Module 7: Realism in the Family

Spanning from 1850 to 1914, the Realism literary movement depicted people in ordinary situations. The polar opposite of Romanticism, Realism sought to reveal the realities of the human condition, no matter how grim. Romanticism, a literary movement that focused on fantasy, adventure, nature, and idealism, did not survive western expansion and the Civil War in America. After the war, the still young nation was reeling from its wounds. Writers responded by writing about "real life." Novelists and poets portrayed ordinary people who struggled to survive the reality of every day. Authors showed characters and events honestly, objectively, and sometimes harshly.

Western expansion further intensified this push towards themes dealing with responsibility, loneliness, and isolation. Though many people rebuilt their dreams and found new ones, after the Civil War and during the nation's westward expansion, many lost their dreams. People struggled to survive on isolated farms, find gold in barren landscapes, make a new life as free men, and break out of the trappings of social classes.

Authors from all over the United States made names for themselves as Realists or Naturalists, an off-shoot of Realism. Naturalists, like Realists, sought to depict ordinary people in day-to-day battles, but they believed that the forces of nature, fate, and heredity truly shaped individual destiny. You will look at Realist and Naturalist writers such as Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Kate Chopin, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Each of their styles and geographies brought something unique to Realism. In this module, you will discover how the literature of the time sought to lift the idealistic mantle to expose the underlying truth and how many of these realistic portrayals reflected the burdens and benefits of family in a time period when fantasies had been shattered.

Getting Started

Which type of literature do you prefer to read? Do you gravitate toward literature with elements of Romanticism, stories that follow a logical reasoning, or something that seems more real or plausible? There is no right or wrong answer; this is purely your opinion.

In a journal entry, describe your favorite types of literature and explain why you like them. You may want to mention specific works or authors that you have enjoyed reading the most. If you need assistance on writing a journal entry, please visit the Developmental Module for more information. Once you have completed your journal entry, please save it with a file name of mod7_favoriteliterature and submit it to the journal dropbox.

Key Vocabulary

To view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.

abrasion	fastidious	poignant
acute	forestall	preposterous
appalling	frills	realism
appreciable	gaudy	Regionalism
bullyragged	gyration	repression
colloquialism	importunities	reveling
counterfeit	judicious	sentinel
deference	laborious	starchy
dialect	malign	tanned
elusive	Naturalism	tanyard
embellishment	oscillation	veritable
encompassed	perilous
exaggeration	pivotal