Definition of Realism

Realism is a movement in American literature that began around the time of the Civil War, caused by the increase in scientific and rationalist thoughts (Quinn). With the aftermath of the Civil War, Romantic literature no longer was appropriate to the time period, and Realist literature took its place. The typical style of a work of Realism would be almost monotonous, while still containing vivid descriptions. The style is quite plain and an artistic flow, as seen in Romantic works and poems, was avoided. While most previous movements of literature focused on a hero or heroin, the protagonist for most realism works is an average, middle-class character with events in the story that are also ordinary (Barney). With the new style of writing came a new underlying theme to stories. Many works in the Realism genre have content concerning the psychology of the characters as well as the thoughts on the social structure at the time (Quinn). This lead into the creation of naturalism, a subgenre of Realism, in which the social and economic standards and levels held by a person are of utmost importance to the individual and how they are scene in their society. Another subgenre of Realism that formed as a result of the realist movement is regionalism. This is a genre in which the author pays a lot of attention to how the setting affects the events and message of the story (Anderson). A writer of regionalism uses ideas and history of specific areas to tell the story. Even if the story is fictitious, the writer will still take the concepts and ideas held by a specific area to create a setting that embodies the story itself as well as the message. The psychological aspect of literature of Realism is actually very important to the setting of the story. Writers often use the setting to project or create and image of what the character is thinking or feeling about something (Barney). The common, middle-class hero, the vivid descriptions, and the psychological breakdown of characters are what separated Romantic literature into the new genre of the mid 1800s, known as realism.


Works Cited

Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds."regionalism." Encyclopedia of American Literature: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, vol. 3, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1330&SingleRecord=True. January 26, 2011.

Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock, eds. "realism." Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL0738&SingleRecord=True. January 26, 2011.

Quinn, Edward. "realism and naturalism in American literature." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0707&SingleRecord=True. January 26, 2011.