Contemporary Connections – Social Injustice

The reading selection for this topic utilizes the same elements of Realism that you observed in the works of the first American Realist authors. Think about another contemporary story, poem, play, or film that demonstrates the characteristics of Realism. Does that work use the humor or Regionalism characteristic of Mark Twain? Can you note instances of realistic emotions and thoughts as observed in Kate Chopin's characters, or perhaps the story is a personal narrative in the spirit of Harriet Jacob's writing?

Once you have brainstormed a contemporary work that is representative of Realism, it is your turn to compare the contemporary work with a writing piece from the Realism era. You may choose one of the readings from this module or select a work of literature from the Realism era that was not included in the module. An easy way to organize information is to use a graphic organizer. Use the template provided with the checklist to compare the characteristics of Realism that the two works share. Your graphic organizer must have at least four elements of Realism and at least one example from each work that illustrates the aspect of Realism. Please include at least two quotations from the contemporary piece that you selected. Some possible characteristics that you may want to look for include the following:

• Regionalism
  
• Dialect
  
• Colloquialism
  
• Embellishment
  
• Exaggeration
  
• The condition of children
  
• The condition of women
  
• The condition of minorities
  
• A social injustice against any group
  
• The devastation of war
  

Before you begin, review the Contemporary Realism Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit.

Once you have completed your graphic organizer, please submit your work to the dropbox.