10Th Grade Lit: Regionalism and Realism 1880-1910

Name______Date______Class______

10th Grade Lit: Regionalism and Realism 1880-1910

Unit 4 Study Guide

I. Literary Movements of the time:

1. After the Civil war American writers began to turn away from ______toward a literary movement whose writers depicted life as they saw it, not as they imagined it to be. This new movement was called ______.

2. A literary movement that was similar to Realism was called ______. This was sometimes known as the local ______movement, whose writers often portrayed the distinctive ______of particular ______of the United States.

3. A later, more extreme movement during this time was called ______. These writers sought to describe with scientific objectivity the effects of ______and ______on a character.

II. Social, Historical, and Cultural Forces of the time:

1. Briefly explain how the effects Westward Expansion had to the 19th century.

2. What was “The Gilded Age” and where did its name originate?

3. Briefly explain some achievements/goals of Women’s Rights during the period following the Civil War.

III. Regionalism:

1. After the Civil war, a group writers known as Regionalists, or ______, emphasized local cultures. Under the influence of the new emphasis on ______in art and literature, they did not present the unusual ______or idyllic and exotic ______previously familiar to ______writing. Instead, local colorists depicted the ______people and ______places around them.

2. In their writing, the local colorists emphasized ______, and their characters tended to be typical of a particular ______, which was clear from their ______and beliefs. Often this was observed by a narrator who was an outsider, surrounded by the unfamiliar or outdated characteristics and customs of this region. The outsider frequently revealed the tension between the ______and ______, the modern and old-fashioned.

3. List two examples of Regionalist writers and their works. If applicable, list a selection from our text that we read.

IV. Realism:

1. Before Realism flourished in America, it was already alive in Europe. These novelists examined the ______of human behavior and created characters who struggle with problems that 19th century readers would have recognized in their own lives.

2. The rise of Realism in the United States can be traced to the ______following the ______. The war had destroyed the ______view of humanity. The Realists wanted to portray life as it ______was.

3. List two American Realist writers and their works that we studied, then briefly explain the subject matters their work dealt with.

V. Naturalism:

1. Toward the end of the 1800s, a group of writers know as the ______, adopted the view that people had ______over their own lives. These writers had been strongly influenced by the works of ______. They believed that human destiny was shaped by powerful forces, including ______, ______and ______pressures, and the ______. Like the Realists, Naturalists wrote about ordinary people, but they often focused on the ______class and the ______, presenting futile battles of individuals against a ______or ______.

2. List Three Naturalist writers, their works studied, and detail their approach/style to Naturalism and theme.

VI. Literary Devices:

(Define the following terms, and be able to apply them to the literature/writers we studied.)

1. Setting

2. Dialogue

3. Dialect

4. Characterization

5. Internal characterization

6. External characterization

7. Dramatic Monologue

8. Allusion

9. Conflict

10. Internal Conflict

11. External Conflict

12. Rhyme Scheme

13. Irony