Notes

Two literary movements that first appeared in the late 19th century and had a big influence on American writing were realism and naturalism. Focusing on ordinary life, rejecting romanticism, and wanting to show the world as it is rather than how one imagines it to be were the defining characteristics of these movements.
The 1870s saw the emergence of realism as a response to the romanticism that had dominated American writing in the years before. Without idealizing or moralizing it, realist writers sought to portray everyday life as it actually is. They eschewed romanticism's grandeur and thrill in favor of the banal and ordinary. The writings of authors like William Dean Howells, Henry James, and Mark Twain influenced the realist movement. The focus on the individual and his or her experiences was one of the fundamental components of realism. Realist authors felt that the experiences of common people should be depicted in writing on an equal footing with those of the wealthy and powerful.
A number of realist authors highlighted the struggles that working-class people faced on a daily basis to show how tough it was for them to support themselves. These authors valued the social and economic conditions of the day, and they frequently used them to highlight the flaws in the American political and social structure. The 1890s saw the emergence of naturalism, which came after realism. In its emphasis on the commonplace and more negative outlook, naturalism was comparable to realism in this regard. Naturalist authors held that people had little influence over their own lives and were largely affected by their surroundings and ancestry. The more sinister facets of human existence, like poverty, addiction, and crime, fascinated these authors. They held that people were at the mercy of more powerful forces and that the universe was icy and unsympathetic.