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 (1861-

1865) 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 readex: To Frederick Douglass, literacy was the key to freedom.

2. paradox (n): two contradictory ideasex: It was paradoxical that the more educated Douglass became, the more frustrated he felt about his situation.

3. benevolent (adj) / benevolence (n): kindly; charitableex: I consider myself a benevolent teacher because I listen closely when students need to discuss something with me.

4. depravity (n) / depraved (adj): corruption; wickednessex: 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

slavery

category

category

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

Warmup

• Watch clip of video

• 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

slavery

power of the white man over

women & minorities

Bierce

Civil War

freedom to oppose

right to fair trial

Both

harsh reality

factual

subjugation

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 self-assertion, 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)

What you expected/ or, what the character thinks

What really happened/ or, what we know

Type of irony

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).

Detail from the story (quote or action)

What you expected/ or, what the character thinks

What really happened/ or, what we know

Type of irony

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).

Detail from the story (quote or action)

What you expected/ or, what the character thinks

What really happened/ or, what we know

Type of irony

5. “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills” (638).

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?