Tra realismo e naturalismo

This essay examines American literary realism and naturalism from 1865 to the early twentieth century as responses to post-Civil War transformations. Key realist figures like William Dean Howells advocated truthful portrayals of contemporary life, while Henry James radicalized psychological depth and formal experimentation. Mark Twain combined vernacular authenticity with moral complexity. Regionalist writers expanded the canon to include marginalized voices. Naturalism emerged in the 1890s through writers like Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, and Stephen Crane, emphasizing determinism and exploring urban poverty and social conflict. Both movements paradoxically engaged with mass culture, revealing how representation itself was transforming in advanced industrial capitalism.