Prayer (alphabetical):
Reading Check, p. 390
Describing
How did Darwin's theory of natural selection influence the way in which people viewed the world?
Realism
The Call to Realism: Audio
By the mid-1800s, a new artistic movement, realism, took hold in the West. Realism was an attempt to represent the world as it was, without the sentiment associated with romanticism. Realists often focused their work on the harsh side of life in cities or villages. Many writers and artists were committed to improving the lot of the unfortunates whose lives they depicted.
Novels Depict Grim Reality
The English novelist Charles Dickens vividly portrayed the lives of slum dwellers and factory workers, including children. In Oliver Twist, Dickens tells the story of a nine-year-old orphan raised in a grim poorhouse. In response to a request for more food, Oliver is smacked on the head and sent away to work. Later, he runs away to London. There he is taken in by Fagin, a villain who trains homeless children to become pickpockets. The book shocked many middle-class readers with its picture of poverty, mistreatment of children, and urban crime. Yet Dickens’s humor and colorful characters made him one of the most popular novelists in the world.
French novelists also portrayed the ills of their time. Victor Hugo, who moved from romantic to realistic novels, revealed how hunger drove a good man to crime and how the law hounded him ever after in Les Misérables (lay miz ehr ahb). The novels of Émile Zola painted an even grimmer picture. In Germinal, Zola exposed class warfare in the French mining industry. To Zola’s characters, neither the Enlightenment’s faith in reason nor the romantic movement’s feelings mattered at all.
Realism in Drama
Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen brought realism to the stage. His plays attacked the hypocrisy he observed around him. A Doll’s House show a woman caught in a straitjacket of social rules. In "An Enemy of the People," a doctor discovers that the water in a local spa is polluted. Because the town’s economy depends on its spa, the citizens denounce the doctor and suppress the truth. Ibsen’s realistic dramas had a wide influence in Europe and the United States.
Arts Reject Romantic Ideas
Painters also represented the realities of their time. Rejecting the romantic emphasis on imagination, they focused on ordinary subjects, especially working-class men and women. “I cannot paint an angel,” said the French realist Gustave Courbet (koor bay) “because I have never seen one.” Instead, he painted works such as The Stone Breakers, which shows two rough laborers on a country road.
emphasis—(em fuh sis) n. special attention given to something to make it stand out
Checkpoint
How did the realism movement differ from the romantic movement?
Reading Check, p. 391
Evaluating
What factors helped to produce the movement known as realism?
Resources:As listed on our class calender, a Quiz is scheduled for today. This is a ten Question, fill-in type of Quiz, similar to the last Quiz. Be sure to put your name/Period on the Quiz. You may write on the Quiz.
If you finish early, you may take out non-History material while you are waiting.
Ch. 12 Sec. 4 Culture: Romanticism and Realism
A similar experiment in musical evolution has been tried with Darwin Tunes by professors at the Imperial College, London. You can participate and let the organizers know what you think of the evolving music. As they state:
One of the most important scientific thinkers of our day is Richard Dawkins. Dawkins explains his thoughts on Charles Darwin and Natural Selection.The organic world – animals, plants, viruses – is the product of Darwinian evolution by natural selection. Natural selection expresses the idea that organisms (more accurately their genes) vary and that variability has consequences. Some variants are bad and go extinct; others are good and do exceptionally well. This process, repeated for two billion years, has given us the splendours of life on earth.DarwinTunes: a test-tube for cultural evolution
It has also given us the splendours of human culture. This may seem like a bold claim, but it is self-evidently true. People copy cultural artefacts – words, songs, images, ideas – all the time from other people. Copying is imperfect: there is "mutation". Some cultural mutants do better than others: most die but some are immensely successful; they catch on; they become hits. This process, repeated for fifty thousand years, has given us all that we make, say and do; it is the process of "cultural evolution".
However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. For example, how important is human creative input compared to audience selection? Is progress smooth and continuous or step-like? We set up DarwinTunes as a test-bed for the evolution of music, the oldest and most widespread form of culture; and, thanks to your participation, these questions will soon be answered.
Reading Check, p. 390
Describing
How did Darwin's theory of natural selection influence the way in which people viewed the world?
Realism
The Call to Realism: Audio
Novels Depict Grim Reality
The English novelist Charles Dickens vividly portrayed the lives of slum dwellers and factory workers, including children. In Oliver Twist, Dickens tells the story of a nine-year-old orphan raised in a grim poorhouse. In response to a request for more food, Oliver is smacked on the head and sent away to work. Later, he runs away to London. There he is taken in by Fagin, a villain who trains homeless children to become pickpockets. The book shocked many middle-class readers with its picture of poverty, mistreatment of children, and urban crime. Yet Dickens’s humor and colorful characters made him one of the most popular novelists in the world.
Oliver! (1968) - Theatrical Trailer - © Columbia Pictures
Starring: Mark Lester as Oliver Twist, an orphan, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild. Directed by: Carol Reed. Story written by: Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist" (novel). Screenplay & Dialogues written by: Vernon Harris. Distributed by: © Columbia Pictures. Theatrical Release Date: September 26, 1968 (UK).
Synopsis:
"Oliver!" is a 1968 musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris.
Both the film and play are based on the famous Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. The musical includes several musical standards, including "Food, Glorious Food", "Consider Yourself", "As Long as He Needs Me", "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two", "Oom-Pah-Pah" and "Where is Love?".
The film version was a Romulus Films production and was distributed internationally by Columbia Pictures. It was filmed in Shepperton Film Studio in Surrey and various other locations in England.
In 1968 Oliver! won Six Academy Awards, including awards for Best Picture, Carol Reed Best Director.
Plot:
Oliver Twist is sold to a Dunstable undertaker after asking for more dinner at the orphanage. Escaping to London he is taken in by Fagin to join his gang of child pickpockets. Wrongly accused of a theft he meets a more kindly gentleman who takes him in, to the concern of one of Fagin's old pupils, the violent Bill Sykes. In the middle is Nancy, Sykes' girl whom Oliver has come to trust.
French novelists also portrayed the ills of their time. Victor Hugo, who moved from romantic to realistic novels, revealed how hunger drove a good man to crime and how the law hounded him ever after in Les Misérables (lay miz ehr ahb). The novels of Émile Zola painted an even grimmer picture. In Germinal, Zola exposed class warfare in the French mining industry. To Zola’s characters, neither the Enlightenment’s faith in reason nor the romantic movement’s feelings mattered at all.
Realism in Drama
Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen brought realism to the stage. His plays attacked the hypocrisy he observed around him. A Doll’s House show a woman caught in a straitjacket of social rules. In "An Enemy of the People," a doctor discovers that the water in a local spa is polluted. Because the town’s economy depends on its spa, the citizens denounce the doctor and suppress the truth. Ibsen’s realistic dramas had a wide influence in Europe and the United States.
Part 1 of 12. Arthur Miller's adaptation of Ibsen's "An Enemy Of the People," which first aired in 1966 on "NET Playhouse." Stars Emmy-award winner James Daly, Kate Reid, George Voskovec, James Olson, William Prince, Philip Bosco and Ken Kercheval. All copyrights acknowledged. For research and commentary purposes only.
Arts Reject Romantic Ideas
Painters also represented the realities of their time. Rejecting the romantic emphasis on imagination, they focused on ordinary subjects, especially working-class men and women. “I cannot paint an angel,” said the French realist Gustave Courbet (koor bay) “because I have never seen one.” Instead, he painted works such as The Stone Breakers, which shows two rough laborers on a country road.
The Stone Breakers, Gustave Courbet, 1849, this is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
A slide collection of Courbet's paintings, 5:08.
This is a "mockumentary" about Courbet, the French realist painter. You can see puppets bring to life the intriguing story of the man brave enough to use a pallette knife and stand against the wave of current trends.
Later in the century, The Gross Clinic, by Philadelphia painter Thomas Eakins, shocked viewers with its realistic depiction of an autopsy conducted in a medical classroom.The Gross Clinic, Thomas Eakins, 1875, this is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.
Gross Clinic Bounce: Excerpt, :40, a clip from the 2009 Penn Reading Project music video by The Indoorfins.
David Fox, the Director of New Student Orientation, introduces the 2009 Penn Reading Project: Thomas Eakins' "The Gross Clinic," 4:15.
Dr. David B. Brownlee discusses ways of looking at art more deeply, Penn Reading Project: Learning to Look, 11:57.
Dr. Kathleen Howard and Dr. David B. Brownlee discuss 19th-century Philadelphia artist Thomas Eakins to help prepare the discussion leaders for the 2009 Penn Reading Project, 1:14:48.
Vocabulary Builderemphasis—(em fuh sis) n. special attention given to something to make it stand out
Checkpoint
How did the realism movement differ from the romantic movement?
Reading Check, p. 391
Evaluating
What factors helped to produce the movement known as realism?
1. Study for the next Quiz/Test which will include Ch. 12, Sec. 4, more details to be announced next week.
