(Hannah Hollon)
Twentieth century literary realism developed to provide readers entertainment and an accurate worldly portrayal, which oftentimes served as an escape. Readers enjoyed this relief, which made realism a very popular writing genre during the time period. Richard Harding Davis’ short stories exemplify all of the qualities of twentieth century realism, yet critics often questioned and even debated his writing style for it provided optimism and ethics in a transitional time period when such literature was needed. In particular, his stories “A Question of Latitude” and “The Man Who Could Not Lose” provide idealism to readers, which define Davis’ literary works.
The historical background of the twentieth century offers an explanation as to why literary realism survived and had such appeal to readers. The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution and pre-World War I attitude. “The rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization, an expanding population base due to immigration, and a relative rise in middle-class affluence” explained why change occured in the general culture (Campbell). This gave way to American Realism, which focused on the everyday tradition, values, morals, and truth. This writing style appealed to the public, for they “saw their own struggles in print”, which explained the growing support behind Richard Harding Davis’ work (Penrose). He utilized vernacular dialogue that connected with the public and focused on character rather than plot development. Taking an ordinary character, he could analyze and develop the person to be complex and truthful. Davis focused on the divide between the high and low class, specifically on the “interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class” (Campbell). However, not everyone accepted realism. A large group of cynics felt that realism did not actually well-represent America. They attacked realism, claiming that this literature brushed over major topics and sugar-coated problems. “Debates over the suitability of realism…led to a critical exchange known as the realism war” and particularly led to the criticism of Davis’ writing (Penrose).
The argument over Davis’ work divided between realistic and over-simplified, which created a huge dispute during the twentieth century. One side praised Davis for preaching morality, truth, and social class while also attacking “American crudeness” (Osborn 85). They saw him as a symbol of American tradition that represented the masses. Cynics did not really carry an argument; they argued that Davis failed because he was “too American.” This term referred to modernizing fairy tales, emphasizing “the smiling aspects of life,” and “cramping prejudice” (Osborn 89-90). They claimed that he focused on an immature audience and wrote for pleasure when he should have written instructive literature. He could not analyze complicated matters due to inexperience and “limited intelligence” (Osborn 90). However, this argument is weak since Davis was specifically a realist writer and stayed true to form. His stories developed a character throughout, emphasizing the high and low classes equally. This kind of writing “promot[ed] optimism, confidence, and happiness, which obviously appealed to the public (Osborn 88). His stories followed a maturing character through a situation to reveal a moral lesson directed to the reader, which explains Davis’ wide popularity.
In particular, “A Question of Latitude” represents Davis’ idealistic writing style that embodied the realism of the optimistic time period in literature successfully. “A Question of Latitude” exposes the strange culture of the Congo in comparison to that of America, for it is simple, uncivilized, violent, poor, and uneducated. Davis chooses to brush over the violence, which is actually a central tenet of African culture. He has the protagonist, Everett, ignore the violence and even take part in it just to survive until the next day. Everett takes note that he is going against his moral standards, a necessity if he plans to stay there. In this way, Davis raises a moral lesson on violence and the consequences of passivity towards such violence. He zeroes in on the divide between the rich and the poor through Everett’s point of view. “The standard of life to which Everett was accustomed was high,” and coming into the Congo he upheld high status, which held no value in the Congo (Davis). This fact shocked Everett, who was used to prominent class distinctions, but only one class existed in the Congo: the poor. Thus, he acclimates to this strange environment and cultural exposure where “death must be faced, conciliated, conquered” (Davis). Realism is present in this work as Everett uncovers the real problems of the Congo, yet Davis’ key trait comes to forefront as Everett merely sees these issues rather than analyzes them. Davis found a way to highlight complex issues without diving in, which existed in his all of his short stories and made his writing accessible to almost anyone.
“The Man Who Could Not Lose” also represents the idealistic nature of Richard Harding Davis, as he takes an unrealistic situation and develops it into a humbling experience that exposes the true value of the characters. This story focuses on social class and the back-and-forth nature between the rich and the poor. Therefore money and the struggle for wealth are the central themes of the story. The characters develop as their attitudes toward money change and become more realistic. Carter’s fortune-telling dreams make him money-hungry as he drags himself out of poverty and gains wealth through horse races. On the other hand, his wife, who grew up in a rich household, never showed an interest in this money but supported her husband’s endeavors. She grounds him, making him realize that the best prize of all is his wife, not the money. Readers find pleasure in this story because it represents the “rags to riches” dream that seems distant and even idealistic. Davis focuses on wealth and class in this story, utilizing true characteristics of realism. He highlights the gloom surrounding poverty and the overt excitement of newfound wealth. These contrasting outlooks create a problem, but ideally in the end, there is an equilibrium between greed and paucity. Without explicitly stating these facts, Davis uses two characters to display this struggle. He creates an unlikely situation, yet successfully produces realistic lessons and morals, a characteristic that made Davis famous.
Optimism was key to the early twentieth century and is essential to literature in order to successfully appeal to a variety of readers. Literature is read for entertainment, and people want to leave a story feeling good, as if it were an escape from reality. Twentieth century literature reflects the happy attitude surrounding the Industrial Revolution and pre-war time. Davis’ work clearly fits in with this tone, for his realism draws readers in through his optimistic style and choice of storyline. Both “A Question of Latitude” and “The Man Who Could Not Lose” represent these storylines that related to his audience and left them feelings satisfied. While debate exists over Richard Harding Davis, the amount of popularity surrounding his stories shows that he was a successful twentieth century writer who effectively gave the readers what they wanted.
Works Cited
Campbell, Donna. "Realism in American Literature." Washington State University –
Pullman, Washington. Washington State University, 08 Sept. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm>.
Davis, Richard Harding. "A Question of Latitude." Short Stories & Classic Literature from
around the World. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.americanliterature.com/sstitleindex.html>.
12.1 (1960): 84-92. JSTOR. Web. 23 Sept. 2011.
Penrose, Patricia. "American Realistion 1865-1910." American Collection: Welcome.
Harper and Row, 1987. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/amer_realism.htm>.
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