While reading The Life in the Iron Mills--a short story by Rebecca Harding Davis--one can experience what happens when sentimentalism meets realism in a piece of literary art. When there is only sentimental language, the great message can be lost and when a story lacks the right amount of realistic, details imagery, the reader cannot be drawn in to become a part of the story. Davis managed to maintain a perfect balance of both. First off, the narrator addresses the reader directly and manages their feelings by using robust and sentimental language. Over and over, the narrator says, "I'm going to tell you a story" . As the narrator goes along he continues to tell the reader that they need to come to him to learn and then reminds them that