Realism
Realism arose as a counterculture to romanticism. Opposing the idealized life, literary realism sought to depict life as it really was through the average person. As Dr. Scheidenhelm of Loyola University simply put, “Realism is about recreating life in literature,” (Scheidenhelm, 2007).
Stories are detailed to connect the reader to the characters and to give the impression there is more to them. As a result, the literary device of foreshadowing is prominent. Finally, the literary movement is meant to have some form of profound impact on the reader. Realism evokes various outlooks on life and questions preconceived notions (Keep, 2000).
Major Characteristics
- Detailed
- Foreshadowing
- Real-life Context
- Common Man
For more information regarding the characteristics and authors of realism click here.
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Author Focus
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy) was a Russian author made famous for his work during the realism movement. His book, War and Peace, is one of the longest novels ever written (Christian, 2000).. As someone who had served in the military, he used his experiences and others to write the book. The goal of War and Peace was to bring history and fiction together (Christian, 2000). This follows the central theme of realism.
by Liannadavis, used under
Realism is still prominent in today’s culture. Most murder mysteries and crime novels fall under realism. Creating fictional stories based on real life scenarios (Keep, 2000). Sherlock Holmes is a just one example of numerous examples.
Citations