Before realism, what did writers tend to write about?

How did Jewett's stories differ from other writers of her time?

Define the term ambiguity.

Explain how ambiguity is used in literature.

Before realism, writers wrote mainly about the romanticizing of things where things are written in such a way that they are decorated or 'exaggerated'.

Sarah Jewett wrote about realism but a bit more refined, which is also known as regionalism.

Ambiguity is the quality where there are multiple interpretations of things or an open idea of how things are taken, with no specific particular final interpretation.

Ambiguity is used in literature to provide a comical yet at times, as a means of developing a story's character.

Explanation:

Before the realist movement, writers were more inclined to write about the romantic notion of things. This movement of literary technique is also known as Romanticism where things are portrayed as more appealing and 'decorated' with the use of words. They are presented as being 'imaginary' and 'dreamy-like' whereas realism prefers to present things as they are and not 'covered' with exaggerated or 'decorative' words.

Though Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett wrote along the lines of realism, her main focus was on the issue of regionalism. Now, regionalism is also a form of a realistic technique of writing but it focuses more on the 'local colors' of a particular setting or place, more significantly the rural parts of the American country.

Ambiguity is the ability or quality of being open to more ideas or welcoming different forms of interpretation of any given work. It presents different spheres of interpretation for a given work, with no clear cut or specific interpretation of that work.

Ambiguity is used in literature mostly as a tool to provide humor and comical factor / element in the story. It also provides a chance to develop a character in a story, as in Hamlet. His ambiguity is seen in his very act of acting distraught at the death of Ophelia but at the same time, did not seem to mind his own evil plans. This ambiguity in the character of Hamlet allows the readers to sympathize with him when he lost his father and his lover but also at the same time, feels a sense of horror at his plans to avenge his father's death by inflicting his uncle and those involved with murderous intent.