Realism and Naturalism

Realism and Naturalism are both responses to Romanticism. Romanticism was mainly dealing with surreal themes, while realism obviously does not. Many writers began to switch to realism and naturalism from romanticism because of world events and to make a change.

Realism most often refers to the trend towards depictions of contemporary life and society as they were. In the spirit of general Realism, Realist authors opted for depictions of everyday and bland activities and experiences, instead of a romanticized or similarly stylized presentation.

The industrial revolution that took place at the end of the nineteenth century changed our country in remarkable ways. People left rural homes for opportunities in urban cities. With the development of new machinery and equipment, the U.S. economy became more focused on factory production; Americans did not have to chiefly rely on farming and agriculture to support their families. At the same time, immigrants from all over the world crowded into tenements to take advantage of new urban opportunities. In the end, the sweeping economic, social, and political changes that took place in post-war life allowed American Realism to prevail.

American Realists concentrated their writing on select groups or subjects. Examples of this include the factory workers of Upton Sinclair and Rebecca Harding David, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Charles Chesnutt's stories of black life, and Kate Chopin's views of marriage and women's roles.

The writing during this period was also very regional. The industrial revolution called for standardization, mass production of goods and streamlined channels of distribution. America was leaping into a new modern age and people feared that local folkways and traditions would be soon forgotten. Responding to these sentiments, realistic writers set their stories in specific American regions, rushing to capture the "local color" before it was lost. They drew upon the sometimes grim realities of everyday life, showing the breakdown of traditional values and the growing plight of the new urban poor. American realists built their plots and characters around people's ordinary, everyday lives. Additionally, their works contained regional dialects and extensive dialogue which connected well with the public. As a result, readers were attracted to the realists because they saw their own struggles in print. Conversely, the public had little patience for the slow paced narratives, allegory and symbolism of the romantic writers. America was shifting into higher gear and readers wanted writers who clearly communicated the complexities of their human experiences.

At its basic level, realism was grounded in the faithful reporting of all facets of everyday American life. According to William Dean Howells, "Realism is nothing more and nothing less than the truthful treatment of material" (Carter, 36). The reading public's preference for realism parallels the changes that were occurring at the end of the 19th and into the 20th century. For example, the modern scientific revolution advocated that truth and knowledge be based on empirical data. Reinforcing that notion, the industrial