|
LITR 4232: American Renaissance  |
Final Exam Essays 2013 Sample answers for
|
 |
Briana Perry
Elevated Romanticism, Blunt Realism
Romanticism
and Realism are both important styles in American Literature. However, they may
as well be polar opposites. Romanticism comes from an age of yearning, a
yearning for simpler times. In these stories, heroes save the day while the
author takes you to a place your grandparents might have told you about from
their childhood. They live in a quieter time, perhaps out in nature, a setting
that readers of the time were only vaguely familiar with. After the Civil War,
this longing seemed to die down, replaced with a gnarling cynicism for the
modern world. Gone were the happy times everyone remembered so fondly, instead
replaced by their bleak present in the Industrial Revolution.
The differences in the texts is fascinating considering
how drastically the styles changed. To begin with, Romanticism are adventure
stories that one may tell a child before bed. They are often set out in the
country, or some place close to nature. There seemed to be an idea that being
close to nature was like being close to God, or perhaps reconnecting with the
Earth. With these types of transcendental ideas Romanticism's elevated language
makes perfect sense. Where Realism would say "there was running water in the
sink," Romanticism would correct, "sparkling liquid flowed from the chrome
faucet into the silvery basin below." Though the main idea of Romanticism was to
return to the easiness of the past, its descriptions were rarely that simple.
Realism tends to discuss tougher topics. Where Romanticism
is floral and filled with whimsy, Realism aims to show you that those ideas
belong in fairy tales. Realism discussed life in an industrialized world, often
dealing with life struggles and class differences. Realism aimed to show the
reader that the world was not as simple as Romanticism would like it to be. In
Realism, morality is not black and white, while Romanticism wishes to portray
life as cut and dried, with an obvious right and wrong.
Many different facets are shown in the character's world.
A boy who steals a loaf of bread in a Romantic novel is called a thief. The same
boy in a work of Realism may be trying to keep his family from starving. He is
still a thief, but the reader can no longer see him as just a villain because
now they sympathize with him. Things are far more blunt in Realism, as it
chooses to focus more on personal relationships than an adventure in an odd
place. This is something Romanticism fails to do. Like the plot lines they aim
to portray, Realism has many different characters with complex backgrounds and
social ties. Romanticism usually focuses on just the few that are necessary to
move the plot along.
One such work is
Life in the Iron Mills. A typical Realism piece, it is set in the Industrial
Revolution. The main characters are in poverty, toiling along at a dangerous,
dead-end job. Their neighbors are in similar states of disarray. They are poor,
but they make do. Then they are confronted with the wealthier class who
initially show pity for them, but offer no real advice. In retaliation, the main
female character steals the man's wallet. This is where the complex morality
comes in. Does her cousin give the wallet back to the richer men, though they
don't need it as much as his family does and they were rude? Or does he keep it?
The author shows you the facets of their life. His job is terrible, as is his
future, and as a reader you aren't sure what he should do either. You almost
reserve yourself to being okay with whatever he chooses.
Last
of the Mohicans is a really classic Romanticism
story. Few things are more romantic than cowboys and Indians. Set out in the
wilderness, our hero conquers all on his journeys to new places with his Indian
friends. Unlike the multi-faceted characters of
Life in the Iron Mills, the
characters in Last of the Mohicans
are very blatant archetypes of themselves. You have the two Indians, one visibly
good, one visibly darker. Then you have the two women, one the fainting blonde
white angel and the other mixed race girl who her own father said she belonged
to no one but herself. These characters are hardly realistic anymore, and the
language the author uses is definitely Romanticism. I'd argue that he pushes the
limit on elevated language. Often times it's so elevated and "out there" you
have trouble understanding what he means.
1865 flag of the USA