Naturalism and Regionalism Defining through American Literature

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Recommended: Importance of setting in literature

Regionalism and naturalism are two different types of American literature. Naturalism focuses on the philosophical or scientific ideas whereas regionalism is about he characteristics of a specific region. Bret Harte and Willa Cather are regionalist authors who use the setting to put emphasis in their stories. Furthermore, Mark Twain is a naturalist writer. Twain attempts to use lower class citizens to get across a bigger point. Harte also uses minorities. However, he focuses on how the region changes these poorer citizens. Lastly, Willa Cather and Mark Twain both have their characters in pursuit of something. Cather has her characters pursue intangible objects while Twain has them pursue material objects. Cather, Twain, and Harte all want to portray a strong theme, and they depict it through naturalist and regionalist characteristics.

Willa Cather and Bret Harte are regionalist authors. Regionalism is a type of literature that focuses on the features of a specific region. The features can include dialect, customs, and topography. Bret Harte is a regionalist writer because he uses regionalist characteristics in his writing. Harte uses an important trait of regionalism in his short story “The Outcasts of Poker Flat.” In this story, there are five main characters. They characters are John Oakhurst, Piney, The Dutchess, Mother Shipton, and Uncle Billy. However, there is one more character. The other character is the setting. Where the story takes place in this type of literature is crucial. The importance of the setting can be seen in Harte's novel when the narrator says, “AS Mr. John Oakhurst, gambler, stepped into the main street of Poker Flat … he was conscious of a change in its moral atmosphere (Harte 201).”...

... middle of paper ...

...ants Jim Smiley to pursue money. Authors use different techniques to develop ideas that they want the readers to learn. The use of stories and essays to persuade people helps readers get a better understanding of how early American writers morals and common ideas.

Works Cited

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. Dover Thrift Additions. Dover: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.

Harte, Bret. "The Outcasts of Poker Flat." www.Bartleby.com. www.Bartleby.com. Web. 4 Aug

2013. .

Twain, Mark. “Corn Pone Opinions .” Web. 24 Feb 2014.

.

Twain, Mark. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County ." University of Virginia

Library. University of Virginia Library — The Electronic Text Center, 20 july 2013.

Web. 4 Aug 2013. .

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