realism and romance can therefore also be understood as two competing ways of explaining the world
characteristics of realist texts
exemplary learning processes on the level of plot, in which characters who are moved by social conventions and learned habits of thought are educated into a more appropriate appraisal of the world or their specific situation
Readers, too, are enabled to undergo such a learning process based on the close observation of characters, a lot of dialogue, and very detailed accounts of the diegetic world, on the basis of which we are to form our own hypotheses about the situations we are presented with
Realist works tend to draw characters and situations from ordinary life and to use authentic speech and dialogue
Regionalism
Regionalism is best regarded as a special mode or sub-type of realist fiction. It focuses on the customs and manners of a specific place or region in the U.S.
This interest in regional character and social changes became pronounced after the Civil War, perhaps as a reaction to the increased accessibility of far-away regions, but also to the perceived threat that such accessibility might lead to a loss of local manners and specificities.
It is here focused on the regional idiosyncrasies of character and customs. This also includes the idiosyncrasies of language: the use of dialect forms and the vernacular are common in regionalist fiction.
Regionalist fiction is often episodic: the sketch, the short story, and the tall tale are genres that are often used by regionalist writers
Learning processes are also frequent in regionalist fiction. If such a process is depicted, it is often triggered by an outsider figure who is new to the region. The new environment, in turn, challenges and tests this outsider's mainstream norms and values.
At times, local manners and idiosyncrasies are depicted in a humorous or nostalgic manner. If so, scholars tend to speak of local color fiction rather than regionalist fiction.
One reason that regional and local color fiction is especially significant to U.S. literary history is that it provided a venue for authors who were placed far away from the literary and cultural centers of the time --> it therefore helps to bring the ethnic and regional diversity