Realist literature during the 1800s focused more on urbanization and portraying the realities of life in rapidly growing cities. While simple life on the farm was still a common theme in American literature, during the 1800s, urbanization and its effects on society became a more prominent subject for realist writers. Rags to riches stories, on the other hand, were more commonly associated with the earlier Romantic period and the emergence of sentimental literature.
