Realism v. Modernism

Realism and Modernism were two adjacent literary periods, with Realism ending at the start of World War I, which was the beginning of Modernism (Werlock "modernism"). Rather than being a reaction against Realism, just like how Realism was a reaction against Romanticism, and Romanticism against Rationalism, etc., Modernism seems to sort of incorporate some ideas of Realism into its own, new style (Werlock "realism"). It builds on the idea, bringing new philosophies to the table to enhance it. However, the two are very distinctive from each other, which is exactly why they are different literary periods.

For example, in Modernism, writings tend to be rather cynical portrayals of the world that are more accurate than Romantic views would have been. However, they are still not completely accurate, as they do not tend to see the good in society, government, and religion. True Realism would view both good and bad aspects of the world, rather than focusing on the fear felt at the time by writers and society alike.

One way that Modernism and Realism are alike is in that they are both forms of rebellion. Realism was a rebellion against Romanticism, stating that the world could not be summed up into just those desirable things, events, places, people, and ideas (Werlock "realism"). Modernism was a rebellion against tradition and tried to break all of the rules that constricted people, such as "rules" for women's clothing and behavior, rules established by religion, and even rules established by the government that were viewed as oppressive and unnecessarily restrictive, such as Prohibition (Werlock "modernism"). Both ended up being rebellions against something, though we can all safely say that Modernism was a more radical rebellion than Realism.

With Modernism, however, began a tradition of making prose as aestically pleasing as possible (Werlock "modernism"). For many writers, this meant being as plain and simple as possible, getting straight to the point (Werlock "modernism"). This can come in conflict with Realism when important details are left out, making the "picture" the piece of literature is trying to portray blurry and not as definite as something completely Realistic, especially in regards to the Naturalist movement within Realism (Werlock "realism").

Also, another thing more unique to Modernism than to Realism was the returned use of figurative language (Werlock "modernism"). Realism, in its attempt to portray life completely as it actually was, did not involve itself in hidden symbols or meanings to its poetry and prose. It was all about giving an accurate portrayal of life that could be easily understood and learned from. However, Modernism was a bit more blurry in its ideas. Modernists used figurative language, such a similie, metaphor, allusion, and symbolism to give what looked like a simple story a whole different meaning, making it into a reflection on the world (Werlock "modernism"). Realism would have simply written an analytical paper.

In short, Realism and Modernism can be similar at times, but in all reality, they are two very different literary movements. Modernism blurs the lines of reality, tradition, and the world to make a point, while Realism strives to make those lines as hard and definite as they could be. While they may seem fairly similar to the untrained eye, the two are like the sun and moon.

[u]Works Cited[/u]

Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS589&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 2, 2011).

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 2, 2011).

Postmodernism Video Essay

[u]Works Cited[/u]

Salpeter, Greta, and Bob Morris. Like Vines. The Hush Sound. Fueled by Ramen, 2006. CD.

Urie, Brendon. Pretty. Odd. Panic! at the Disco. Decaydance/FueledByRamen, 2008. CD.

The Princess and the Frog

While it is indeed a Disney movie I am analyzing for its post-modernist qualities, it indeed has them, despite what many people may think. For those of you who don't know, The Princess and the Frog is a recent animated Disney film about the classic tale of the frog prince who is kissed by a princess to be returned to his human state. However, this frog prince ends up kissing a girl dressed as a princess, and this turns her into a frog as well, so they have to go on an adventure together to turn back into humans.

While it does appear to be an innocent kid's movie, it does have post-modernist qualities. For example, the movie blends fiction and nonfiction. It's historical fiction, taking place in the 1920s in New Orleans, with all the characters dressed as if in the 20s and everything looking very 20s. And while the movie is set in the 20s, it also involves fiction, as there is much magic involved, the most obvious example being that the two protagonists are turned into frogs.

The protagonists also exemplify traits of post-modernism. The heroine, Tiana, is a very hard worker, but working so hard for her dream of owning her own resteraunt blinds her to important things, such as love, and also keeps her imbalanced as she does not know how to have fun. Her counterpart, Prince Naveen, doesn't know the meaning of hard work and spends all of his time goofing off and having fun. While he is happy, he doesn't know how to do anything. Obviously, both of them are flawed in this way, in the true style of a post-modernist hero. And, like a post-modernist hero, both of them make the right choice at the right time, so their flaws don't matter.

It also plays off the post-modernist aspect of having multiple worlds. While there is the traditional and historically correct New Orleans, there is also the made-up country of Maldonia, of which Naveen is prince of. Also, there is the spirit world from which the two hoodoo masters draw their powers from. All of these worlds combine into the Princess and the Frog universe.

Modernism Project

Works Cited

Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. (accessed May 4, 2011).

Bloom, Harold, ed. "Cummings, E. E." E. E. Cummings, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. (accessed May 5, 2011).

Cummings, E. E. "Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town." Poets.org. Web. 02 May 2011. .

Skyes, Dennis J. ""A Worn Path"" Rev. of "A Worn Path", by Eudora A. Welty. The Explicator 56.3 (1998): 151-53. Print.

Welty, Eudora. "A Worn Path." The Atlantic Monthly 167 (1941): 215-19. TheAtlantic.com. The Atlantic Monthly Group, 2001. Web. 2 May 2011. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. (accessed May 4, 2011).

Werlock, Abby H. P., ed. "Welty, Eudora." The Facts On File Companion to the American Novel. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. (accessed May 5, 2011).

(http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/cummings/howtown.htm - How do I cite this?!)

Just Whistle While You Work!

My job shadowing experience was actually rather fun and dynamic. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the fact that I was on my feet all day, but that isn't generally typical for the occupation, and even if it were, I would get used to it.

I job shadowed the lovely folks at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library. I got to meet with the registrar, tour the newspaper microfilm rooms, see the basement archives, and go up to the conservation lab. My favorite parts were when I got to clean part of an old map of an Illinois town that never came into existence, go through the newspapers of a town nearby where I live, and see all the old books in the basement that are closed off to the public.

This experience has definitely made me think more seriously about careers involving history, preservation, and the library arts. It was a very exciting experience to get to see where people with those jobs work and what their day-to-day lives consist of. It has definitely helped me in choosing a career.

Bardic Symbols

As with all, or most of his poems, Walt Whitman has woven the ideas of America, Christianity, and the Everyman into his poem "Bardic Symbols" in several ways.

America can be seen, blatantly, through the setting of the poem, which is Paumanok, or the Indian name for Long Island. More subtly, however, it can be seem through symbolism in the sea debris that washes up on the shores of Long Island. Whitman lists a variety of things, such as "chaff, straw, splinters of wood, weeds," and other things that wash up on beaches (Whitman). Since he also calls the ocean, "ocean of life," we can then see the sea debris as people who have left the ocean of life, or rather, have died (Whitman). However, they are ordinary things to find in the ocean, and since Whitman liked to celebrate ordinary people, we can assume this sea debris is collectively Americans (even if they are dead.)

This also ties into the idea of the Everyman. This sea debris that gets washed up is all in a line across the beach, matching the curves of the waves that brought it there (Whitman). By extension, all this sea debris is connected, much as the Everyman idea states that everyone is connected. So by seeing the sea debris as people, the Everyman concept is also covered in this poem.

The third concept, Christianity, is a little trickier to find in this poem. However, stanzas 23 and 24 talks about a "father" person, and taking into consideration the titles of God in the Holy Trinity (as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), we can tie this back to Christianity, especially since the speaker talks about wanting the father to hold him, much like the shore holds the lost and dead pieces of drift, and also much like Christianity says that God holds us when we go to heaven (Whitman). Therefore, Long Island can be seen as the afterlife of the ocean of life, and also as God, successfully applying all three of Whitman's signature ideas.

While this is only the small piece of the puzzle that is "Bardic Symbols," there are many other facets of it that could be analyzed. It is a lot to think about, as Williams Dean Howells shows in his contemporary review of the poem. He expresses clear and utter confusion over the poem, stating that "no one, even after the fourth or fifth reading, can pretend to say what the 'Bardic Symbols' symbolize" (Howells 2). If that doesn't show confusion, I don't know what does.

Works Cited

Howells, William Dean. ""Bardic Symbols"" Rev. of Bardic Symbols. The Daily Ohio State Journal 28 Mar. 1860: 2. The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. .

Whitman, Walt. "Bardic Symbols." Leaves of Grass. The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. http://whitmanarchive.org.

As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing

"As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing" is a very short poem by Walt Whitman containing only four lines, yet in these four lines about observing a farmer plow, sow, and harvest his fields, Whitman manages to insert ideas about his "Everyman" and Christianity.

Analyzing from the Christianity perspective, one can say that the farmer is God. He plows the field to give it shape, much like how God created the world in the Bible, sows the seeds to let them grow, similar to how God created humanity and gave it free will to grow in numbers, and then harvested the plants when they were grown, just like how God harvests the souls of people when they age and finally die to bring them to heaven (Whitman).

It can also be analyzed as the Holy Trinity, however, the ploughman being the Father, the sower being the Holy Spirit, and the harvester being the Son. In that way, the ploughman/Father plows the field/creates the world, the sower/Holy Spirit gives the plants life/gives new life to believers, and the harvester/Son saves the plants from rotting in the field/saves humanity from a pointless death (pointless death for vegetables being rotting in the field and not contributing to the circle of life) (Whitman).

The cycle of life and death is also an important part of this poem. The plants are sown as seeds, and they grow during their lifetime until they mature and are harvested (Whitman). This harvest kills them, but they go on to feed and nourish the farmer who plants more seeds (possibly even seeds from the plants themselves) to grow and continue the cycle (Whitman). The human cycle of life and death works the same way. We grow up, become mature, then spread our own seeds, so to speak, when we have children. Then we die, but we leave behind a new generation to continue on the cycle.

Since this cycle is the same for all living things, it connects them together, giving plants similarities to people and animals and so forth. In this way, it also connects every human, as we all trace the circle of life and death. Also, in using "I" in his poem, Whitman insinuates the Everyman as being "I" in that everyone watches these cycles and is a part of them (Whitman). Everything is connected.

Works Cited

Whitman, Walt. "As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing." Leaves of Grass. The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. http://whitmanarchive.org.

To Build a Fire

There is no doubt in any reader’s mind that Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire,” is the poster child and definition of Naturalism itself. Its attention to detail, lack of a happy ending, and man versus nature conflict all assure this avowal’s truth.

"To Build a Fire" is a story about a man, one of the many who went up to Alaska as a part of the Klondike gold rush, who finds himself traveling against the advice of seasoned veterans in temperatures below negative fifty degrees Fahrenheit (London 609). He ends up freezing to death because his fingers go numb, making it so that he is unable to start a fire in order to keep himself warm (London 611). However, the dog he has with him, who thinks traveling in such weather to be suicidal, lives and continues on to the camp they were heading (London 614).

The conflict itself makes this piece Naturalist. Naturalists often featured such man versus nature conflicts in their writing, often with nature winning in order to prove one of their major points: that man means nothing to the giant universe that sustains him, and that the universe gains nor loses anything in disposing of him. There is even a line within the story that makes this very clear.

“It did not lead him to meditate on his frailty in general, able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold; and from there on it did not lead him to the conjectural field of immortality and man’s place in the universe” (London 604).

The protagonists of Naturalist writings also shared similar characteristics with the protagonist of “To Build a Fire.” They were often people stuck in desperate and dire situations, either the slums and streets of poverty in the cities, or people caught in the most horrible natural situations one could find oneself in, just like this gold rusher. For those characters stuck in nature’s clutches, they also exhibit an arrogance or egotistical quality, thinking themselves too important for the universe to simply snuff out.

This is also shown in the gold rusher in the line, “He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances” (London 604). It asserts that while he is knowledgeable, he is still stupid enough to get himself caught in the upcoming situation. This, combined with the previously mentioned quote about man’s place in the universe, provides foreshadowing for the end result of the short story, which is the gold rusher’s death in the freezing mountains due to his own feelings of self assurance and overconfidence.

The final and potentially least significant Naturalist trait to be found in this short story is the fact that Jack London explains and describes some of the things in more detail than would entirely be necessary, such as on page 604 when the gold rusher calculates how long it will take him to get to camp, and what will be waiting for him there. While these do add to the story since later on he is delayed further and further from his original schedule, they also mark London as even more of a Naturalist because they believed that detail was also necessary in true Realism.

Works Cited

London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 603-14. Print.

Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy

Edwin Arlington Robinson was very deep with his writings and was an excellent poet and Realist. He focused on the reality of human psychology in his poem “Richard Cory,” but with his poem “Miniver Cheevy,” he introduces a Realist protagonist as well as universal emotions from human psychology and nature. What sets him apart from other Realist writers, however, is the fact that he makes his protagonists, and thus his audience, the misunderstood people of the world who are misguided and do not know what it is that they want. While this audience is slightly more specialized than the audiences of such Realist writers as Kate Chopin, who wrote for women, and Paul Laurence Dunbar, who wrote for African Americans, it still works because even those people who have found direction in their life have, at some point in time, probably felt as lost and confused as the protagonists of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poems.

“And he was rich--yes, richer than a king--
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head” (Robinson “Richard” 575).

Those are the last two stanzas of Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem, “Richard Cory.” In the previous two stanzas not shown, Robinson describes how Richard Cory was a “gentleman from sole to crown” and how he “was always human when he talked” and “fluttered pulses” when he spoke to people (Robinson “Richard” 575). Richard Cory is a well respected man, then, we can assume, and all the “common” folk wish to be just like him, so they save their money and work hard as shown in the line, “And went without the meat, and cursed the bread” (Robinson “Richard” 575). But when he goes an shoots himself in the head in the last line, one has to wonder what was wrong that he did not want to live anymore (Robinson “Richard” 575).

Obviously, being well respected, rich, and handsome was not what Richard needed, and because of this Robinson is able to speak to that selective audience who does not know what they want as well, making his poem very Realistic. It is also simple realistic because there are many people who seem to have everything anyone could ever want, yet they end up killing themselves as if their life were lacking somehow.

“Miniver scorned the gold he sought,
But sore annoyed he was without it;
Miniver thought, and thought, and thought,
And thought about it” (Robinson “Miniver” 576).

The second poem, “Miniver Cheevy,” also features a confused protagonist. Miniver finds himself not only unsure on the issue of money, but he also dreams romantically like many people do (Robinson “Miniver“ 576). His confusion is what allows readers to connect with him, as they have often felt or already feel the same questions, sorrows, and joys as he does, making this poem about him, along with many of Robinson’s other poems, Realist.

Works Cited

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Miniver Cheevy." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 576. Print.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 575. Print.

Douglass and We Wear the Mask

“We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties” (Dunbar “We” 571).

This stanza begins Paul Laurence Dunbar’s stirring poem about the lives of African Americans, “We Wear the Mask.” It is critically acclaimed as a Realist poem because of how accurate it is in portraying the feelings of African Americans in the late 19th century, when it was written.

After being emancipated after the events of the Civil War, many African Americans still did not feel that they were truly free, or as Paul Laurence Dunbar puts it, that they had to wear a mask. In the South especially, they were still treated as second class citizens and had to hide their feelings of sadness and anger from the whites who oppressed their spirits, just as it says in the poem, “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile” (Dunbar “We” 571). Since all these African Americans felt this way, downtrodden and like they had to hide their true feelings even from each other so that they would not force their burden onto those they loved, Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem becomes a poem of Realism because he reveals the true feelings of a mass of people and connects to their feelings with this piece of literature.

Another way in which he connects to the audience is through his use of religion, however small, in the poem. Many African Americans of his day and age would have been very Christian, as the stories of freedom from bondage, equality, and a place where someday they would no longer have to toil and bleed appealed to the former slaves and their oppressed kindred spirits, and so adding the reference to Christ in the line, “We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries to thee from tortured souls arise” connects to the audience to an even further level (Dunbar “We” 571).

Another poem of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s, “Douglass,” written of course about the great Frederick Douglass, also connects to his black audience on similar levels as his poem “We Wear the Mask.” In this poem, lines such as, “We ride amid a tempest of dispraise,” and, “To give us comfort through the lonely dark,” reach out to the audience’s feelings of despair for how the African Americans are still oppressed and are seeking refuge from the storm of hate (Dunbar “Douglass” 570). Paul Laurence Dunbar also has a reason for choosing Frederick Douglass as the person for the poem to cry out to for help because Douglass was a very famous escaped slave who advocated emancipation for the slaves and was a very powerful orator. His presence empowered many of his fellow abolitionists with his strong yearnings for freedom for his people, so it is only natural that Dunbar and the other African Americans would want to call on him to help them fight for themselves again. Once more, this reaching out to the audience and having a subject matter that would pertain to their everyday lives makes this poem, like its brother, a member of the Realism family.

Works Cited

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "Douglass." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 570. Print.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. "We Wear the Mask." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 571. Print.

Spoon River Anthology

Edgar Lee Masters was a very famous Regionalist and Realist writer known best for his famed Spoon River Anthology. This collection of stories and poems speaks very deeply about the region he grew up in as well as tells universal truths that everyone can relate to. Here is a piece from one of the many poems in the book, titled “The Hill”:

“Where are Elmer, Herman, Bert, Tom, and Charley,
The weak of will, the strong of arm, the clown, the boozer, the fighter?
All, all are sleeping on the hill.

One passed in a fever,
One was burned in a mine,
One was killed in a brawl,
One died in a jail,
One fell from a bridge toiling for children and wife-
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill” (Masters).

The wonderful thing about this poem, and also about Edgar Lee Masters, is that while this poem has its Realist properties and was written for those situations happening to people in the late 19th century, it is at the same time a classical theme that has relevancy until the end of time, for there is no one yet who has managed to cheat death’s touch entirely. Everyone dies, and thus Edgar Lee Masters writes on a subject that touches everyone, regardless of race, sex, or creed.

So, as it was said, this part of the poem is about death because it becomes obvious very quickly that the line “sleeping on the hill” figuratively means that they are being laid in a grave on the hill (Masters). Also, as it was said before, the subject of death makes the poem relevant to everyone, and this gives this excerpt its Realist quality. It also contains some Regionalism found in the line, “One was burned in a mine” (Masters). Edgar Lee Masters grew up in central Illinois, near towns like Petersburg and Springfield, and mining was a common occupation in that area back in the 19th century. It was also very dangerous, however, so many people met their deaths in the mines due to natural gas or cave ins. Making one of the deaths as death in a mine, then, gives this excerpt a taste of central Illinois.

“Lo! [Old Fiddler Jones] babbles of the fish-frys of long ago,
Of the horse races of long ago at Clary’s Grove,
Of what Abe Lincoln said
One time at Springfield” (Masters).

This excerpt, however, provides even more of a Regionalist flare to the poem. Fish frys were and still are a common way of getting friends and family together for some quality time in central Illinois since there are an abundance of lakes and rivers near Petersburg. Also, Abraham Lincoln is something that is very Regionalistic, as the area takes great pride in the fact that one of the country’s greatest presidents got his start in the humble and agrarian area of central Illinois. Therefore, both of these facts, maybe not all too noticeable, give the reader somewhat of an idea of what central Illinois is like, making this poem not only a Realist piece with universal themes, but a Regionalist poem as well.

Works Cited

Masters, Edgar Lee. "Spoon River Anthology." EReader.com. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. www.eReader.com.

I Will Fight No More Forever

One of the most brutal realities of the Realism period was that of the plight of the Native Americans. As Westward expansion continued and more and more white American citizens traveled west to brave the wilderness there, the government began to reclaim land that it had once given to the Native Americans, forcing them onto smaller and less desirable plots. Some tribes tried to resist, and these conflicts almost always ended in tragedy as U.S. troops massacred not only warriors, but women and children sometimes as well. These ordeals were brutal, and they broke the proud spirits of many Native Americans.

One such Native American was the famous Chief Joseph who tried to lead his Nez Perce tribe to safety in Canada before their group was attacked by U.S. troops and escorted to Indian Territory, or what is now Oklahoma. In his famous speech of surrender, the Realism is evident in the somber and defeated words of the speech “I Will Fight No More Forever:”

“My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever” (Chief Joseph 533).

The Realism is definitely present in this piece. Chief Joseph recognizes how futile it would be to fight against the American army when there are so few Nez Perce compared to the thousands of soldiers in the army (Chief Joseph 533). He also realizes that his people, as well as himself, are tired, and with winter coming, there is no way that they could survive to continue fighting (Chief Joseph 533). If this speech had been Romantic, Chief Joseph would have spoken about the bravery of their ancestors and the pride of their spirits and how these things would preserve them against the forces trying to destroy them. However, this period was all about Realism, and even the Native American literature follows this pattern. Chief Joseph, therefore, makes his actions relevant to reality, and surrenders in order to save his people (Chief Joseph 533).

While this speech is mainly about Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce’s surrender and is more of a mainstream Realist piece, it can also be classified as a Regionalist work as well. Being a Native American in this time period, before the government tried to completely assimilate the tribes into civilized American society, Chief Joseph’s first language would have been the language of the Nez Perce. Even though he speaks this speech in English, however, it is obvious English is not his first language because he uses strange phrases like, “I know his heart,” and “I will fight no more forever” (Chief Joseph 533). Because he does not try to cover up these strange phrases that are a result of a direct translation from his native language to English, this makes his speech also have a bit of Regionalism in it.

Works Cited

Chief Joseph. "I Will Fight No More Forever." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 533. Print.

The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County

Mark Twain, or Samuel L. Clemens, his lesser known name by birth, has always been celebrated and famous for his Regionalist stories of life in the South near the Mississippi River near which he had grown up. He wrote entire novels, such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in the dialect of his native area, and he is probably the greatest as well as the most famous of all the Regionalist and Realist writers. While he did write as a Realist, his Regionalistic writings were what really got people’s attention. For example, here is an excerpt from a short story of his called “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” a story written richly with dialect:

“There was a feller here once by the name of Jim Smiley, in the winter of ‘49--or may be it was the spring of ‘50--I don’t recollect exactly, somehow, though what makes me think it was one or the other is because I remember the big flume wasn’t finished when he first came to the camp; but any way, he was the curiosest man about always betting on anything that turned up you ever see, if he could get any body to bet on the other side; and if he couldn’t he’d change sides” (Twain 499).

(TBC)

Works Cited

Twain, Mark. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 498-502. Print.

Two Views of the River

Samuel L. Clemens, or Mark Twain, if one is to use his much more famous pen name, was known the best for his Regionalist stories about the lives of the American people who lived on or near the banks of the Mississippi River. However, he also did write things that had more of a true and mainstream Realist taste to them, things that did not have his added flavor of dialect and native history. One of these lesser known stories is a memoir he wrote about the Mississippi River after having worked on a steamboat up and down it for years. It is called “Two Views of the River,” and it shows a much more somber view of Mark Twain than what many people usually see.

“No, the romance and beauty were all gone from the river. All the value any feature of it had for me now was the amount of usefulness it could furnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat. Since those days, I have pitied doctors from my heart. What does the lovely flush in a beauty’s cheek mean to a doctor but a ‘break’ that ripples above some deadly disease? Are not all her visible charms sown thick with what are to him the signs and symbols of hidden decay? Does he ever see her beauty at all, or doesn’t he simply view her professionally, and comment upon her unwholesome condition all to himself? And doesn’t he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade?” (Twain 505).

This excerpt is from the end of the memoir, while the beginning of it describes Mark Twain’s excitement and wonder at the beauty of the mighty Mississippi River from when he had first begun to work on the steamboats, then how his views were rationalized as he learned that all that beauty really was just signs of warning for the steamboat operator, things to be heeded and forewarned of so that the boat could be piloted safely down the river (Twain 505). This feeling, the sentiment of disillusionment, is a sentiment that has probably always existed. Numerous people have experienced it, whether they be farm children moving to the big city with giant hopes of grandeur and prosperity or soldiers heading off to the battlefield hoping for honor and glory without expecting the pain and bloodbath. This makes it relevant to every audience, creating a piece that is timeless and touching at the same time, and thus giving it the label of Realism.

And while this piece does tend to stray more towards the pure Realism characteristics rather than those of Regionalism, it does have its tendency towards Regionalism. After all, the example that Mark Twain uses as the basis for this entire composition is that of himself working on the Mississippi steamboats. The steamboats, while used in many other rivers, were and are something very particular and unique to the Mississippi River, giving this piece its own Regionalist flavor despite its universal truths and somber attitude.

Works Cited

Twain, Mark. "Two Views of the River." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 504-05. Print.

The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane was well known as a Naturalist even during his own time. Many would even go so far as to say that his works are the definition of Naturalism, as they consistently meet all the criteria for such a genre. Not only did they meet this criteria, however, but many of them went on to become very famous pieces of literature, such as his novel The Red Badge of Courage. Here is an excerpt from it that is a choice piece of the Naturalism that Stephen Crane wove into his story of war and reality:

“Following this came a red rage. He developed the acute exasperation of a pestered animal, a well-meaning cow worried by dogs. He had a mad feeling against his rifle, which could only be used against one life at a time. He wished to rush forward and strangle with his fingers. He craved a power that would enable him to make a world-sweeping gesture and brush all back. His impotency appeared to him, and made his rage into that of a driven beast” (Crane 493).

There are many things in just this excerpt that align perfectly with the ideals of the subgenre, Naturalism. First of all, we know this character is a man, a soldier in the heat of battle, surrounded by all sorts of horrible, gruesome, and filthy things common to war, and there is no way for him to escape because he is a soldier. This is the first aspect of Naturalism fulfilled because often the protagonists of Naturalist pieces were characters whose lives were stuck in such places of utter vileness, and they often had no way of escaping these circumstances.

Secondly, we see this particular soldier’s reaction to the harsh reality and truth of war and the battlefield, and thus, probably many soldiers‘ feelings while caught in that ensuing and violent conflict.

(TBC)

Works Cited

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 493. Print.

The Awakening and The Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin was a very strong advocate of women’s rights and the first person, woman or otherwise, to write about the frustration women felt in being confined to the traditional roles of mothers and wives. She was known as a Realist for this reason because she used these frustrations as the psychology behind the female protagonists of her short stories and novels, which allowed her readers, mostly women, to sympathize with these protagonists because they too had felt the same exact feelings of confinement and longing for freedom without knowing why. The fact that women’s rights was becoming an issue of the time as well makes Kate Chopin’s work relevant to society, giving it even more of a Realist feel to it.

The main reason, though, as it was said, as to why Chopin’s works are Realist is her use of human psychology in her writing to connect with her female audience. Take, for example, this excerpt from her novel, The Awakening:

“An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul’s summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood. She did not sit there inwardly upbraiding her husband, lamenting at Fate, which had directed her footsteps to the path they had taken. She was just having a good cry all to herself” (Chopin “The Awakening” 491).

It is obvious that the woman sitting here crying is feeling indirectly oppressed by the fact that she had to become a wife and mother and that she could not have any other choice besides that. This would strike a chord with many other female readers who were bound to feel the same way, and it would also excite social change since the women’s rights movement had begun to pick up speed and momentum at that point in time. Therefore, not only would Kate Chopin’s novel help those anguished housewives identify their feelings, but it would also bring about change. This is how the novel would become a member of the Realism family because it was so very relevant to its current events.

Another works of Chopin’s, a short story called, “The Story of an Hour,” reflects similar themes. It is about a wife who is told her husband has died in a railroad accident, and her reaction, which is this:

“When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free!’ The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (Chopin “The Story” 554).

The woman experiences freedom from the oppression and is overjoyed, but within the hour she comes face to face with her husband, actually alive, and dies from a heart attack at the sudden loss of this freedom (Chopin “The Story“ 554). Again, Chopin reveals the true nature of the anguish found in many housewives and provides a link between the female audience and the protagonist, and it is this link that makes her distinctly Realist.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 491. Print.

Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 554-55. Print.

O Pioneers! and A Wagner Matinee

Willa Cather, being at the same time a Realist, is best known for her works concerning the lives of Midwestern folk, which thusly places her and her works in the Regionalist category of Realism. But this is not the only reason she is a Regionalist and Realist for her works show that all by themselves.

Take for example her novel, O Pioneers! Its story is about a family of Scandinavian immigrants who move out West like so many others as pioneers in the desolate terrene formerly dubbed the “American Desert” to take advantage of the cheap land and possibility of farming success. Willa, however, is very stark in her portrayal of it, as any true Realist should be.

In a short excerpt from the novel, she shows how two boys of the family, Lou and Oscar Bergson, attempt to make their life on the frontier work after the death of their father, John Bergson, but how they ultimately fail alongside most of the other farmers of their position and how they wish to go back to someplace more familiar and safe, such as Illinois or Ohio, where they know they could work, live happily, and not have to spur their imagination in order to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

This is an accurate view of the life of a pioneer because it is known that farming in such arid conditions was difficult and success on the frontier required much innovation and imagination for which the boys are obviously not prepared for. This accuracy, along with the fact that the boys are average folk facing common problems such a disappointment and failure, makes O Pioneers! a piece of Realist fiction.

Another work by Cather, this time a short story by the name of “A Wagner Matinee,” rings true with many of the characteristics of Realism and Regionalism.

(TBC)

Works Cited

Califano, Sharon Kehl. "O Pioneers!." In Werlock, Abby H. P., ed. The Facts On File Companion to the American Novel. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.

Cather, Willa. O Pioneers! GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 489. Print.

Cather, Willa. "A Wagner Matinee." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 521-26. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "'A Wagner Matinée'." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.

Letter to His Son

In “Letter to His Son,” the readers get to see a side of General Robert E. Lee that most do not ever consider about him. While he is known for his military leadership in the Civil War on the Confederacy’s side, many do not know that he expressed such reluctance to secede from the Union as he does in this letter to his son about the state of the country at that time. This is the reason why his letter is also very Realist, in that he does not express fanciful dreams as a Romantic would, but instead he talks about issues current to the time that the letter was written that involve not only the writer and receiver of the letter, but everyone in the country. In the letter, Lee writes on page 385 of the GlencoeLiterature book, “Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me.”

Of course, everyone knows that Lee was a famous general from the Civil War, which was about to rock the country at the time this letter was written in 1861. The Civil War was the bloodiest war to its date in American history, and it ended up effecting everyone in the nation in some way or another, a phenomenon known as “total war” (Dictionary.com). This makes the topic of it something extremely relevant, and whenever something is relevant and discussed in a logical fashion, it is also Realist.

Robert E. Lee was also himself an icon of Realism up until his fame hit him. He was just a soldier before the Civil War, which was a normal occupation that many people could relate to because either they themselves were soldiers or they were the wives, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, or friends of a soldier. He also would turn out to be well-respected because of the fact that he fought in the war, and all of these things make him, in turn, a hero of Realism.

But truly his views expressed in his letter to his son also make him Realist because they were probably views shared by more than just him in the South and North alike. While the two areas did in fact disagree on a number of things, such as states’ rights, slavery, and tariffs, there were probably a great amount of people who did not want to see the country torn in half over such issues because an agreeable solution could not be found. After all, back then, patriotic sentiment probably ran much higher than it may today, so people would want to keep their great country together instead of ripping her at the seams. Because of this majority fact, the views that Robert E. Lee expresses in his letter, found in such quotes as, “How [George Washington’s] spirit would be grieved could he see the wreck of his mighty labors!”, are not just singular views, but the views of a nation facing a major crisis, and that is what makes the letter a piece of Realist literature (Lee 385).

Works Cited

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to His Son." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 385. Print.

"Total War." Dictionary.com. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. .

And Ain't I a Woman?

“And Ain’t I a Woman?” is a very witty and to the point speech that was given by Sojourner Truth at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851. In it, she makes many good points that are helpful in the arguments for having both rights for blacks and rights for women, and the way she does this makes it fun to listen to her and also keeps it simple so that most any audience can see what she is trying to say. It is this down to earth attitude throughout the speech and its pertinence to the original audience that group it as a piece of Realist literature with some Regionalism because of her dialect.

This dialect is very obvious in its origins to anyone who knows anything about Sojourner Truth. It stems from the fact that she was an escaped slave and adopted the dialect of most Southerners, white and black alike. You can recognize the dialect when she uses words such as “ain’t” and “honey,” when addressing someone, and also when she shortens words such as “because” into simply “’cause” (Truth 370). Lots of public speakers in today’s modern society choose to adopt a different dialect, usually the standard “Midwestern” accent, in order to conform to a more normal sounding crowd, but Sojourner Truth proudly displays her heritage through her speech, thus making her part Regionalist.

The Realism in her speech, though, comes from the subject matter itself. She was indeed talking to a group of people at a women’s rights convention in Ohio about what another speaker, a man, presumably a preacher, was saying to the crowd against women’s rights. She says that he claimed that women need to be taken care of and helped into carriages and over mud puddles and things similar to that (Truth 370). She retorts that nobody ever does any of these things for her, even though she is a woman. She then also says that he says that women can’t have rights because Christ was not a woman, to which she replies that Christ came from God and a woman, and that men had nothing to do with him (Truth 370). She also encourages the women by saying, “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again” (Truth 370).

The reason these things make her speech Realistic is because they are extremely pertinent to her audience. She speaks about women’s rights, and why women should have rights, but she is not speaking to a room full of conservative men. She is speaking to a crowd of mainly women at a women’s rights convention who are looking for arguments to use in favor of their cause, and she gives these arguments to them. Realism is all about things pertaining to the current situation or literature and art that activates social change, and this is just what Sojourner Truth’s speech does. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate and right to name her a Realist.

Works Cited

Truth, Sojourner. "And Ain't I a Woman?" GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 370. Print.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Go Down, Moses; and Keep Your Hand on the Plow

“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Go Down Moses,” and “Keep Your Hand on the Plow” are all spirituals, or songs that slaves would sing that had subject matter from the Bible. This may make them seem Romantic at first, but they are in fact Realist works, and they also fall under the category of Regionalism due to how specific they are to slaves in the South.

Each of the songs uses stories from the Bible that talk about someone or a group of people being freed from some sort of bondage, whether that bondage be in prison, slavery under the Egyptians, or banishment in the wilderness for 40 years. This common theme that ties them together says a lot about the anonymous groups that created them, however. Obviously, the authors were slaves in the South before the emancipation.

These songs were more than just songs for singing out in the fields, however. With each telling a story of how someone or another attained freedom, these were songs of hope for the slaves that someday, they themselves might be freed as well.

(TBC)

Works Cited

Anonymous. "Go Down, Moses." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 347. Print.

Anonymous. "Keep Your Hand on the Plow." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 348. Print.

Anonymous. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 346. Print.

Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln is thought to be one of the greatest presidents our country has ever seen for the way he handled the Civil War and the issue of slavery. However, from a literary aspect, is simply a Realist speech writer. His speeches did not make light of the situations being faced when both were written; they gave instruction and guidance to those who were feeling lost and unsure in times of trouble, grounding people in reality while leading the way, and it is probably this aspect of his writing which gave the country direction in such dark times as those were.

Lincoln’s second inaugural address was steeped in advice from above, for example (Lincoln, "Second" 339). While this may appear on the surface to be Romantic, one must recognize that it is not as it is calling for action while still being realistic. After all, many people back then did believe that God was a part of reality, as far fetched as such an idea might seem for some people, so it is alright for God to be included in Realist works. Here is a piece from Lincoln’s religious address to a nation finally finished with its bloodiest war to that date:

“The Almighty has his own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh!’ If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him?" (Lincoln, "Second" 339)

Here Lincoln uses religion, the word of God, in order to show the American people who have been so open to the slavery of their fellow dark-skinned Americans why it is alright now for the slaves to be free (Lincoln, "Second" 339). He uses this religious argument because it would pertain to the average person, since the average person would generally believe in God and want to please Him. In this way, Lincoln uses Realism to set the his political policy for the Reconstruction era of the United States.

Another example of Lincoln’s use of Realism to assure the nation was in his famous Gettysburg Address. This speech was given after the Battle of Gettysburg in which many lives were lost. In order to comfort those that were grieving, Lincoln spoke not of other things, but addressed the things pertinent to them right then, something Realism strives to do. He spoke those famous words, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here” (Lincoln, "The Gettysburg" 402). Lincoln celebrates those average, everyday men, the heroes of Realism, who fought and died at Gettysburg, while recognizing with logic what will and will not be remembered from that day forth (Lincoln, "The Gettysburg" 402). This is what Realism does.

Works Cited

Lincoln, Abraham. "The Gettysburg Address." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 402. Print.

Lincoln, Abraham. "Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 339. Print.

The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro

“The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” is a very powerful speech written by Frederick Douglass and spoken the day after the Fourth of July celebration to a white audience in New York (Douglass 337). Its somber attitude and subject matter and the fact that it destroys traditional Romantic ideas about that particular national and patriotic holiday make it distinctly Realist.

While many people of the day would have celebrated the liberty they had in America on the Fourth of July, Frederick Douglass strove to draw attention to the fact that there were still many in America at the time who had no freedom: the slaves (Douglass 337). Through this excerpt in his speech, he makes it clear that the happiness and liberty shared that day was not equally shared at all:

“The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn" (Douglass 337)

This is where Douglass uses reality to make his point clear and also makes this speech a piece of Realism. While his white audience was enchanted by the notions of liberty and joy throughout America on that Fourth of July celebration, he tells them that really, not everyone was able to enjoy and share in such riches and prosperity that day (Douglass 337). He goes on to say:

“What, to the American slave, is your fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery" (Douglass 337)

In this section, Douglass shows the plight of his protagonist, who is an everyday man, just as a Realist protagonist should be, the slave, who is large in number but little in power. He aims to disillusion the crowd he speaks to, and in this way, he tries to make social change, another factor common to Realist literature. He also speaks of reality when he says these things, as many slaves were indeed embittered due to their plight and found the reality of the white man’s freedom very harshly unjust when juxtaposed to their own position. The last line of the excerpt is as follows: “There is not a nation on earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour. (Douglass 337)”

While this may seem an exaggeration at first, it must be thought about. Other countries at this time that own slaves do not lie and boast that they have freedom for all on their shores. Only America does this, and that is the most shocking and horrendous thing of all.

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro." GlencoeLiterature. Ed. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 337. Print.

Regionalism

Regionalism can be defined by Dictionary.com as such: “The theory or practice of emphasizing the regional characteristics of locale or setting, as by stressing local speech.” Dictionary.com defines it well, as this is the essence of Regionalism.

Regionalism was a movement found within the Realism movement. Since Realism was all about portraying life as it appeared in everyday situations, Regionalist writers realized that their local culture was their everyday life and something to be celebrated, so they began to write with the dialect of their region and all the settings and unique quirks that were specific to that region (Werlock). Because of this, Regionalist works vary by large degrees, but they end up providing colorful pictures of the particular regions that they represent.

As well as using the local dialect to provide a piece of their local color, Regionalist writers also drew from the history of the region, using such things as the Civil War and the immigrant settlers of the West to add even more local color to their fiction (Werlock).

However, they did not use such specific locales and the like specifically for the sake of adding local color to their works; they did it for the sake of exposing universal themes often found in such locales (Werlock). For example, Anderson suggests, “Cather’s Scandinavian immigrants, for example, suggest the difficult yet durable quality of American pioneers. The American West embodies the American myth of the self-made man, the loner, and the adventurer heading out for new territory and exploring the frontier.” This way, the Regionalism serves a double purpose of exploring the local dialect, mannerisms, and history of an area while at the same time exploring the great ideas it can show the rest of the world (Anderson).

Strangely, though, not all Regionalist writers were in fact from the region that they wrote about (Anderson). Many of them became enamored with locales far different from the ones they had known all their lives, so they immersed themselves in them in order to write about them and let the rest of the world revel in their local riches (Anderson). Either way, Regionalism became the ultimate form of Realism in that it gave away universal truths while celebrating the heritage of average Americans at the same time.

Works Cited

Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. "regionalism." Encyclopedia of American Literature: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, vol. 3, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "regionalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.

“Regionalism.” Dictionary.com. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. www.dictionary.com

Naturalism

The definition of Naturalism, according to Dictionary.com, is this: “A manner or technique of treating subject matter that presents, through volume of detail, a deterministic view of human life and actions.” This is a basic definition, of course, so here is a more in-depth description.

Naturalism was a movement that was a reaction against both Realism and Romanticism and can be seen as Romanticism’s polar opposite (Diamond). It stemmed from dissatisfaction with the Realist works; writers of Naturalism thought that Realism was too much tailored to the bourgeoisie class and that it did not portray correctly how harsh life was for a majority of people (Diamond).

Instead of the average members of the middle class often featured in the works of the Realist writers and artists, the Naturalists made their protagonists the beaten and downtrodden, men and women of the streets who were often uneducated and who had no chance at anything better due to the natural forces that had placed them in their positions in the first place (Diamond). They also strove to show how unimportant and miniscule humanity was to the universe as a whole through yarns spun in harsh environments in which man was completely at the mercy of nature (Werlock). These often showed the egotism of man, showing him as thinking himself too important for nature to brush aside and too smart and intelligent to be best by the natural forces around him (Werlock). However, in the end, he is always shown to be nothing better than an animal as nature often takes his oh-so important life away from him (Werlock).

Along with this very bleak stance, the writers also followed the scientific method in their observations of life. For example, they observed the motivations of those protagonists who were the scum of society in relation to the need to fulfill the basic needs of survival, such as food, water, and shelter (Diamond). They also took great pains to describe everything in such great detail, leading many people to the analogy that Realist writings were like a painting, choosing some details to exhibit, while Naturalist writings were like a photograph, using all details (Werlock). In this way, you can also say Naturalism was an extreme version of Realism.

Works Cited

Diamond, Marie Josephine, ed. "naturalism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 19th and 20th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "naturalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com.

“Naturalism.” Dictionary.com. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. www.dictionary.com.

Realism

Dictionary.com provides the definition of realism as this: “The tendency to view or represent things as they really are.” This is, of course, the bare-bones definition of the word, but it is a good basis from which to start.

Realism was an era of art and literature that spawned from a backlash to its predecessor, Romanticism. While Romanticism took pains to portray the ideal of life, to show perfection and beauty, Realism wanted to portray what life really was like (Werlock). This often involved writings or art about the middle and lower classes, rather than the rodomontading upper class with its recherché (Diamond). Realists wanted their work to be relatable and pertinent to the problems of average people. They strove more for truth in their work than the idle fantasies of Romanticism.

A big reason as to why this switch probably happened is the Civil War. After such a reality-wrenching war in which everyone was affected in some way, dreams of something better were more often than not shattered for most people. They began to be drawn back into reality so that they could survive the hard times during the war and rebuild after the war was finished, and this reflected in the writing of the post-war period.

The hero of this literary movement, as a result of this outlook on life, was the everyday, average man. He or she was probably a member of the middle or working class and experienced problems that normal people would often experience, such as losing a job or dealing with emotions such as regret or nostalgia. In this way, the hero of Realism would reach out to the common masses of people faced with reunited the country and keeping their sanity in the fast-paced footsteps of industrialism, and often, this hero would help those ordinary people find solutions to their own problems or even excite social change. While Romanticism may have been art for art’s sake, Realism became art for life’s sake (Diamond).

Works Cited

Diamond, Marie Josephine, ed. "realism." Encyclopedia of World Writers, 19th and 20th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com/.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.fofweb.com/.

"Realism." Dictionary.com. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. http://www.dictionary.com/.

Sweet Home Alabama

Okay, so I know we do not live in Alabama, but I could not think of any other lyrics, and I am determined to keep this up. However, there are a couple of things that are pretty local to our area and not Alabama, and some of them have gotten pretty famous, considering the area where they came from. I do not know about you, but rural America isn't really known for consistently producing the next big thing.

Here's something: Ferris wheels. There's a little town called Jacksonville in central Illinois, and that happens to be the birthplace of the Ferris wheel. I am not quiet sure who exactly (I am assuming it was Ferris...) invented and built it or why exactly they did, but look how popular they have become. There is even one in London, the world's largest. I'd say that is pretty impressive, and it comes from sweet old Illinois, home of Lincoln and lots of corn.

Of course, there is the thing that everybody recognizes - horseshoes. The infamous, calorie-laden horseshoe. For those of you who do not know what this cousin of obesity is, it happens to be a piece of bread or toast (the hoof) with a hamburger patty (shoe) on top that is smothered in fries (nails) and cheese sauce (no comment), only it is traditionally a really, really big sandwich. Those started in the capital, Springfield, though I am not quite sure where or who or when or why, though today you can get a variety of them at Fritz's.

I think that something else, or rather someone else who is rather particular to this area is our great president of old, Abraham Lincoln. While I do recognize that he was born in Kentucky, central Illinois takes much of the credit for him. After all, he did live in Springfield for a long time, and he did start his political career in Springfield. Long live Lincoln and all the tourism he brings!

Did You Realize

For once, actually, the title of this blog is not just indirectly related to the topic by lyrics, but it is specifically the set of lyrics that helped with my epiphany over winter break.

You see, I'm a Christian. However, before winter break, I was not being the best Christian I could be. I was skipping Bible study and youth group because I just didn't want to go or I convinced myself that I didn't have time. I hadn't talked with anyone from my church for a long while, and when I did end up going, I felt alienated from everything I believed in. I felt terrible.

Then, one day over winter break, I was at home in my room listening to music and browsing the Internet as I usually do on school vacations. One of my favorite Christian bands, Relient K, came on. With my recent alienation from religion, I almost decided to skip to something else, but something held me back, and I ended up listening to their Christmas album.

The first few songs were good, as I would expect from Relient K. Two were old carols instrumentated with guitar, bass, and drums along with vocals, one was a pop-rock version of "Sleigh Ride," and the other was an original song. However, after "Silent Night," another original song came on.

It was titled "I Celebrate the Day," and as I listened, I cried as it sang:

"And the first time that you opened your eyes,
Did you realize that you would be my Saviour?
And the first breath that left your lips,
Did you know that it would change this world forever?
And I, I celebrate the day,
That you were born to die,
So I could one day pray for you to save my life."

Since then, I've felt much more assured of things. With the help of my faith, I'm slowly dealing with all of the problems that weighed me down in first semester. Thanks, Jesus.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," while it was most definitely a piece of the American Realism era, surprisingly had an unexpected touch of suspended belief for a brief amount of time. I found Fahrquhar's daydream escape rather hard to believe, that he might have his rope break, free his hands, untie his noose, swim to the surface, and avoid a volley of gunfire, then survive the long trip back to his home. Truthfully, the ending did not seem that much of a surprise if you were reading and watching close enough. Even this literary criticism by Abby Werlock agrees with me in saying, "Although some readers protest that Bierce uses this ending to trick them, most agree that, to the contrary, the author includes ample cues for the attentive reader to see that the condemned protagonist, Peyton Fahrquhar, escapes the reality of death only in his imagination." However, this slightly unbelievable tale of escape is one thing that Realism did do, and that is attempt to say, "Is this actually possible?" In all reality, yes, that scenario would be possible, albeit highly improbable. However, it is the possibility of it being real that makes this short story a member of the Realism family tree.

Another aspect that provides the familial link between Realism and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is the manner in which the story itself was written, that is, the speech. While it has style and does not leave want for entertainment, the speech with which "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is plainer than its Romantic counterparts, which tend to have flair and emotion to top the words. This aspect is rather obvious throughout the story. Instead of embellishment, excepting some portions of the daydream where the exaggeration is meant to indicate something less than real, Bierce makes sure it is clear what is going on and leaves no room for doubt, something Realism writers are notorious for. This practice of not leaving room makes sense, however, since Realism is a counter movement against Romanticism, which often leaves the meaning and details of a literary piece up to the imagination of the reader, leaving the stories sometimes ambiguous. Since Realism is about clarity and reality, it is the opposite of this ambiguity.

Another thing that Realism features that was novel at the beginning of the movement was the idea of tying fictional literature specifically to current events, which is another thing that Ambrose Bierce does. Although the story was written two decades after the Civil War, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" does feature its events in the wartime setting of the South. This setting is important to Realism because the author could have easily come up with a different situation in which to place the main character which could have yielded the same result, but Bierce specifically chose something more recent to his own time period, which is one of the key factors which makes "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" a piece of Realism literature.

Place Your Hand on Mine, Untie Your Mind

Actually, I have had times before when daydreaming about something actually helped me to tackle a problem in real life. I just can't really remember them all the time.

Actually, shouldn't "daydream" be defined? I mean, do passing thoughts like moths count as daydreams? Is a daydream strictly something where you imagine specifically something? Are all thoughts just daydreams?

Either way, yes, I have had daydreams that have gotten me out of situations. Often times, when I forget about large projects due within 24 hours, I "daydream" on how to conclude such reports in a timely and punctual fashion.

In fact, I am doing this right now, as I forgot about a paper due in my AP US History class. I "daydream" and plan how to finish in time for school tomorrow. My mind makes all the calculations and figures what I will write in the paper so that when the time comes for me to write it, I am ready to complete the work in one swift session.

I must say right now, though, that this definition of "daydream" irritates me. It seems more like mental organization and planning than daydreaming. I always saw daydreaming as something you did when you were bored or in love, as something enjoying. This definition only reminds me of bad and desparate straits of old.

I suppose I have also had this type of daydream during awkward social situations. There are some people I would rather not talk to but find myself conversing with against my will on a regular basis. As they talk to me, I daydream about how to get them to stop talking to me so that I might socialize with my closest friends, and this has saved me many a time from a lunch period spent being pulled away from the attentions of my boon companions.

In short, daydreaming is a useful technique in this definition, and even in what I consider its true definition, it is useful for making dreams come true and relieving stress. Now excuse me as I go relieve some of that stress.

This Week the Trend

School uniform arguments have been going on for quite a long time. Both sides have argued back and forth, and while I do agree that they do increase focus in some students and seemingly put students at an equal level, I must say that I believe in what I would say are far more important things than those things.

Specifically, I am talking about expression of individualism. While there are certainly other ways besides clothing and fashion to express the unique traits of an individual, such as through writing, art, and sports, school uniforms do not allow complete individualism. Instead of being able to stand out from the sea of students in an additionally visual way, students are forced to conform to what everyone else is doing. Some people have even found that uniforms tend to inhibit creative thought. This result conflicts with the working world's wishes for the next generation of working adults. This world of work expects people who are able to come up with new ideas and think outside the box, but how can students learn to do so without the ability to fully express themselves? And while some might argue that curriculums could be made to stimulate outside-the-box and creative thinking, would public school districts really be willing to change curriculums that have been around for so long? Would public schools be able to handle such a drastic change in focus on the learning process? I do not know what you might think about it, but I know that I believe that it would be very difficult for the schools to make that change any time soon.

Some lesser arguments against uniforms have been reports of insubordination due to resentment from being told what to wear. Teenagers tend to be rebellious thinkers, so being told that they have to wear something that might go against their comfort zone and their fashion sense would set them off and make them more likely to rebel against teachers and other forms of authority. Also, the argument has been made that clothing is clothing and it really has nothing to do with learning.

So, there are a few ways of looking at this issue. I have stated my opinions, and now it's time for you to make your own.

Open All Our Eyes

So there's this album and it has recently massacred its way up to my favorite album of all time in a very short period, by which I mean I listened to the first song for thirty seconds and fell in love. Hard. The album's title is Razia's Shadow: A Musical, and the group that did it is called Forgive Durden. I had never heard of them before, but wow.

This album is a very interesting concept. It is a musical, but it doesn't officially have a staged production. There is only the music and some character art. However, the band strongly urges people to make their own live productions of it. This abstractness makes it so that Razia's Shadow is a blank canvas for the theatre to let their creativity flow freely.

So, like I said, Razia's Shadow is indeed a musical. It uses a variety of instruments throughout - traditional rock band instruments, strings, synthesizer, low brass, and a few instruments that I couldn't even recognize. It has a very refreshing sound, in my opinion.

Like most musicals, it has certain lines and musical phrases that it repeats and reprises throughout the show. While some people might not like this repetitive nature, it helps to make the songs catchy and gets the main points of the songs through to the audience.

Another thing that is nice about this album is the fact that it has a sense of optimism about it and ends with a good message. In today's world, we have so many bad things happening all around us, and so many reasons to feel down and to give up. However, the message this album sends, when heeded, offers some hope in the bleak realities of today.

The last point I'd like to make is the uniqueness of this musical. As I said, not only was it not made for stage, but its characters and world are amazingly fantastical. For example, instead of a god or series of gods and goddesses who create the world, the world of Razia's Shadow is created by a scientist, O the Scientist. And as a gift to the world, one of his angels, Ahrima, create the ambiguous "Lamps." What could possibly be so special about them that everyone adores them? That is all left up to the reader, and that's the beauty of it.

So, after reading all that stuff, you should definitely go and buy this album, or at least check it out. I guarantee that it will not be a waste of your resources.

(The lyrical title today is courtesy of Razia's Shadow. Yay!)

Shut Up and Let Me Go

Personally, I can not think of an instance where I had to convince someone to do something that I wanted them to do. `However, I do know that my friends have had to do it to me in the recent history.

Technically, it was last year, but really, it was only a few weeks ago. I did not know it at the time, but my friends were planning a surprise birthday party for me and my friend David, who has his birthday a week after mine. They were going to set it up in my basement, so they needed to give David a reason to come to my house and to get me out of my house long enough to decorate and bring food and games.

This task fell to two of my other friends, Ally and Dalton, who cleverly set up a movie seeing that afternoon before the party. Ally also suggested that afterwards, she should come over so that we could play one of my favorite video games, and Dalton, being Dalton, invited himself and David along on this ride. We got there, and ta da!

That is a pretty positive way of viewing something like that, however, as many times people convince you to do things for them for their own personal gain, not caring if you win alongside them or end up losing. Take for example those sly businessmen and politicians that are often featured as antagonists in modern movies. The top businessmen and politicians know to make important connections with the right people, and they mostly do it entirely for the sake of advancing themselves up the corporate or political ladder. They have complete apathy towards what happens to the pawns they use to achieve these ends.

That being said, there are times when people will be uncooperative with something involving their own good, and having this skill of manipulation is useful then. However, it must be treated with caution because it gives one power, and as the great Peter Parker's uncle said, with great power comes great responsibility.

Keep Tryin'

(I'm attempting to be funny and scholarly at the same time. Watch this epic failure!)

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Just like the Force, persistence has two sides: a good and a bad. Also like the Force, if you're too persistent, you'll end up breathing through a creepy black iron lung mask thing... I take that back.

Anyway, still, being too persistent can get really irritating, especially if you can't take a hint. For example, if you constantly pester someone to talk to you and pay attention only to you, it very quickly will get on the person's nerves. However, you can still be persistent without going to extremes like such. Talking to them every once in a while when they are free to talk, for example, is a good example of good persistence.

However, that is the only situation in which I believe you must be careful how you express your persistence. In all other facets of life however, such as work, school, video games, zombie slaying, flashlight fixing, and Marcus finding, don't hold back! Show a little backbone, be persistent for Jiminy Cricket's sake!

For example, New Year's has come and gone. Have you got a resolution? Being persistent can help you achieve these resolutions instead of letting them come knocking on your door once more in 2012.

Unless we all die...

Yeah...

Anyways, for extra measure, here are a few suggestions for being persistent from the lovely folks over at wikiHow:

Numero Uno! "Set a goal." ("How") This is pretty self-explanatory, and it's also pretty essential to being persistent. If you don't know where you're going, how can you ever hope to keep yourself going long enough to get there? Surprisingly, lots of people forget this part, which leads to their eventual epic failure, so just do it. Write it down - that helps.

Nummer Zwei! "Break it down into smaller pieces." ("How") This is always helpful. If someone was forcing you to eat a cheesecake the side of a dinner table, would you eat it all in one bite? Unless you happen to be a gigantic Amazonian snake, which would explain my blog hits from Brazil, no! Find ways to break down your goal, and you can accomplish it much efficiently.

There's a lot more that you can do to be more persistent, but those are just the basics. Persistence, however, is something I believe everyone should master, all joking aside. If you can learn to pursue your goals confidently and successfully, it will lead to a lifetime of satisfaction and happiness. And with that, I bid you an Italian farewell. Arrivederci!

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Hey! Read the disclaimer! Especially you, Mr. Langley!

Yes, I realize it's a wiki site, but they have some pretty good articles, and it's very obvious which ones are quality material and which ones aren't. This one happens to be pretty good material. Okay, thank you, bye.

(I find this blog title funny because it's actually a Japanese pop song. Ha ha.)

Works Cited

"How to Be Persistent." WikiHow. MediaWiki, 29 Oct. 2007. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. .