Realism/Naturalism
1850-1914
What is Realism?
• “an attempt to describe human
behavior & surroundings exactly
as they act or appear in life”
• The faithful representation of life
• Factual is more important than
intellectual or emotional
• Tells stories about the harsh
reality of everyday people:

Factory workers
 African Americans
 Marriage & women’s roles
How is Realism
different from
Romanticism?
What events
may have
contributed to
this change?
• Fugitive Slave Act 1850
• Abraham Lincoln elected 1860
(Emancipation Proclamation)
• 5 states seceded to create
Confederate States of America
• Human cost of Civil War (18611865) shatters nation’s idealism
• Native Americans pushed from
their lands
• Industrial Revolution 1880’s
made people feel powerless
What is the first
selection we
will read?
“My Bondage and My
Freedom” by Frederick
Douglass
Bondage:
captivity, servitude, subjugation
What will the
test focus on?
Essential questions (2)
1. What is the value of
literacy?
2. How is Frederick Douglass’
life relevant today?
Literature terms (3)
Literature terms (3)
1. Autobiography – the biography of a person
narrated by himself or herself
2. Tone – the author’s attitude about the
subject
Copy list of tone words (Word document)
Literature terms (3)
3. Point of view – the perspective from
which the story is told
•
•
1st person – told from the “I/we” perspective
3rd person – told from the “he/she/it”
perspective (by an outsider)
 Objective/limited – contains just the facts (no
internal thoughts of characters)
 Omniscient – an all-knowing narrator who
knows the thoughts of characters (like God)
Vocabulary:
1. literacy (n) / literate (adj): the ability to
read
ex: To Frederick Douglass, literacy was
the key to freedom.
2. paradox (n): two contradictory ideas
ex: It was paradoxical that the more
educated Douglass became, the more
frustrated he felt about his situation.
3. benevolent (adj) / benevolence (n):
kindly; charitable
ex: I consider myself a benevolent
teacher because I listen closely when
students need to discuss something with
me.
4. depravity (n) / depraved (adj):
corruption; wickedness
ex: Nazi leaders were depraved to send
Jews to concentration camps.
Activity 1
Concept Map
1. Make a list of words that
relate to slavery. Jot them
down on your paper as they
come to you.
2. Organize the words into
categories in a map format.
See example:
Concept map example
category
category
slavery
category
category
Activity 2
Quickwrite
Douglass said that both slaves
& slaveholders are victims of
slavery. What do you think this
means?
Activity 3
Sentences
Write 4 original sentences for
the 4 vocabulary words. Each
sentence must demonstrate the
meaning of the word.
Here is an example of what you
should NOT do.
CHANGE THIS TO: list of
words w/same root
Activity 4
Biography
Questions
Read Douglass’ biography on
p.494 & answer the following
questions. Copy the questions
now in Cornell notes format.
1. How did Douglass learn to
read & write?
2. How did he become free?
3. What did his speeches focus
on?
4. What other causes did he
fight for?
Review
biography
questions
• How did he become free?
• What was his cause?
• What other causes did he
fight for?
• What is the name of his
owner?
Activity 5
Vocabulary
Paragraph
Write 1 paragraph (that makes
sense as a whole) that uses all 4
vocabulary words
Activity 6
During Reading
Questions
Copy the following questions
on your paper in Cornell notes
format.
P1-Why did Douglass’ mistress stop
teaching him to read & write?
P2-Why does Douglass believe that Mrs.
Auld is not suited to be a slaveholder?
P3-How does Mrs. Auld change & why?
P4-Why was Mrs. Auld “entirely too late”
in her efforts?
P5-What is one strategy Douglass used for
learning to read?
P6-How do the white boys feel about
slavery?
P7-a)What circumstance transforms
Douglass from “light-hearted” to
“wretched & gloomy”?
b)What idea consumed him once he
obtained knowledge?
P8-Who does he say are the victims & what
is the evil?
Activity 7
Discussion &
Reflection
Discuss the following
questions in your group.
Each person’s written
response must be their own,
or you will not receive credit!
1. What is the value of literacy?
2. Can literacy be both a curse & a
blessing? Explain. What do we call this?
3. Do you agree that both Douglass & Mrs.
Auld are victims? Explain.
4. How is Frederick Douglass’ life relevant
today? Think about what lesson can be
learned & if it can be applied to today’s
world.
5. What characteristics of Realism are
present in this reading?
6. From what point of view is Douglass
writing? (Look at notes)
7. What is his tone? (Look at list of tone
words)
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek
Bridge”
by Ambrose Bierce
• Watch clip of video
Warmup
• Respond to the following:
“All’s fair in love and war.”
This phrase has been used to
excuse everything from trivial
lies to wide-scale atrocities.
Do you think there are times
when the rules of the game
involve no rules at all?
Biography
• Union officer in Civil War
• Raised in poverty
• Cynical, sarcastic, pessimistic
• Journalist said to have a
“poisoned pen”
• How will this story reflect
this negativity?
Technique:
stream of
consciousness
• The report of thoughts &
ideas the way the human
mind experiences them—in
short bursts, incomplete
sentences, & w/out clear or
logical connections.
Analysis Questions
1. What does Farquhar’s visualize
moments before he is hanged? In what
way is his journey connected with this
earlier vision? In reality, how long does
his journey take him?
2. Make a list of at least three hints that
tell you his journey was happening in
his mind.
Analysis Questions
3. What does this story suggest about the
psychology of a person facing a life or
death situation? Is this applicable only
in extreme circumstances or in daily life
as well?
4. Do you think Bierce believed that “all is
fair in love and war”? Give an example
from the text that supports your
opinion.
Title your page
with this:
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate
Chopin (shō pan) Packet
Douglass
Both
Bierce
slavery
harsh
reality
Civil War
power of the
white man over
women &
minorities
factual
freedom to
oppose
subjugation right to fair trial
Activity 1
Compare &
Contrast
The story you are going to read
was written in 1894.
Instructions:
Make 2 lists of words, 1 with
words describing 19th century
women & another describing
women of today. In what way are
they similar, in what way different?
19th century women 21st century women
Activity 2
Biography
Questions
• Copy down the questions on
the following slide in Cornell
notes format.
• Read Chopin biography on p.
632, pausing to answer
questions.
• Discuss as a class
1. What did her works focus on?
2. Do you think Chopin handled her
husband’s death in a way typical of
women at that time? Why or why not?
3. Chopin’s themes were considered
“radical.” Look this word up in the
dictionary & use it to describe her
themes in your own words.
4. Why was her reputation damaged? Do
you think this was right?
Biography
• 1850-1904
• Husband died 1882, she
raised 6 children & ran the
plantation alone for 1 year
• Published novel “The
Awakening” 1899. Banned
b/c it explored the issue of
infidelity. Became popular
again in 1950’s.
Literary terms
1. irony (n) / ironic (adj) – when
there is a large difference
between what is expected &
what really happens, or
between what is said & what is
really meant. (3 different types
of irony)
Ex – It is ironic that my
English teacher often misspells
words on Facebook.
Verbal irony – when the words
used suggest an opposite
meaning
Dramatic irony – when readers
know something that a
character does not
Situational irony – when an
action or situation is very
different from what one
expects
Vocabulary
repression (n) / to repress (v) –
the act of holding
something/someone down
Ex – I knew that my
stepfather and I would
never see eye-to-eye, so I
repressed my anger toward
him.
self-assertion (n) – the act of
asserting (expressing)
oneself
Ex – In a wave of selfassertion, I finally confided
to my friend that I had been
hurt by her actions.
elusive (adj) – hard to grasp
Ex – An elusive idea came
to me in a dream last night,
but this morning it had
disappeared again like mist.
Activity 3
Sentences
Write an original sentence for
each term (4). Each sentence
must demonstrate the meaning
of the word.
Activity 4
During Reading
Questions
P1-What afflicts Mrs. Mallard?
P2-Who first hears of Mr.
Mallard’s death & how?
P3-How was her reaction to the
news different from other
women’s reactions?
P5-What does she see, feel &
hear from outside her
window?
P9-What is happening to her?
P11-What word does she repeat
& what might this mean?
P13-What contradictory
emotions does she feel?
P14-Whose “powerful will” is
she referring to?
P15-Did she love him? Is love
the most important thing?
P18-What is she thinking?
P21-Who enters?
What happens at the end &
what explanation do the
characters give for it?
Activity 5 Irony
Chart
1. Copy the following chart on
your paper.
Detail from the story
(quote or action)
1. After hearing of her
husband’s death, she
goes to her room,
where she notices birds,
blue skies, & hears
songs (636).
2. “There was
something coming to
her and she was waiting
for it, fearfully” (637).
What you
What really
Type of
expected/ or,
happened/ or, irony
what the
what we know
character thinks
Detail from the story
(quote or action)
3. “But she saw beyond
that bitter moment a
long procession of
years to come that
would belong to her
absolutely” (637).
4. Josephine says,
“..open the door—you
will make yourself ill”
(637).
What you
What really
Type of
expected/ or,
happened/ or, irony
what the
what we know
character thinks
Detail from the story
(quote or action)
5. “When the doctors
came they said she had
died of heart disease—
of joy that kills” (638).
What you
What really
Type of
expected/ or,
happened/ or, irony
what the
what we know
character thinks
Activity 6 After
Reading
Questions
1. She thinks “It was only yesterday she
had thought with a shudder that life
might be long.” What does this
mean?
2. She thinks “A kind intention or a
cruel intention made the act seem no
less a crime” (P14). What is the act?
What does this mean?
3. What is Chopin’s message?
5. What characteristics of Realism are
present in this work?
6. From what point of view is this story
written?
7. How would you describe Chopin’s tone?
FIND THE WORDS ON YOUR TONE
LIST!
8. When does the climax occur?