American Realism was an artistic style, found in music, literature and art that aimed at depicting contemporary social realities and the lives of ordinary people. This movement began in the latter half of the 19th century. Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is one of the earliest American realists. Realism allowed Twain to capture its distinctive slang and explode conventions. His main contribution to realism was writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.