Essay on Dialects in American Literature - 2066 Words

Dialects in American Literature nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In the late 19th and early 20th centuries dialect was not common in American Literature. Writers who attempted to accurately capture American dialect and slang often failed to make it believable. In my essay, â€Å"Dialects in American Literature,† I will compare and contrast three writers who used dialect in their writings and explain the difference between effective and ineffective use of dialect. The writers I will be discussing are Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and William Dean Howells. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The use of dialect in American literature comes from using a combination of realism and regionalism. According to dictionary.com â€Å"realism is an inclination toward literal†¦show more content†¦nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat,† a group of inappropriate people are thrown out of a small western town. What I mean by â€Å"inappropriate,† is that they were not liked by the local citizens. They were considered outcasts. The outcast characters were, quot;Duchess,† also known as quot;Mother Shipton,quot; and quot;Uncle Billy,quot; a suspected sluice-robber and confirmed drunkard. The other character in the story is Mr. John Oakhurst, a gambler. Bret Harte establishes regionalism through description of his characters and also the dialogue that he gives his characters. For example, Uncle Billy says quot;Is this yer a d---d picnic?quot; ‘With inward scorn, as he surveyed the sylvan group, the glancing firelight, and the tethered animals in the foreground hurst returns to the group he speaks in a particular dialect.’ nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This dialogue Hate uses is a great example of capturing dialect that is local to time and place. The dialect portrays the way people actually talked. The story takes original characters and places them in a typical western situation. Harte uses regionalism through dialect to successfully portray his characters the way they actually are. I enjoyed reading â€Å"The Outcasts of Poker Flat,† and truly believe that the use of dialect successfully portrayed the people of the time. According to Edward O’Brien in an essay written in 1923 about the advance of theShow MoreRelated The Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar: We Wear the Mask and When Malindy Sings1725 Words   |  7 Pagesas often his poetry was written in black dialect. As one of the first professional African American literary figures (Baym 1038), Paul Laurence Dunbars poetry consists of two distinct styles: his dialect pieces with the simple rhyme schemes of the ballad lyrical form, such as h is 1897 poem When Malindy Sings, and his classical poetry that has more complex rhyme and form, and is written in Standard English like his 1897 poem, We Wear the Mask. The dialect poem, When Malindy Sings, is a result ofRead MoreBlack Dialect Essay1541 Words   |  7 Pagesslavery were produced here in American. 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