For Many Years, Romanticism Dominated English Literature,

For many years, Romanticism dominated English literature, and consequently American literature, as American writers were heavily influenced by the English. Writers like Poe and Hawthorne were leaders in this form of literature. As thinking changed scientifically, philosophically and spiritually, so did literature. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn showed American culture in a way it had never been shown, and in doing so became arguably the most famous piece of realist literature. His novel exemplifies the rejection of romantic ideals. Realism started in France, as the rejection of the popular romantic novels. While romantic novels were usually overly dramatic and emotional, realist novels were objective and without a touch of personal†¦show more content†¦He shows the other characters personalities for what they really are, He just gives details of what he sees, giving the reader a realistic view. Huck’s literalness and practicality sometimes make it difficult for him to even play and fantasize the way children do. For example, Tom; a very romantic character, starts a gang with the local boys.Tom says the gang must sign a blood oath, and if they leave the gang their whole family must be murdered. He talks about how the gang will be highwaymen, robbing and killing caravans as they pass by. Huck, being the realistic character he is, takes this completely literal. The gang conducts a â€Å"raid† on what Tom said was a huge meeting between Spanish merchants and Rich A-rabs; when it turns out to be a sunday school picnic, Huck is disappointed. Tom then convinces Huck that Genies had made the whole thing disappear, he then tells Huck how to get conjure the Genie. Huck tries, and reaction shows his realist personality and his reluctance to trust superstition â€Å"So then I judged that all that stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyer s lies. I reckoned he believed in th e A-rabs and the elephants, but as for me I think different. It had all the marks of a Sunday-school.†(Twain, 1884, p. 115, lines 3-5). Huck deals with many hardships in his life, which is a very real concept, as everything is not always perfect and easy. His hardships include a dead mother and a drunken father.Show MoreRelatedEssay about Romanticism1678 Words   |  7 PagesRomanticism, Romanticism, in a way, was a reaction against rigid Classicism, Rationalism, and Deism of the eighteenth century. Strongest in application between 1800 and 1850, the Romantic Movement differed from country to country and from romanticist to romanticist. Because it emphasized change it was an atmosphere in which events occurred and came to affect not only the way humans thought and expressed them, but also the way they lived socially and politically (Abrams, M.H. 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