The Rise of Realism

1. The Rise of Realism Civil War to 1914

2. Documenting the Civil War • Although photographers like Mathew Brady is famous for documenting the war with photos, written documents did not emerge until years later. • Many slave narratives, or published personal experiences, were published during this time in order to gain support for the abolition of slavery. • Only a few famous writers wrote about the war.

3. America’s Writers Walt Whitman Herman Melville He remained optimistic about the war and wrote tribute to the bravery of the soldiers in “Song of Myself”. He was pessimistic about the war in his poetry. His battlefield visits reveal humanity’s evil.

4. Do you know? • What is the title of Melville’s famous novel?

5. Covering the war • American writers were absent from the scenes of war for the most part. Their absence led to inadequate coverage of the war, unlike what we see today. • Yes, soldiers kept journals and letters, but professional writers were not on the battlefront. • It took many years to capture the essence of the Civil War in a book.

6. Where were the great writers? • Emerson, who warned the war was likely to occur, wrote patriotic lectures. • Thoreau and Hawthorne died during that time. • Dickinson did not seem influenced by the topic of war in her poetry. • William Dan Howells, Henry James, and Henry Adams were abroad.

7. What happened to romanticism? • The romantic writers were not interested in the realistic writing style that audiences liked. • There still remained a market for romantic writing which became the stereotypical romance novel of today.

8. Writings that Emerged • Realistic accounts • Slave narratives • Regionalism or “local color” • Naturalism

9. Realism is born Stephen Crane • Born six years after the Civil War ended, Stephen Crane is credited with writing the first book capturing the views of war in The Red Badge of Courage. His approach today would be classified as historical fiction. His works contain the ironies of human illusions with the indifference of the universe.

10. Psychological Realism • Writers like Henry James wrote novels set in Europe. Many Americans viewed Europeans as being dark, sinister characters. In many of his novels an eager American confronts complex European society. • His stories featured human motivation.

11. Regionalism • Authors like Mark Twain wrote books set in the area where he lived. These stories included local customs and dialects. • These people were often isolated due to location or culture. This isolation made their customs or speech seem odd. These oddities were entertaining. • This type of writing was also called “local color”. • Although it attempted to be accurate, regionalism was often sentimental which lessened its realistic value.

12. Naturalists Charles Darwin • Believed humans had little control over their destiny. The characters usually had few options who live by instinct. Naturalism was influenced by biological research like Darwin’s.

13. Slave Narratives Frederick Douglass • Some former slaves wrote about their experiences as slaves. These works helped gain support for the Civil War.

14. Modes of Expressing Ideas • Description • Narration • Exposition • Persuasion

15. Descriptive Writing • Uses a lot of great visual words to help you see the person, place or thing they are writing about. The writing can be poetic at times, and explain things in great detail.

16. Narrative Writing • The author puts themselves in their characters shoes and writes as if they were that person. In the case of autobiographies, they are that person. They tell life stories and involve plots and storylines.

17. Expositive Writing • The author intends to inform, explain, describe or define their subject. As the author is mostly trying to tell you all about the subject, their opinions are left out leaving you with facts and figures instead of trying to defend or support an opinion.

18. Persuasive Writing • Takes on the opinion of the writer or issue the writer is writing for. This is considered biased material and is most often found in advertising.

19. Slave Narratives • Often featured a variety of the modes of writing to inform and persuade readers. • Frederick Douglass • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html • Metaphor • Harriet Jacobs • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2924.html • Read pages 471-476 • Answer questions 1-10 on page 477 • Internal/External conflict

20. Spirituals • Music played an important role in traditional African society. • In America, these songs were passed by word of mouth. • The lyrics are often coded. • Swing Low, Sweet Chariot • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thz1zDAytzU • Go Down, Moses • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP5EfwBWgg0&feature=related

21. Spirituals • Read pages 479-486 • Answer questions 1-4 on page 487 • Tone • Symbolism

22. Journal #3 • Write about a time that you thought something was a "dream come true" but then learned that it wasn't what you had idealized. What did you end up learning from your realization?

23. The Art of Rhetoric (Persuasion) • Logos- Logic • Persuade by the use of reasoning. Use of facts, data, and testimonies provide natural proof. • Ethos – Credibility • We believe people we respect. Establish credibility by competence, good intention, and empathy. • Pathos- Emotional • Persuade by appealing to people’s emotions. Use of figures of speech make this method effective.

24. Method of Rhetoric • Which type of rhetoric do you find in the slave narratives? • Where do we find rhetoric today? • Remember how Walt Whitman carefully crafted his image to market his product? • This idea of persuasion is has grown into big business. • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/

25. Persuasion Assignment • The BIG packet • Read the information • Complete all worksheets included • Analyze six advertisements • Plan your advertisement. • Develop your ad in any format. You may draw on paper, use digital imaging, cut and paste or write in descriptive form. • Study the rubrics.

26. When is this due? • This assignment is ongoing. We will continue to read and discuss literature in this unit. • Use the last 10-20 minutes of class to ask questions and discuss ideas with the teacher. • Be protective of your advertisement ideas. You wouldn’t want a classmate to take your strategy! • I will likely set aside one day in the lab devoted to researching, creating and typing. Otherwise, you need to manage your time appropriately.

27. The Persuasive Essay • http://www2.waterforduhs.k12.wi.us/staffweb/sereno/mainpages/InfoLit/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Writing%20the%20Persuasive%20Essay.pdf • Email me and I send you this link. • Your audience will be your classmates, not just the teacher.

28. The Persuasive Essay Topic • You are free to choose your topic. Be sure to include pathos, logos, and/or ethos in you persuasion. • Try to be unique in your topic choice. Some topics are overused in high school persuasive essays. • Be sure to narrow your topic. (Gun control is too broad.) • Do an appropriate amount of research, but remember, it’s not a research paper. • I will have you declare your topic upon which no other classmate will be allowed to select the same idea.

29. Persuasive Project Due Dates • First page #1-10 due Thursday/Friday • Analyzing Ads /Commercial Assessment due March 11/March 14. • Your individual advertisement due on March 17/March 18.

30. A Mystery of Heroism • Situational irony • What is the mystery of heroism? • How is war kind?

31. Mark Twain • Lost manuscript http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/twain/index.html http://www.marktwainontour.com/

32. Terms to Know • Tall Tale • A humorous story characterized by outrageous exaggeration . It’s not what is said but how it is said. • Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox Comic Devices • Hyperbole • Outrageous exaggeration • Your father is so low he has to look up to tie his shoes.

33. Terms to Know • Comic Devices [Continued} • Understatement- Saying less than what is usually meant, usually for ironic purposes. • "It's just a flesh wound."(Black Knight, after having both arms cut off, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail) • Comic Comparisons- Similes and metaphors that surprisingly link very dissimilar things thus creating outlandish images • She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

34. Terms to Know • Comic characters and situations • Unusual people dealing with unlikely events; probably the oldest and most reliable comic device (Shakespeare loved this one!) • Vernacular • Language spoken by people in a particular region. Unique vocabulary and dialect are included. • Seen in “The Mystery of Heroism”

35. Terms to Know • Idioms • Expression and constructions that make no literal sense. • It’s raining cats and dogs. Frame Story • A story within a story • The Princess Bride, Forrest Gump , Slumdog Millionaire

36. Terms to Know • Satire • Uses humor to critique people or institutions with the intention of improving them. Satire uses exaggeration and irony. • The Daily Show, Austin Powers Movies, SNL’s Weekly Update

37. Terms to Know • Purpose • The reason for which the author is writing. (See the modes/types of writing from earlier.) • Inform • Entertain • Persuade

38. The Mystery of Heroism • Collins is motivated by thirst. It’s almost an animalistic instinct. The possibility of becoming a hero enters his mind, but is quickly dismissed as fear set in.

39. The Lowest Animal