Realism and Naturalism (1870-1910)
Intro
Realism and Naturalism began in 1865 as the United States Civil War developed. The Civil War was romanticized, leading both the Union and the Confederacy to believe that it would be a short lived war in which they would come out in victory. However, the war was a long and devastating time for the United States and opened up many people’s eyes to the horror of reality. Young and new writers turned their backs on romantic ideas and began to focus more "real life" and ordinary people in an attempt to make their stories honest and almost factual. Thus, Realism was born. Realism is the literary movement that stressed reality rather than the imagined or fanciful. This type of literature was a critique of Romanticism and a reaction to the Civil War. Authors such as Ambrose Bierce began to write stories that instead of having a happy, fairytale ending would have an ending that resulted in devastation or death. The war taught Americans that they had to stop living in the Romantic world that they had been and face real life as it was.
Naturalism was a literary offshoot of Realism. This movement was sparked by the publishing of Charles Darwin's book, The Origin Species: By Means of Natural Selection. Naturalism was similar to Realism as it also depicted real people in real life situations. However, naturalists believed that forces larger than the individual such as nature, fate, and heredity, shaped an individual's destiny. Authors such as Stephen Crane wrote stories that portrayed Nature as being evil and something that we as humans can not control |
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Robert E. Lee
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Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford in Westmoreland, Virginia. He was the youngest son to major-general and Revolutionary war hero “light horse” Harry Lee. In 1825 following in his father’s footsteps, Lee attended West Point Military College. Lee graduated in 1829 second of his class and was one of only six cadets in his class who finished without a single demerit on his record. Soon after graduating, he met and married Mary Custis, the great-granddaughter of George and Martha Washington. Together they had seven children, three sons and four daughters.
While Lee was building his family, however, he was still completely devoted to his military career. The military kept him moving all over the country from place like Savannah, Baltimore, St. Louis, and New York. When the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846, Lee got the opportunity to serve under army General Windfield Scott. This was a position he had been hoping for his entire military career. Serving in this war, Lee made himself known to be a brave commander and brilliant tactician. After the United States won the war, he was seen as a war hero and received many praises from General Scott.
In 1859, after a two years of working on his family’s plantation, Lee returned to the army. He took a lonely job in Texas at a cavalry outpost. However, he got a break at his position when he was summoned to stop a slave insurrection at Harper’s Ferry led by John Brown. Lee was able to end the revolt in just one hour automatically earning him a spot to lead the Union Army if there were to be a war.
Lee had mixed emotions and divided loyalties about the Civil War. He was completely against slavery and everything that the Confederates stood for, but he loved his home in the South. Lee wrote down his concerns about the war when he was writing to his son, Custis Lee, in a letter. This letter was documented and is known to us today as A Letter to His Son. When the Civil War arrived, President Abraham Lincoln invited Lee to serve as a general of the Union Army. Lee opposed Confederacy beliefs, but he was more loyal to Virginia. Lee declined Lincoln’s offer, resigned from the military, and returned home. When Virginia seceded from the nation on April 18, 1861, Lee decided to help lead the Confederate forces
As a Confederate general, Lee once again proved himself to be a great leader. He managed to capture the Army of Northern Virginia, push back the Union army in the Seven Days Battle, and achieved a crucial Confederate victory at Second Manassas. However, Lee’s successes soon began to decline. Confederate army suffered a devastating defeat at the battle of Antietam where Lee lost 14,000 of his men. Lee’s army was nearly destroyed in the battle of Gettysburg which ended his invasion into the North and was a complete turning point of the war. By 1864, the Union had gained the upper hand and Lee was forced to surrender.
Lee was spared from being hung as a traitor by a forgiving Abraham Lincoln and was able to go home to his family after the war in 1865. He accepted a job as president of a small college in West Virginia. In October of 1870, Lee experienced a severe stroke. He died on October 12 in his home.
While Lee was building his family, however, he was still completely devoted to his military career. The military kept him moving all over the country from place like Savannah, Baltimore, St. Louis, and New York. When the United States went to war with Mexico in 1846, Lee got the opportunity to serve under army General Windfield Scott. This was a position he had been hoping for his entire military career. Serving in this war, Lee made himself known to be a brave commander and brilliant tactician. After the United States won the war, he was seen as a war hero and received many praises from General Scott.
In 1859, after a two years of working on his family’s plantation, Lee returned to the army. He took a lonely job in Texas at a cavalry outpost. However, he got a break at his position when he was summoned to stop a slave insurrection at Harper’s Ferry led by John Brown. Lee was able to end the revolt in just one hour automatically earning him a spot to lead the Union Army if there were to be a war.
Lee had mixed emotions and divided loyalties about the Civil War. He was completely against slavery and everything that the Confederates stood for, but he loved his home in the South. Lee wrote down his concerns about the war when he was writing to his son, Custis Lee, in a letter. This letter was documented and is known to us today as A Letter to His Son. When the Civil War arrived, President Abraham Lincoln invited Lee to serve as a general of the Union Army. Lee opposed Confederacy beliefs, but he was more loyal to Virginia. Lee declined Lincoln’s offer, resigned from the military, and returned home. When Virginia seceded from the nation on April 18, 1861, Lee decided to help lead the Confederate forces
As a Confederate general, Lee once again proved himself to be a great leader. He managed to capture the Army of Northern Virginia, push back the Union army in the Seven Days Battle, and achieved a crucial Confederate victory at Second Manassas. However, Lee’s successes soon began to decline. Confederate army suffered a devastating defeat at the battle of Antietam where Lee lost 14,000 of his men. Lee’s army was nearly destroyed in the battle of Gettysburg which ended his invasion into the North and was a complete turning point of the war. By 1864, the Union had gained the upper hand and Lee was forced to surrender.
Lee was spared from being hung as a traitor by a forgiving Abraham Lincoln and was able to go home to his family after the war in 1865. He accepted a job as president of a small college in West Virginia. In October of 1870, Lee experienced a severe stroke. He died on October 12 in his home.
Literary Themes
The literary theme of this time period is survival. Realism and Naturalism was a critique of Romanticism and made clear to readers that real life does not always have a happy ending. Characters in Realism and Naturalism writings faced real life situations that ended in tragedy and death. Authors of this time period wanted people to know that reality or nature does not care who you are. Everyone in the world will face hard trials, tribulations and death, and only the strong will survive the world
Timeline
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Key Authors
Ambrose Bierce- An Occurrence at Owl Creek, The Story of a Conscience, Parker Adderson Philosopher, An Affair of Outposts, Jupiter Doke, Horseman in in the Sky, The Mocking-Bird, George Thurston, Killed at Resaca
Charles Darwin- The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection
Mary Boykin Chestnut- Mary Chestnut's Civil War
Stephen Crane- An Episode of War; A Girl of the Streets; The Red Badge of Courage
Abraham Lincoln- The Gettysburg Address
Robert E. Lee- Letters to His Son
Fredrick Douglas- My Bondage and My Freedom
Sojourner Truth- Ain't I a Woman
Mark Twain- The Boy's Ambition; The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Jack London- To Build a Fire; The Call of the Wild
Kate Chopin- The Story of an Hour; The Awakening
Willa Cather- A Wagner Matinee
Paul Lawrence Dunbar- We Wear the Mask, Life's Tragedy, A Golden Day, Sympathy, Summer in the South, Morning, If I Could but Forget
Edwin Arlington Robinson- Richard Cory, A Happy Man, Mr. Flood's Party, MIniver Cheevy, Another Dark Lady, The House on the Hill, An Old Story
Edgar Lee Masters- Silence, George Gray, Fiddler Jones, Alfred Moir, A.D. Blood, Anne Rutledge, Lucinda Matlock
Charles Darwin- The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection
Mary Boykin Chestnut- Mary Chestnut's Civil War
Stephen Crane- An Episode of War; A Girl of the Streets; The Red Badge of Courage
Abraham Lincoln- The Gettysburg Address
Robert E. Lee- Letters to His Son
Fredrick Douglas- My Bondage and My Freedom
Sojourner Truth- Ain't I a Woman
Mark Twain- The Boy's Ambition; The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Jack London- To Build a Fire; The Call of the Wild
Kate Chopin- The Story of an Hour; The Awakening
Willa Cather- A Wagner Matinee
Paul Lawrence Dunbar- We Wear the Mask, Life's Tragedy, A Golden Day, Sympathy, Summer in the South, Morning, If I Could but Forget
Edwin Arlington Robinson- Richard Cory, A Happy Man, Mr. Flood's Party, MIniver Cheevy, Another Dark Lady, The House on the Hill, An Old Story
Edgar Lee Masters- Silence, George Gray, Fiddler Jones, Alfred Moir, A.D. Blood, Anne Rutledge, Lucinda Matlock