Realism Project: Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee was one of the greatest Confederate generals during the Civil War in the United States--approximately 1861 to 1865. This war, fought between the North and South, split the United States of America up, because families were fighting against each other and hundreds of thousands of men died. The start of this war was predicted, and many people were expecting a terrible out break. One of these people who predicted the Civil War was in fact Robert E. Lee. The soon to be general of the Confederate Army wrote a letter to his sons, properly titled, "Letter to His Sons." This letter explained to his sons that the Civil War was soon to happen and the consequences of that war (Lee, 385).

Robert E. Lee's letter, "Letter to His Sons," falls under the category of literature known as the Realism Literary Period. In realism, authors write about real events or real settings, somewhat like historical fiction. The hero is the average person, someone who the readers can relate to. The American Dream is what the people of the time thought of the American Dream, usually succeeding in life and climbing the ladder of success, so to speak. Many authors also wrote of society--problems in society, the current state of society, and certain classes of people in society. Religion in the realism literary period was not as important as it was in the Puritan and Romantic literary periods. It was there, but it was not the defining factor of the people's lives. All of these parts of realism show up in Robert E. Lee's letter, "Letter to His Sons."

Lee talks about the state of the country at the time, and more specific, the society. Leading up to the Civil War, the North and the South had been clashing heads over slavery and land issues. Many times, the country had tried to be reunited through compromise, but it had failed because of the two sides' unwillingness to compromise. The south wanted slavery; the north did not. There was no compromise to that that would make either side happy. War was almost inevitable, and this is was Lee told his sons (Lee, 385). Talking about the present state of the country as the main topic makes Robert E. Lee's letter, "Letter to His Sons," a true realistic piece of literature.

The next thing that makes this letter part of the realism literary period is the structure of the letter, which includes both a factual part and an emotional part. Robert E. Lee gives facts on the country's present state. That is the factual part of the letter and one part of realism. Then he uses his emotions to give the letter a tone of sincerity and disappointment that the country is about to go to war with itself. That is the emotional part of the letter and the second half of realism. The facts and the emotion present in Robert E. Lee's letter, "Letter to His Sons," classify this letter as part of the realism literary period.


Works Cited

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to His Sons." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 385.