The Rise of Realism
1. Define the term "Muckraker." Be sure to include the name of the person who created it.
-A muckraker is a person who intentionally seeks out and publishes the misdeeds of a public individual for profit or gain. Theodore Roosevelt is said to be linked to being the creator of the term.
2. Naturalism was a literary movement of the late 19th century that was an extension of Realism. What was the main focus of the Naturalistic writer?
-The main focus of a Naturalistic writer was about the fringes of society, the criminal, the fallen, and the down-and-out. Naturalists argued that individuals have no choice because a person’s life is dictated by heredity and the external environment.
3. American Realists believed that humanity's freedom of choice was limited by the power of outside forces. How would this view differ from the perspective of the Romantic writer (think of someone like Emerson)?
-Realists felt that choice and freedom were limited, whereas the Romantics felt that the freedom of choice was more limitless than ever. The Romantic writers tried to focus on the power of immigration.
4. In your opinion, based on what you have read, why would post Civil War, newly industrialized America be attracted to the Realistic movement?
-Because Realists’ wrote about the current times, readers were attracted to them. They were seeing and reading their own struggles in print.
5. What is meant by the term "local color"?
-The term “local color” is literature that is fiction and poetry that focuses on the characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other features particular to a specific region.
-A muckraker is a person who intentionally seeks out and publishes the misdeeds of a public individual for profit or gain. Theodore Roosevelt is said to be linked to being the creator of the term.
2. Naturalism was a literary movement of the late 19th century that was an extension of Realism. What was the main focus of the Naturalistic writer?
-The main focus of a Naturalistic writer was about the fringes of society, the criminal, the fallen, and the down-and-out. Naturalists argued that individuals have no choice because a person’s life is dictated by heredity and the external environment.
3. American Realists believed that humanity's freedom of choice was limited by the power of outside forces. How would this view differ from the perspective of the Romantic writer (think of someone like Emerson)?
-Realists felt that choice and freedom were limited, whereas the Romantics felt that the freedom of choice was more limitless than ever. The Romantic writers tried to focus on the power of immigration.
4. In your opinion, based on what you have read, why would post Civil War, newly industrialized America be attracted to the Realistic movement?
-Because Realists’ wrote about the current times, readers were attracted to them. They were seeing and reading their own struggles in print.
5. What is meant by the term "local color"?
-The term “local color” is literature that is fiction and poetry that focuses on the characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other features particular to a specific region.