Literature and Social Reality. Social Forces that Shaped Literature

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Literature and Social Reality
Naturalism and Realism were major movements that dominated writings during the 19th century. While the former involved the inability of people to resist social, biological, and economic forces, the latter was a basic form that required the description of people’s reality to resemble environment, emotions, and actions. The Naturalism Movement in literature entailed the use of detailed realism to suggest that environment, heredity, and social conditions had a significant influence in shaping human character. Arguably, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution had a substantial impact on naturalistic writers. According to naturalists, the social environment and an individual’s heredity determine a person’s character. Conversely, realism in literature involved a description of subjects in their original form.
Naturalistic writing depicts individuality within a character, thus allowing people to obtain humanistic themes from the literary works. Arguably, naturalists reveal the heroines when opportunities, intuition, and environment seem out of control. Naturalist literary movement was relatable during the rapid naturalization and urbanization following the Civil War that escalated poverty levels and other devastating impacts. According to Buelens, the Naturalist Movement in America was imperative because of the prevalence of themes available during the historical period (79). Considerably, social forces and trends pushed and pulled American society during the period 1865-1912.
Realists committed to breaking away from subjects and artistic styles of the past. For that reason, they created unemotional works and objectives that unadorned with various imaginative flourishes. The literature writers of the period portrayed working class and ordinary people as opposed to historical, heroic, and royal figures. Realists rejected the Romanticism that dominated French art and literature since the 18th century. The core objective of realism was to root out romantic and fantastic aspects of writing and introduce reality. Literary realism was a form of realist movement that began during the mid-nineteenth century and extended to the early twentieth century.
Social Forces that Shaped Literature
A variety of social forces and trends shaped American society and literature during the period 1865-1912. The abolition of slavery in the United States was one of the primary factors that influenced the writings of the principal authors across the country. Campaigns to abolish the slavery system in America started during colonial times as a way of addressing the issue of injustice and cruelty against African Americans and other minority races in the country. For that reason, most authors seemed committed to advocating for justice and equal treatment of all citizens.
Besides, the suffrage movement was a relevant trend that had a significant influence on American literature for the period 1865-1912. The campaign was a struggle with the ultimate objective of advocating for the right to vote among women in the United States. Consequently, women writers advoca...