Regionalism

Regionalism is a type of writing, similar to Realism, that focuses on a certain area or region in which the story takes place (Anderson). Unlike simple Realism, which can focus on a very general idea or setting, Regionalism is much more specific when it comes to the choice of setting or other details of the story in that nature because Regionalism writing is much more focused on the specific details of the story because very often in Regional writing, the main moral of the story is based on that specific region or the lifestyle that takes place in that specific region (Anderson). For example, during the Civil War era, a common setting for regionalist writing would take place in the South where slavery was still legal and very common on farms or plantations (Anderson). This would be a very common theme in Regionalism because the author would use examples of hardships and the shunning of civil rights for African-Americans as a basis for the author's own story or book. Similar to realist writing, a regional story would usually be based on the mere struggle that the main character would face in the area in which the book took place. Also common in regionalism writing would be the type of language or dialect used in that certain region in which the book or story took place (Anderson). One of the main points of regionalism was to make the story more believable to the ones who were reading it. For example if the character in the story was facing a conflict that many in a region had faced, then that story would be much more believable to the reader of audience. This was one of the main appeals of Regionalism. If a person could read about a character or person who overcame the very same obstacle that the reader was facing, then it gave the reader belief that he or she could overcome the very same obstacle in their own life.

Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds."regionalism." Encyclopedia of American Literature: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, vol. 3, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1330&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 8, 2011).