Final answer:
The characteristic of the Realism and Naturalism Periods of 1865 to 1914 is the depiction of everyday life, portraying everyday subjects and situations with truth and accuracy, while embracing a broader spectrum of social classes and environmental forces.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Realism and Naturalism Periods, spanning from 1865 to 1914, are characterized by the depiction of everyday life. Realism emerged as a literary movement that aimed to portray contemporary subjects and situations with truth and accuracy, focusing on ordinary people and their daily lives, often highlighting the changes brought on by the Industrial and Commercial Revolutions. Realist artists and authors like Gustave Courbet, Honore Daumier, Jean-François Millet, and Mark Twain embraced this style, often rejecting Romanticism's idealism and emotionalism.
Naturalism, which followed Realism, delved deeper into the grittier aspects of life such as poverty, illness, and the human being at the mercy of environmental forces, influenced by the work of Emile Zola and Charles Darwin's theories on evolution. Refusing to shy away from controversial topics such as prostitution, murder, and alcoholism, naturalism painted a raw and sometimes grim picture of the human condition.