Condition of Children

Regionalism gives a work of literature a tone and voice that can vividly paint a story's setting and its characters. It makes a work memorable and gives life to what might normally be an uninteresting story. The use of dialect, colloquialism, exaggeration, and embellishment allows a writer to give a story about serious social struggles and political strife a light-hearted tilt. While Realist writings may relate the negative and oppressive social issues of a region, city, or people, often those messages are hidden and popularized behind a mask of humor. Mark Twain was the master of using humor to unveil the plight of children who often labored in dangerous conditions to help support their families during industrialization and the influx of many immigrants.