THE RISE OF REALISM - Guided Notes
The Civil War and Postwar Period 1850-1900
Name: ______________________________ Period: ____ Date:
_____________________
☙
Activate Prior Knowledge/Anticipation Guide - Answer the following questions before
starting your notes:
◈
Has a friend ever said to you, “Oh, get real!” What exactly does that mean?
◈
Why might writers & artists want to depict life accurately, without idealizing or romanticizing
their subject?
◈
I.
How do you think the Civil War would contribute to the rise of realism?
What is Realism?
A. Realism is a _______ of writing, developed in the _____________ century, that attempts to
depict life accurately without _____________ or _____________ it.
II.
Romanticism vs. Realism:
ROMANTICISM
REALISM
❖ Emphasizes imagination and emotion
❖
❖ Depicts larger-than-life heroes
❖
❖ Views the world poetically
❖
English III Honors / Parenti
Get your own copy: bit.ly/rise-of-realism
THE RISE OF REALISM - Guided Notes
The Civil War and Postwar Period 1850-1900
❖ Focuses on exotic, supernatural, and
imaginary worlds
III.
❖
What led to the Rise of Realism?
❖ The Civil War
❖ Advances in ________________.
❖ Advances in __________ and ____________.
❖ _________ changes, especially for newly freed _________ and _________.
IV.
The Civil War and Realism:
A. The Civil War was the largest contributor to the development of Realism.
1.
Why would a war cause people to abandon imagination and idealistic lines of thought?
B. The four-year conflict destroyed cities and industries, as well as divided many families.
C. It left _______ ___________ and ___________ _______________, especially in the South.
D. Killed over ___________ men.
V.
Changes in Technology:
A. Technological advancements also contributed to the rise of Realism, especially:
1.
__________________
2. __________________
3. __________________
VI.
Photography:
A. Photography allowed people to see _______, sometimes __________, images of ______ and
English III Honors / Parenti
Get your own copy: bit.ly/rise-of-realism
THE RISE OF REALISM - Guided Notes
The Civil War and Postwar Period 1850-1900
__________.
B. Mathew Brady became one of the most famous and celebrated __________________ of the
time.
C. He took numerous photographs of what was happening on the _____________ during the
Civil War and sent them to _________________ to be published.
D. He is credited with creating __________________________, or the art of telling a story
through pictures.
VII.
Telephones & Radio:
A. Telephones and the spread of railroads across the country allowed ________ to travel
__________ than ever before.
B. Because people had knowledge of events __________, they began to take more of an
__________ in the events and issues that were ______________ the country.
C. ___________ also made it easier for people to _________ the country and witness events for
themselves, as well as experience the country’s ___________ of culture and beliefs.
VIII.
Changes in Science & Education:
A. New advancements in psychology, biology, and geology contradicted long-held beliefs about
the nature of _________, the _________, and the _____________.
B. People no longer accepted most things without _________________ proof.
C. Sigmund Freud created the concept of _________________ _____________. He was
seeking a way to explain why people do what they do, and his ideas influenced realist writers
as they tried to explain characters’ actions.
English III Honors / Parenti
Get your own copy: bit.ly/rise-of-realism
THE RISE OF REALISM - Guided Notes
The Civil War and Postwar Period 1850-1900
IX.
Changes in Education:
A. Education and access to schools were more readily available. More and more _______,
___________, and the ______ were learning to read.
B. The government passed ____ that provided for _____________ __________ schools, so the
number of schools _____________.
X.
Changes in Education (Cont.):
A. ____________ began to be written and ___________for use in schools and new curriculums
were developed.
B. McGuffey’s Readers were one of the most popular textbooks at the time, and used to teach
most ______________ ____________.
C. ____________ and ______________ became more popular and less ____________, which
______________ more to attend school and learn to read.
XI.
Social Changes (The 13th Amendment):
A. The ratification of the 13th amendment forced many Americans to rethink their way of life.
B. _________was outlawed, and many had to decide how they would ___________ for or
__________with the newly freed slaves.
C. Many former slaves moved to the __________ states since their laws and expectations were
more welcoming than those in the South.
XII.
Realistic Literature Will:
A. Contain themes that center on contemporary society and on the lives of the ________ _____
_____________ __________________.
English III Honors / Parenti
Get your own copy: bit.ly/rise-of-realism
THE RISE OF REALISM - Guided Notes
The Civil War and Postwar Period 1850-1900
B. Describe the details of everyday life, even if they are ______________ or difficult to think
about
C. Feature characters that are based on the poor or _________ of society
D. Avoid ______________ language in favor of _________, everyday diction, and will often
imitate regional dialects that help reveal their speech patterns, behaviors, and attitudes.
E. Emphasize _______.
XIII.
Branches of Realism: Regionalism
A. Regionalism is literature that emphasizes a specific _____________ setting and reproduces
the _______, behavior, and attitudes of the people who live in that region. So in other words,
the writers wrote as people spoke.
1. How would regionalist writers portray Kentuckians’ speech today? What examples of
slang or what speech pattern is specific to our geographical area?
B. Regionalist writers differed from strict realists by portraying their characters in a somewhat
__________________ fashion.
C. ______ ________is the most well-known regionalist writer.
XIV.
Branches of Realism: Naturalism
A. Naturalism is a 19th-century literary movement that portrayed life exactly as it was
B. It was inspired by new sciences of psychology and sociobiology and the argument that
behavior was determined by heredity and the environment and was ________ _______
_________.
C. _________ ________ and _________ ________ were two of the most well-known
English III Honors / Parenti
Get your own copy: bit.ly/rise-of-realism
THE RISE OF REALISM - Guided Notes
The Civil War and Postwar Period 1850-1900
Naturalist writers.
XV.
Key Skills for this Unit
A. Understanding the importance of setting and its influence on the text
B. Understanding the structure of the text
C. Dialects
D. The role of the narrator
E. Irony
English III Honors / Parenti
Get your own copy: bit.ly/rise-of-realism