The Bowery at Night, 1895 W. Louis Sontag, Jr.
Due at the beginning of class for full credit:
break work
Reminder: correct MLA heading, 500 words in response to what you have learned from the book. Remember to use detailed information to support your reasoning. This graded with the usual expectations on style, content and language conventions.
Due Tuesday February 28: vocabulary 9 (10 points off per day for late material)
In class: Introductory material on the liteary movements of Realism, Naturalism and Regionalism
class handout; copy below. Note particularly the list of readings at the end.
In class: short story vocabulary handout. copy below. Matching quiz on Friday.
As we go over this material in class, you will note that we have already delved into Naturalism in reading Stephen Crane's Maggie, Girl of the Street. We are concluding this work, along with Riis' How the Other Half Lives with the following microtheme, which is HOMEWORK, DUE THURSDAY MARCH 1 In approximately 300-400 words, respond to this question: How did the immigrant experience in the Lower East Side of New York impact assimilation into mainstream America? Please write two paragraphs that take into consideration both the positive and negative experiences of the immigrants who lived in the Lower East Side of New York in the latter half of the 19th century. While it is NOT necessary to use specific textual evidence to write this, you should base your information on the Crane's Maggie, Girl of the Streets and Riis' How the Other Half Lives, specifically on the chapter you were assigned to read. (If you never read your chapter, now would be a good time!)
Copy of handout: Realism, Naturalism and Regionalism
The Realist Movement
Realistic
fiction remains popular today, although it may seem strange that is was once
controversial. Realistic writers saw
themselves as being in revolt against Romanticism. Mark Twain wrote an amusing essay whose
target was the Romantic writer James Fenimore Cooper. In The
Deerslayer, Twain claimed Cooper “has scored 114 offenses against literary
art out of a possible 115.” One of these
offenses, according to Twain, is that “the personages of a tale shall confine
themselves to possibilities and let miracles alone; or if they venture a
miracle, the author must plausible set it forth to make it look as possible and
reasonable.”
How
did Realism originate? There had been Realistic writers in France for some
time, notably Honore de Balzac, Stendhal and Gustave Flaubert. Although these writers and others had great influence,
American Realism had roots in this country, in the experiences of war,
on the frontier and in the cities. Science played a part as well. The objectivity of science struck many
writers as a worthy goal for literature.
Just as important, perhaps, was general feeling that Romanticism was
wearing thin. Students still recited romantic
poetry and read Romantic novels but many writers believed these works to be
old-fashioned.
A
Romantic was limited only by his or her imagination, but a Realist had to find
meaning in the commonplace. To do this,
the Realist had to be acutely observant and to lay bare to readers the hidden
meanings behind familiar words and actions. On the other hand, Realistic writers could
deal honestly with characters that a Romantic writer would either avoid or gloss
over: factory workers, bosses, politicians, gunfighters. The emphasis did not
always please the critics, however. One
journalist wrote of Willa Cather’s stories: “If the writers of fiction who use
western Nebraska as material would look up now and then and not keep their eyes
and noses in the cattle yards, they might be more agreeable company.” Despite such complaints, Realism held sway,
and it remains dominant the present day.
Naturalism
Some
writers of the period went one step beyond Realism. Influenced by the French Novelist Emile Zola,
a literary movement known as Naturalism developed. According to Zola, a writer
must examine people and society objectively and, like a scientist, draw
conclusions from what is observed. In
line with this belief, Naturalistic writers view reality as the inescapable
working out of natural forces. One’s
destiny, they said, is decided by heredity and environment, physical drives and
economic circumstances. Because they
believe people have no control over events, Naturalistic writers tend to be
pessimistic.
Only a few major American writers
embraced Naturalism. Only a few major American writers embraced Naturalism. One
who did was Stephen Crane. His first
novel, Maggie, Girl of the Streets,
published in 1893, is the earliest Naturalistic work by an American writer.
Jack London’s To Build a Fire
presents on of the occurring themes of Naturalism: many at the mercy of the
brutal forces of nature.
Regionalism
The third significant literary
movement that developed during the latter part of the nineteenth century was
Regionalism. Through the use of regional
dialect and vivid descriptions of the landscape, the Regionalist sought to
capture the essence of life in the various different regions of the growing
nation.
At its very best, Regional writing
transcends the region and becomes part of the national literature. Various
reasons have been given to explain the popularity of the local color
movement. Perhaps it was the desire of
people throughout the reunited nation to learn more about one another after the
discord of the Civil War. Whatever its
cause, the outpouring of local color was remarkable and included such authors
as Mark Twain in his early short story The
Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, the Louisiana writer Kate
Chopin, who produced outstanding tales of Creole and Cajun life and Mary
Wilkins Freeman, who wrote memorably of rural New England life.
Applicable class material:
Realism: (short story) An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
(non-fiction investigative report) How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis
(poem) War is Kind by Stephen Crane
(poem) Think as I Think by Stephen Crane
Naturalism: (short novel) Maggie, Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane
(short novel) Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Regionalism: (excerpt) Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain
(short story) A Wagner Matinee by Willa Cather
(short story) The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
(short story) A White
Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett
(short story) Triumph of
Ol’ Mis’ Pease by Paul Lawrence Dunbar
(poem collection) Spoon River
Anthology- this will be an individual performance
piece.
(poem) Ships that Pass in the Night by Paul
Lawrence Dunbar
(poem) We Wear the Mask by Paul Lawrence Dunbar
(poem) When Malindy Sings by
Paul Lawrence Dunbar
(poem) Miniver Cheevy by Edwin
Arlington Robinson
(poem) Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Copy of short story vocabulary handout
Short story vocabulary
quiz Friday March 2
1. cavalcade-(noun)-a
ceremonial procession or display; a succession or series
2. expletives-
(noun)- an exclamation or oath, especially one that is profane, vulgar, or
obscene.
3. coquetry-
(noun)- flirtation
4. prescience-(noun)-
knowledge of events before they take place; foreknowledge
5. maudlin-(adjective)-
effusively or tearfully sentimental
6. pariah
–(noun)- a social outcast
7. propriety-
(noun)- the quality or state of being appropriate or fitting
8. bellicose- (adjective)- warlike; aggressive;
ready to fight
9. remonstrances-
(noun)- protestations
10. sylvan-(adjective)-
bucolic
11. felonious
–(adjective)- wicked; base
12. sotto
voce- (adverb)- in an undertone
13. to
extemporize- (verb)- To do something, particularly to perform or speak, without
prior planning or thought
14. to
abate- (verb)- to reduce in amount, degree, or intensity; lessen
15. vituperative-
(adjective)- using, containing, or marked by harshly abusive criticism
16. querulous-
(adjective)- Given to complaining; peevish
17. obscurity-
(noun)- The quality or condition of being unknown
18. oscillation-)noun)-variation,
fluctuation
19. vortex-(noun)-
A spiral motion of fluid within a limited area, especially a whirling mass of
water or air that sucks everything near it toward its center.
20. to
presage-(verb)- To indicate or warn of in advance; portend.
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