Loading...

The Frontier Roots of American Realism

by Gretchen Martin (Author)
©2007 Monographs X, 138 Pages

Summary

In the antebellum South, the «plain folk» maintained social norms, ideals of honor, justice, gender, and liberty that were significantly distinct from town and planter gentility, and the humorists of the Old South captured this important distinction. Southwest humor flourished from the 1830s through the Civil War and this book provides a thorough investigation of the unique and innovative contributions of these humorists to the field of American literary realism, such as use of vernacular authenticity, complex character portraits, and the narrative technique of disclosure. Thus, when the Southwest humorists «tell about the South,» they provide an endlessly entertaining and realistic representation of the vast complexities of the antebellum South and illustrate that the roots of literary realism were sown and nurtured on the southwestern frontier.

Details

Pages
X, 138
Publication Year
2007
ISBN (Hardcover)
9780820488110
Language
English
Keywords
Humoristische Literatur Realismus Geschichte 1830-1900 Southwest humor Vernacular authenticity Complex character portrait Narrative technique of disclosure Mittlere USA (Süd) American literary realism
Published
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2007. X, 138 pp.

Biographical notes

Gretchen Martin (Author)

The Author: Gretchen Martin is Assistant Professor of American and Southern Literature at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise. She received her Ph.D. in American literature from The University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Her publications are in the field of Southwest humor and Southern literature.

Previous

Title: The Frontier Roots of American Realism