American Realism lasted from 1860-1914. This era began because of the American Civil War. Newly found Americans began to realize everything isn’t sunshine and rainbows and things can actually go wrong. They began to learn how to use laws and become a unified country. However, World War I occurred, which ultimately ended the Realism era.

Science starts making advancements during this period. After World War I, soldiers came home mortified, completely traumatized by trench warfare. A negative viewpoint on humanity began as people started using science to make sense of everyday situations. People began questioning God and started using science, facts, and logic. After mentally ill soldiers came home with shellshock, people began to look at the science behind things instead of the traditional way. The traditional way society dealt with mentally ill patients was assuming they were possessed and crazy.

In this period, industrial expansion occurred. Many began to portray reality as it was, instead of what was expected or wanted.

In addition, minority groups began to have voices in literature, such as immigrants and ex-slaves. Realism writers began to expose the truth and reality of America.

Three novels that expose the truth from the Realism era are O’Pioners by Willa Cather, The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, and Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. Two poems are “Behold the Grave of a Wicked Man,” by Steven Crane and “The Town Down the River,” by Edwin Arlington Robinson. A short story is Ambrose Bierce’s “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.”

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