Regionalism - Definition

Regionalism is another literary genre that is often compared to Realism. Regionalism, as one would assume judging by its title, gets its classification from the setting of the story. The setting of the story, though, plays an important role in any story. For example, the setting greatly influences the voice of the main character, the events that happen during the story, and the cultures and society of the story.

Regionalism is a form of writing that centers around a particular area of the United States (Anderson, Baughman, Bruccoli, and Rollyson). Of course, different authors specialize in different areas of America. Each region of the country was represented somehow in this genre, such as the West, the South, New England, and areas where immigrants went to live once they had arrived in America. Each of these regions captured a whole different set of unique qualities and characters that made the stories fascinating (Anderson, Baughman, Bruccoli, and Rollyson).

Most authors who wrote using the Regionalism style centered around a particular city or county that was important to them in some way (Anderson, Baughman, Bruccoli, and Rollyson). For many it was where they grew up or spent most of their lives, or any other place that held sentimental value to them. In this way, they were very familiar with the way things worked in the particular region and were therefore able to make the characters come alive in a way that was very realistic and believable. The main idea of the entire genre was the more one knew his or her setting, the more believable the characters would become (Anderson, Baughman, Bruccoli, and Rollyson). It is safe to assume that the characters the authors wrote were once real people that the author knew, but that point comes with an argument. The people could also just be born from the author's mind as they wrote about their specific town or city.

Regionalism is both similar and different from Realism. Regionalism focuses on the landscape more, which is the opposite of Realism. Realism focuses on the characters rather than the setting (Campbell). However, Regionalism is akin to Realism in that both are made to appear very believable. Stories from both genres could be real.

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 15, 2011).

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature." Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.