Name the literary trend: In contrast to the early nineteenth…

Name the literary trend: In contrast to the early nineteenth century, the last half of the century placed emphasis on the middle-class and the common, everyday issues that they faced. It focused on the practical aspects of life and society, with a focus on the here and now instead of a distant past. The dialect, food, geography, clothing, etc. of particular locations in the U.S. helped show the local society, which was important in this literary trend.  

Name the speaker: “I know how sincere you are, and how—I wis…

Name the speaker: “I know how sincere you are, and how—I wish I had your undoubting spirit! I’ll think it over; I’d like to believe as you do. But I don’t, now; I don’t, indeed. It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war–so stupid; it makes me sick. Why shouldn’t this thing have been settled reasonably?”   

Name the character being described: “There would be no one t…

Name the character being described: “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. . . And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not.”  

Name the author: His people had been mistreated and betrayed…

Name the author: His people had been mistreated and betrayed by the government since colonial times, and by 1870 he needed to protest these lies. He went to Washington to meet with President Grant. Sadly, for his people, his attempts had no effect on the way his people were treated and the suffering continued. All they wanted was peace and justice.  

Name the character: This character muses on the naturalistic…

Name the character: This character muses on the naturalistic view of the absurdity of the human condition. Nature is completely indifferent to the existence of human beings, who have no importance in the universe as this character recognizes when he faces drowning in the Atlantic Ocean.