Stephen Crane and American Realism Essay - 1509 Words

If it was not for Stephen Crane and his visionary work than American Realism would not have taken hold of the United States during the eighteen hundreds. During the years following the Civil War America was a melting pot of many different writing styles. Many scholars argue that at this time there was still no definite American author or technique. Up to this point authors in the Americas simply copied techniques that were popular in regions of Europe. Stephen Crane came onto the scene with a very different approach to many of his contemporaries. He was a realist, and being such he described actions in a true, unadorned way that portrayed situations in the manner that they actually occurred (Kaplan). He had numerous admired pieces but his†¦show more content†¦The first time that people can truly see his professional writing career begin is during his time at Syracuse (Berryman 8). Crane wrote articles in the Syracuse Daily Standard and his work was so popular that he was eve ntually noticed by the New York Tribune who also asked him to write in their newspaper. As a flourishing writer Crane began to experiment with various techniques (Monteiro 136). All of these different styles of writing were met with mixed results leaving Crane in a difficult position. Although he was being successful as the average journalist, Crane wanted more. He was young and ambitious and the fact of the matter was that his tendencies did not fit in with the writing styles popular to the time (Monteiro 135). In order to advance his career and propel himself into a position of reverence he would have to find a style with which he could really get his ideas across. In time it became evident that Crane had found the style of writing that suited him best. He enjoyed portraying events in the true, bare, manner in which they occurred. Instead of embellishing accounts to make them seem more enjoyable to the reader, Crane preferred to include the gritty details that many considered inde cent, gritty, and unnecessary. While other authors where expanding on styles of writing such as romanticism, Crane took a twisted advance towards creating storiesShow MoreRelatedStephen Crane: The Literary Red Badge871 Words   |  3 PagesStephan Crane within The Red Badge of Courage once said: â€Å"The men dropped here and there like bundles. The captain of the youths company had been killed in an early part of the action. His body lay stretched out in the position of a tired man resting, but upon his face there was an astonished and sorrowful look, as if he thought some friend had done him an ill turn.† (Source insert correct citation in final draft†¦from http://www.shmoop.com/red-badge-of-courage/warfare-quotes-3.html). The quoteRead MoreThe Viewpoints of Stephen Crane and His Novel Maggie: A Girl on the Streets807 Words   |  4 Pagesthe world, and frequently shapes lives regardless.† (â€Å"Although it’s origins†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) Stephen Crane was in fluenced to write his 1893 novella, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, as a result of his religious family, the secrecy to publish a novel that reveals the reality and impurity of the real world and from the impact of needy, urban landscapes that ended realism and began naturalism. Beginning in the early years of Stephen Crane’s life, he was the last son of thirteen other siblings. Being raised by aRead MoreEssay on A Brief Biography on Stephen Crane1345 Words   |  6 PagesStephen Crane was one of America’s most influential nineteenth century writers of realism. He was credited for being a novelist, short-story-writer, poet, and journalist. He was born on November 1, 1871, in Newark, New Jersey, as Stephen Townley Crane. Stephen was the youngest sibling of fourteen children (â€Å"Stephen Crane Biography†). His writing inspiration came from his family. His mother dedicated her life to social concerns, while his father was a Methodist minister. Two of Crane’s brothersRead MoreThere Was a Child Went Forth and Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War Is Kind642 Words   |  3 Pages There are many pieces of American Literature that include American Values and mixed emotions. Some writers pushed the details further than others. I think the writers Walt Whitman and Stephen Crane did a great job of writing realistically. They both wrote pieces that people still analyze even today. Therefore, there will be an explanation of Walt Whitman’s, â€Å"There Was a Child Went Forth† and Stephen Cranes, â€Å"Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War Is Kind†. The poem â€Å"There Was a Child Went Forth† was writtenRead MoreSister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser and Stephen Crane ´s The Open Boat, Examples of American Naturalist Literature959 Words   |  4 Pages Literary naturalism was a movement that began in the late 1800s to the mid-1900s that used detailed realism to show the readers that the human character is shaped by many things that are outside of human control. This movement tried to depict everyday reality where the characters would receive symbolic, idealistic, or supernatural treatment. Literary realism was a prominent movement in the mid-1800s in Europe, and naturalism was derived from this movement; the writers were influenced largely byRead MoreRealism and Naturalism in Crane’s Open Boat â€Å"Perhaps an individual must consider his own death to1000 Words   |  4 Pages Realism and Naturalism in Crane’s Open Boat â€Å"Perhaps an individual must consider his own death to be the final phenomenon of nature.† In this small excerpt from his short story â€Å"The Open Boat† one can clearly see that Stephen Crane was a firm believer in the concepts of naturalism. After the harsh and violent Civil War the United States was no longer the nation it had been before. Previously, Americans had focused on the positive or romantic side of their surroundings and had written in a romanticRead MoreThe s Maggie : A Girl Of The Streets1857 Words   |  8 PagesStephan Crane’s Maggie:A Girl of the Streets is fundamentally a work of naturalism with a few elements of realism. Donna M Campbell explains in Naturalism in American Literature, much of the naturalistic literary movement focuses on taboo topics such as violence, poverty, prostitution, and alcoholism. Naturalism has other characteristics such as static characters and Social Darwinism, characters who are controlled by their environm ent and have very little â€Å"free will†, and animal imagery. FurthermoreRead More Analysis of Stephen Cranes, Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets Essay2468 Words   |  10 PagesAnalysis of Stephen Cranes, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Today in modern America, it has become almost impossible to avoid the tales of horror that surround us almost anywhere we go. Scandals, murders, theft, corruption, extortion, abuse, prostitution, all common occurrences in this day in age. A hundred years ago however, people did not see the world in quite such an open manner despite the fact that in many ways, similarities were abundant. People’s lives were, in their views, free of allRead MoreThe Red Badge Of Courage And The Works Of Walt Whitman1620 Words   |  7 PagesTo understand and compare the realism between Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage and the works of Walt Whitman, one must first examine the meaning of realism. In literature, realism can be defined as the writer’s attempt to create a picture through concise language and descriptive scenes. Essentially, a reader should walk away from the book feeling as though they lived the events with the characters, much like one might experience in a well produced movie. There may not always be moral valuesRead MoreOpen Boat1478 Words   |  6 Pagesthe universe and insignificant to the workings of the universe. In â€Å"The Open Boat† by Stephen Crane, Crane exemplifies mans insignificance to the universe and nature because ultimately fate decides and fate is an indifferent, uncontrollable, and inevitable force that possesses no consciousness that people can understand. â€Å"The Open Boat† reflects Naturalistic ideas, the era in the late nineteenth century when American was growing rapidly and the individual felt unique and important (â€Å"Regionalism† 640)