Naturalism and Regionalism Defining through American...

Regionalism and naturalism are two different types of American literature. Naturalism focuses on the philosophical or scientific ideas whereas regionalism is about he characteristics of a specific region. Bret Harte and Willa Cather are regionalist authors who use the setting to put emphasis in their stories. Furthermore, Mark Twain is a naturalist writer. Twain attempts to use lower class citizens to get across a bigger point. Harte also uses minorities. However, he focuses on how the region changes these poorer citizens. Lastly, Willa Cather and Mark Twain both have their characters in pursuit of something. Cather has her characters pursue intangible objects while Twain has them pursue material objects. Cather, Twain, and Harte†¦show more content†¦Being able to feel is a characteristic of living things. The fact that the setting can feel shows it is a character. The way Harte characterizes the setting is a common characteristic of regionalism. Regionalism focu ses on applying setting to the story. Also, the setting helps the character develop. This theme of the character developing through the setting is a common idea in Willa Cathers My Antonia. In Cathers book, Jim Burden lives in Nebraska. He has many significant women in Nebraska and lives there for most of his life. Living in Nebraska restricts Jim from developing on his own. Jim begins to develop when he leaves for college. When he returns home from college, he goes to see a play with Lena. At this play, Jims development can be seen. It can be seen when the narrator says, â€Å"As I walked about there I congratulated myself that I had not brought some Lincoln girl who would talk during the waits about the junior dances †¦ Lena was at least a woman (Cather 312).† In this quote, Jims development can be seen because he compares Lena being a woman, as opposed to a little girl in Nebraska. If Jim had never gone to college, he would have not been able to finally see Lena as a woman not a little girl. Furthermore, the setting is key in this quote. He views Lena as a woman because he left Nebraska and had experienced other places. The distance he had from Lena and Nebraska helped himShow MoreRelatedEssay on 20th Century Latin American Literature3323 Words   |  14 Pages20th Century Latin American Literature Global literatures in English have always played a key role in developing international understanding and appreciation for the social realities and cultural developments beyond Western lifestyles and familiarity. For anthropologists seeking to perceive the social realities of 20th century Latin America, the work of popular authors and novelists of this century is invaluable. Popular authors are the modern mouthpieces of the people and societies who read