In order to better interpret a piece of literature you have to get the background information first. Through the biography and the historical context it helped me come up with an in depth analysis of the story i researched.William Dean Howells is just one of the great practitioner of realism. While reading on Howell's reason for realism i came acrossed that Howell's belief of idealism is stupidity. With him saying,"a false sentiment and the complete opposite of common sense." He knew that realism isnt just "copying reality, but also involved attituded toward reality." With that being said it helps better understand how the story reveals itself.
Often times realist are known as "regionalist" writer for their focus of work being on an exact part of the country. In this story "Editha" by William Dean Howells he uses a bit of romantic style but all together its categorized as one of the realist trends. He had the best of his work that represents when he was at the top of his writing published in Harpers Monthy. The issues that were featured in April of 1886,July1888, December 1887,1890, November 1889, and 1891 contain why he wanted to be involved in the "realism war," and in the "critics war."
Phillip Barris wrote a book on America realism and had said "Howells critical discussions of dialect in American literaute ecemplify the complexity of literaty realism's role in these interncerine middle-class struggles over modes of style, taste, and aeistethic experience." While reading biography's on Howell's i became to realize how big he is with dialect. In this story "Editha," he uses dialect to measure out the tone of the story. I have also learned how his use of dialect in his old magazine disussions were about stories with dialect ...
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... whats a better way to name a title of a story about a girl whos self-centerd.
Works Cited
Barrish, Phillip. American Literary Realism, Critical Theory, And Intellectual Prestige, 1880-1995. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Brooks, Van Wyck. Howells: His life and World. New York: E.P. Dutton & CO., INC, 1959. Print. 27 Apr. 2014
Cady, Edwin Harrison. The Realist At War; The Mature Years, 1885-1920, Of William Dean Howells. n.p.: Syracuse University Press, 1958. Print. 27 Apr. 2014.
Carrington, George C. The Immense Complex Drama; The World And Art Of The Howells Novel. n.p.: Columbus, Ohio State University Press, 1966. Print. 27 Apr. 2014.
Wagenknecht, Edward. William Dean Howells; The Friendly Eye [By] Edward Wagenknecht. n.p.: New York, Oxford University Press, 1969., 1969. Print. 27 Apr. 2014.
First, Realism is a definite movement away from the Romantic period. Romantics wrote regarding the unique and the unusual, whereas in Realism, literature was written about the average and ordinary. The town where the novel takes place is Starkfield, an average farming community. There is not much in the town that is of interest or anything extravagant to be known for. In addition, literature from Romanticism focused on hopes, while Realistic literature illustrated skepticism and doubt. The narrator describes the scene where Zeena declares to Ethan that her sickness is getting serious, saying, "She continued to gaze at him ...
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
Perkins, Geroge, and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
"Editha" is a story about a woman who loves her country so much that she would be willing to give up anyone who does not feel as she does. Her fiancé George was not enthusiastic about the war. To George the war was about senseless bloodshed, but to Editha it was about taking pride in a country that she loved. She told George, "I call it a sacred war. A war for liberty and humanity, if ever there was one"(Howells 363). Editha could not understand how George or anyone could not see the importance of the war. Because of George's lack of enthusiasm for the war Editha writes him a letter and says, "But the man I marry must love his country first of all"(365). These words from Editha show how much she believed in her country.
Baym, N. (2008). Cotton mather. In N. Baym (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume 1 (p. 143). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
What are you going to do if your girlfriend asks you to give up your life for your country? The first thing I will do is pick up my cell phone to call my family doctor to schedule an appointment to check my ears and make sure they are working well, or I can put on a strong emotional face to ask her, "Are you serious?" Most people would not want to see the person they love go off to a place where they could possibly die. In William Dean Howells' short story, "Editha", however, the main character is an unusual woman, Editha, who has her own perfect ideals and pushes them on her lover, George, to ask him to fight in the Spanish-American War. In the story Howells not only brought his anti-war message about the dangers of war but also satirized the United States' governments that have foolish ideas about the reasons to go to war. To do this, Editha's personalities are irrational patriotism, selfish romanticism understanding, and unrealistic ideas about war.
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Moulton, Charles Wells. Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors through the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: Volume 1. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1966. Print.
Now Howell uses George's view on war, his family history and even his death to symbolize realism. From the beginning George sees war as a negative thing that can bring so much pain and suffering contrary to Editha's views. His family had a personal experience with war, having his father lose his arm at war shaped his family's view on war influencing George. His mother's straight forward words about girls that give up their loved ones thinking they will come back alive and unaltered, only expecting to "kill someone else- kill the sons of those miserable mothers and husbands of those girls.
Tucker, Martin. Moulton’s Library of Literary Criticism. Volume 4. Frederick Ungar Publishing Company. New York. 1967.
Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907-21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html
Between the years of 1865 and 1914, American literature was mainly comprised of three writing styles: realism, regionalism, and naturalism. Realism aims to portray life realistically. Though realism...
New York Times Book Review (1968): 42, 44, 46. Rpt. in Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticism. Eds. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Sheila Fitzgerald.
Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993.