Final answer:
Writers of this era chose to employ dialect in their writing for multiple reasons, including representing social distances, showcasing cultural diversity, and expressing racist attitudes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Many writers of the era chose to employ dialect when writing dialogue for their characters for a variety of reasons. One reason is that dialect was used as a literary method to reinforce American's new role as a melting pot of culture and language. This allowed writers to showcase the diversity of the country. Another reason is that dialect represented the social distances among characters or between characters and the audience.
It helped create a realistic portrayal of the different backgrounds and social classes of the characters. Additionally, dialect became an accepted literary technique for expressing underlying racist attitudes about society. Some writers used dialect to reinforce racial stereotypes and reflect the racial divisions of the time.