Where did writing plant its roots during this time period? What did literature emphasize?

• A. It moved toward universalism; emphasizes abstract ideas
• B. It had its roots in regionalism; literature emphasizes a geographic setting and local speech and manners
• C. It embraced high fantasy and mythic landscapes
• D. It focused on futuristic societies

Answer: (B)

Regionalism and local color capture the era’s writing roots, centering on place and community. Writing moves from broad abstractions toward authentic portrayals of specific geographic settings, with attention to the way local speech, customs, landscapes, and social life shape character and plot. This approach treats a region’s unique traits as essential to meaning, not just background. As a result, literature emphasizes how geography, dialect, and everyday manners reveal the texture of American life across different communities.

Context helps: after the Civil War and into the late 19th century, many authors wrote scenes grounded in real places—Mark Twain along the Mississippi, Kate Chopin in Louisiana, Sarah Orne Jewett in New England—using local color to bring regional realities to life. Other options point to different directions—universal, abstract ideas; high fantasy and mythic worlds; or futuristic societies—but they don’t center on actual places and local speech in the same way regionalist writing does.