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Realism Seeing Local Color An Essay

Although Sarah Orne Jewett's New England is far from Twain's Mississippi, Jewett's use of description and dialogue allows readers to see the exotic New England nature and wildlife in addition to experiencing their social culture as vividly as Twain did along the river. Through both Sylvia's initial search for the cow and her pilgrimage to view the Heron in "A White Heron," Jewett not only describes a young girl's struggle to choose between a man with whom she is intrigued and a beautiful bird, but also the beautiful new England landscape. For instance, she describes the forest of "sturdy trees, pines oaks and maples" that clustered on the property, in addition to the old pine tree that served as a landmark and could be seen from the shore (Jewett 28). This description allows readers...

But this realistic depiction of New England life does not end with a portrait of the scenery. Instead, Jewett's use of conversation between the grandmother and the guest suggest the extreme value that New England places on hospitality, as the conversation between the two characters suggests familiarity even though they are strangers.
Through both dialogue and description, local color writers Mark Twain and Sarah Orne Jewett embodied realism in their depiction of life in two very different regions of the United States. Because readers can feel, see, and hear the local atmospheres that the two authors seek to describe through the works, they are excellent examples of realism.

Works Cited

Jewett, Sarah Orne. "A White Heron." The Online Archive of Nineteenth-Century

Women's Writings. 1999. Bucknell University. 9 September 2008. http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/gcarr/19cUSWW/SOJ/AWH.html.

Twain, Mark. "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." n.d. The California

Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited. 9 September 2008. http://www.malakoff.com/jumpfrog.htm.

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Jewett, Sarah Orne. "A White Heron." The Online Archive of Nineteenth-Century

Women's Writings. 1999. Bucknell University. 9 September 2008. http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/gcarr/19cUSWW/SOJ/AWH.html.

Twain, Mark. "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." n.d. The California

Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited. 9 September 2008. http://www.malakoff.com/jumpfrog.htm.
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