Regionalism in writing is a focus on what defines a specific region and the people who live within it. Authors of this type of writing often must include many things in order to create this focus. Two of the most common things found in regionalism works include the accurate dialect of a region, as well as the region’s specific geographical traits. Among others, these details help readers to better understand the region which the writer is focusing on. Three of the most well-known Regionalism authors include Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Willa Cather. The works of these authors differ in many ways, but they all share the previously stated focus that is found in all works of Regionalism.
Likely the most well-known regionalism writer out of the
…show more content…
A specific example of regionalism in “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” is the line, “A wooded amphitheatre, surrounded on three sides by precipitous cliffs of naked granite, sloped gently toward the crest of another precipice that overlooked the valley.” (626)
This vivid description of the topography directly helps to define the region of which this work is focused on. Another example of regionalism in “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” is when Harte wrote, “After the game was finished, Mr. Oakhurst drew the youthful speculator behind the door and thus addressed him: ‘Tommy, you’re a good little man, but you can’t gamble worth a cent.
Don’t try it over again.’ He handed him his money back, pushed him gently from the room, and so made a devoted slave of Tom Simson.” (626) This line displays two elements of regionalism.
First, it talks about the fact that Oakhurst is a gambler, a profession common in the West.
Second, it focuses on the morals and characteristics of John Oakhurst and Tom Simson, helping to better define the characters of the story.
A third regionalism writer is Willa Cather, who often included midwestern families that endured hard work in her stories, a subject she pulled directly from her own life. One