Literary Movements: Realism (ANSWERED)

QUESTION

Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

Textbook: Chapter 7, 8
Lesson
Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook – for historical/political influences)

Initial Post Instructions

Choose one of the literary movements that you read about this week and at least one work from that movement. Movements, authors, and famous works are discussed in the lesson as well. You do not have to choose authors or works discussed in the lesson, but you may. For your initial post, address one of the following:

Option 1: Examine the movement and specific work in relation to historical and political influences of the movement. Include a one paragraph summary of the plot before moving on to the examination of the work in relation to the movement.

Option 2: Examine a specific artwork influenced by a literary work and how the artist captured the subject or story. Here are a few examples, but you are not restricted to this list:

Asher B. Durand’s Thanatopsis (influenced by William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”)
John William Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott (influenced by Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott”)
Sir John Everett Millais’s Ophelia (influenced by Shakespeare’s Ophelia from Hamlet)
Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne or The Rape of Prosperina (influenced by ancient myths)
Ancient Greek vase painting (influenced by various ancient myths)

ANSWER

Literary Movement: Realism

Option 1

Plot: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Huck travels along the Mississippi River to escape his father, who had locked him in a cabin in the woods. While escaping, Huck meets Jim, a runaway slave. During their quest for freedom, Huck feels conflicted about supporting Jim because he believes it is a sin. Society considered it immoral to help escaped slaves, and one could go to hell for it. Although it troubles his conscience, Huck still commits to helping Jim find freedom. This quest for freedom enlightened Huck (Martin and Jacobus, 2019).

Historical and Political Influences

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn highlights the political realities of the 1870s and define the social transformations that took place during the Civil War. Mark Twain uses characters such as Huck and Jim to challenge racial oppression and adversity, issues that were prevalent in the 1800s. Huck’s final decision to support Jim’s quest for freedom reveals Mark Twain’s abolitionist stance on racism.

Pro- and Anti-slavery sentiments were the driving forces of politics during the 1800s. Leonard (2019) reveals that Mark Twain’s political views aligned with Republicans, and he supported the abolition of slavery. During the 1800s, it was not uncommon for influential figures to use novels to express their support for the abolitionist movement. For example, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet tried to dehumanize slavery by highlighting its cruelty and sinful nature. Likewise, Mark Twain used the novel to convince his readers of the righteous cause of slavery abolition.

The story also highlights the underlying conflict between conformity to American moral ideals and individualism. Leonard (2019) states that “He [Mark Twain] was at some times conservative, but he also identified himself as a radical.” In the story, Huck constantly feels guilty, conflicted, and bothered for supporting Jim. Perhaps Huck’s guilt in helping Jim reflected Mark Twain’s struggle to be both a conservative and radical.

Option 2:

**Asher B. Durand’s Thanatopsis (influenced by William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis”)**

The poem’s subject matter is death. The poet’s goal is to inform the reader that death comes for everyone and it is a natural part of life. According to the poet, nature nourishes us and provides us beauty and joy. When our minds are plagued by dark musing, such as death, we turn to nature for comfort. Nevertheless, death, as part of this nature, is inevitable and affects everyone. Therefore, Durand indicates that we should accept it as part of life.

The author captures this subject through lyrics, syntax, symbolism, and other poetic devices. The poem is written in unrhymed iambic parameter/blank verse and includes enjambment. Rhyme often helps distinguish each poetic line from the rest in the poem. The rhyme creates a pause at the end of a line, encouraging readers to view each poetic line as a separate unit.

Conversely, unrhymed poems such as Thanatopsis emphasize the opposite. Instead of pausing at the end of the line, these poems spiral sentences across line breaks to encourage the reader to view the lines as interconnected parts. Coupled with the extensive use of enjambment, this form (unrhymed iambic pentameter) creates a sense of cohesion in the poem.

This structure might be a form of symbolism. In the poem, Durand indicates that the earth feeds and nourishes our life, but when we die, our bodies feed it. This message suggests that we are interconnected with nature, and death signifies this unity. The unrhymed scheme in the poem creates a sense of cohesion in the poem. Perhaps this style was used to symbolize our unity with nature through death.

Durand also uses metaphors and imagery to capture the subject matter. For example, she states, “… and the narrow house, Make thee to shudder, and grow sick at heart.” The Narrow house is a metaphor for a coffin. Imagery is also used, e.g., “His chamber in the silent halls of death” (“Thanatopsis Summary & Analysis” (n.d.). These poetic devices help create an elaborate language form and enrich the poem’s subject matter.

References

Leonard, J. S. (2019). Historical and Cultural Contexts (J. Bird, Ed.). Cambridge University Press; Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/mark-twain-in-context/politics/BF35295E23B6F72A15FFCE2ED74B50CB

Martin, F. D., & Jacobus, L. (2019). Humanities through the Arts. McGraw-Hill Education

Thanatopsis Summary & Analysis. (n.d.). LitCharts. https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/william-cullen-bryant/thanatopsis