Letter on Modernism/Sandburg

I really enjoyed reading the "Letter to the Reader", and yes I did read the entire thing even though it was very long.    There are so many things, technologically, socially etc. that have changed, and yet there is still the basic "American Dream" that we believe in.  "Everyone has creative liberty.  The creative mind finds new ways and stops at no law laid down by, or piled upon us by lesser or non-creative minds . . ." (Cain, 323).  If you have the ambition and the desire there is no one who can stop you.  That is what I liked most about this chapter is it is America kind of coming into it's own and people finding out who they are.  There were changes in the labor laws and though not everything was solved overnight people realized that they could do something about it.  Women realized that they had rights as well and were finally granted the right to vote.  Because of the amazing industrial revolution that was taking place in the United States, "America was acquiring supremacy in the world's markets . . .and thus was extending its power outward and attracting millions of workers and their families from abroad" (Cain 309).  This is one of the great changes that happened during this time because this is what makes America what it is.  The United States is shaped by the diverse cultures and traditions that the immigrants who came during this time brought with them.  One of the greatest changes that happened during this time was the "rise in literacy which was connected to the expansion of education opportunities (Cain 311).  I think one of the things I like the most about the modernist movement is that it seems that everyone was a part of it and it was a change that affected that entire country, even us today.  It seems like it is still alive and happening.  This is one of the reasons why I like the poem by Carl Sandburg. 

In the biography of Carl Sandburg he is described as the "poet of immigrants and laborers, of common men and women, a celebratory singer of the working people of America, its industries and factories, and its grand panoramas of mountains, rivers and landscapes." (Cain 414)  When I read the poem "Chicago," I thought this description couldn't be any more perfect of the poet who wrote it.  He describes "his city" Chicago and all the evils that are in it, gunmen, prostitutes, hunger and he "says to all those who sneer . . .come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning" (lines 7-10).  Just in these few lines he paints a picture of immigrants who are proud of who they are and where they live, despite what people may say.  The poem is simple, but I think that's what makes it so relatable and "of common men and women".

Poem-Kinda

His soldiers stood at attention, ragged, but proud
as a breeze blew past causing the flags to tremble as it
caught them in it's path.
They had fought the fight for their cause
the rest was up to fate to decide
He wondered if he had given them his all,
his men, his country
It was silent as it became shadowy, he became still
and accepted his fate

Washington/Chesnutt/Du Bois

I thought the reading for this week was really interesting.  It reflected the feelings of the country at the time through the views of three different people to get a more accurate feel of what the atmosphere might have been like. 

The format of Booker T. Washington's writing, as well as W.E.B. Du Bois, is in a narrative format, as if they were expressing their sentiments on the present social issues and how they should be handled.  I liked reading the excerpts from their books because it gave me a good sense of what exactly was going on in that time period and exactly what their thoughts were.  However, there were times while I was reading Du Bois that it got a little wordy and I got a little bored.  I really enjoyed Charles Chestnutt's story, "The Sheriff's Children," as it presented the idea in a story format and was able to bring the situation to life. 

In “Up From Slavery”, by Washington, a good portion of the excerpt they share is from a speech he gave at the Atlanta Exposition.  Before he gets up to deliver the speech he said “the thing that was uppermost in my mind was the desire to say something that would cement the friendship of the races and bring about hearty cooperation between them” (162).  As I read through the address and the rest of the excerpt it seemed to me that this statement is the underlying idea of Washington’s feelings regarding the relationships between the White and African-American people.  I like how he talks about “casting down your bucket where you are” and “not permitting your grievances to overshadow opportunities” (163).  He is telling the men of all races to cast their differences aside and to take advantage of what is around them and use the others around them to make new friends and to build up the economy again as well.  There are some things that Washington mentions where I can see that people of his race could believe he isn’t fighting hard enough for them or he is taking the other side, but he just believes that things are going to come slowly for them and not happen overnight.

One of the things I really like in Chestnutt’s story was how he was able to portray the inner-struggle and the consequences that people were dealing with both because of slavery and the effects of the war.  The sheriff, who is the main character of the story, goes through a process of self-evaluation during the course of the story to try to figure out what is most important to him.  He is extremely dedicated to his job, but when he finds out the prisoner is his son he questions what the right thing for him to do is, even when his life is threatened. I found it interesting how freedom was portrayed in this story for the son of the sheriff.  He was trapped in the prison literally speaking, but then even when he could escape or if he was released he would never be free because “he had learned that no degree of leaning or wisdom will change the color of (his) skin and (he) will always wear a badge of degradation” (186).  I think from the encounter with his son the sheriff has guilt transferred to him and is now weighed down by some of past actions and has lost some of his freedom.  He felt that he “owed some duty to this son of his” and “that he might have saved this spirit” (188).  In order to get rid of some of his guilt he hopes to “atone” for some of his sin by doing everything he can to acquit his son of the crime only to find his son had bled to death during the night.  The sheriff/father will always have to live with what he has done, if anything the guilt has been made worse.  I think Chesnutt chose an ironic way to portray the white dealing with the consequences of the war.

Du Bois had a lot to say against Washington in the excerpt from "The Souls of Black Folk, and how his thoughts “practically accept the alleged inferiority of the Negro races” (248).  To say the least they do not agree on politics.  Whereas Washington believed it was fine to give up some of the social and political rights to advance economically, Du Bois represented the group who believed they should not be deprived of anything.  One of the issues he brought up was “through the pressure of the money-makers, the Negro is in danger of being reduced to semi-slavery”(252)  He also talked about how different classes of citizens treated the African-Americans and though some were willing to help most still view them as incompetent, as competition, or still hated them.  I can see that both men have valid points, but Washington is trying to please both groups of people where Du Bois is more speaking for the cause of the African-Americans. 

Realism/Naturalism

Realism/Naturalism

After we discussed the two different styles of literature I wanted to get a firmer grasp on each concept so I could really know what they were.  
Though naturalism and realism are two different styles they have a lot in common and have on some occasions been grouped together.  Essentially naturalism is an extension of realism. "Each, though slightly different in concept or subject, is defining what is going on in front of his or her eyes, without imagining a past or a future." (American Realism)
Both techniques were an abrupt change, a revolt against the emotional Romantic era.  However despite their similarities, the two do have a lot of differences as well: 


                  Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the 
                  actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its actions, realists center their 
                  attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the specific action, 
                  and the verifiable consequence (Campbell)


One of the characteristics of realism is it generally focuses on the middle-class lifestyle, it was a "faithful representation of reality." (Campbell)  For example, the dialect used in Mark Twain's "Jumping Frog", does not suggest an upper class society and if the people had been living in poverty it is more likely that the children would be working rather than out playing.  I think, though it is a very light-hearted version of realism, Mark Twain does a good job of representing the technique in this story.  However, in "Editha" by William Howells I think the idea, the fact that they are focusing on such a controversial topic at that period of time is definitely realism, but I felt like the emotions were at times a little too over the top for the genre. 
While realism only describes people as they are, 


               naturalism attempts to determine "scientifically" the underlying forces. 
               Naturalistic writers believed that the laws behind the forces that govern human
               lives might be studied and understood used detailed realism to suggest that 
               social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping
               human character. (Naturalism)


Naturalism explores the deeper part of the human character and finds out why we do what we do and tries to understand that.  Also, where a realist would focus on the middle-class, naturalists generally would focus on the low-income areas.  Occasionally naturalistic writers were criticized for being too negative and pessimistic on their view of life.  
The story of "Chickamauga," written by Ambrose Bierce, I feel is a good example of naturalism.  It shows a family of lower-class and how the environment affects this family.  It definitely explores the darker side of people, shows reality and expresses the thoughts and feelings of people, not just the events that occur.  
As I read about the two definitions and went through the stories I could definitely see a difference between the two techniques.  I also feel that, though each style has it's place, naturalism is definitely more relatable and current, even if it does give a more honest and sometimes bleak outlook on life.  


Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University.  09/08/2011. http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/natural.htm


American Realism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_realism. 8 May 2012.


Naturalism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(literature).  22 April 2012