• How and when did American writers and poets respond to the Civil War?
- The American writers believed that the war was going t last for a while, definitely more than just few months. They also knew that the war was going to happen sooner or later if slavery was not abolished. Civil War finally led the society to disillusionment, the feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as they believed to be.
- Emerson maintained his conviction that the war must be pursued. He had the patriotic fervor.
• What are the basic characteristics of realism?
- Rejection of the idealized, larger-than-life hero of Romantic literature
- Detailed depiction of ordinary characters and realistic events
- Emphasis on characters from cities and lower classes
- Avoidance of the exotic, sensational, and overly dramatic
- Use of everyday speech patterns to reveal class distinctions
- Focus on the ethical struggles and social issues or real-life situation
• What did the naturalist writers believe?
- Attempt to analyze human behavior objectively, as a scientist would
- Belief that human behavior is determined by heredity and environment
- Sense that human beings cannot control their own destinies
- Sense of life as a losing battle against an unchaining universe
Naturalism is also called the “Smiling Realism”
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