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NINETEENTH-CENTURY LITERARY MOVEMENTS: REALISM

. . REALISM. A. DEFINITION THE TERM ?REALISM" IDENTIFIES PRINCIPALLY A LITERARY TENDENCY DOMINANT AMONG THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN WRITERS OF FICTION WHO, IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, DEALT WITH THE USUAL CONDITIONS OF URBAN MIDDLE-CLASS LIFE?ITS MANNERS, CUSTOMS, VALUES, AND ETHICAL ISSUES. .

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NINETEENTH-CENTURY LITERARY MOVEMENTS: REALISM

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    1. NINETEENTH-CENTURY LITERARY MOVEMENTS: REALISM DEFINITION BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS TECHNIQUES

    2. REALISM A. DEFINITION THE TERM “REALISM” IDENTIFIES PRINCIPALLY A LITERARY TENDENCY DOMINANT AMONG THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN WRITERS OF FICTION WHO, IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, DEALT WITH THE USUAL CONDITIONS OF URBAN MIDDLE-CLASS LIFE—ITS MANNERS, CUSTOMS, VALUES, AND ETHICAL ISSUES.

    3. B. BACKGROUND 1. THE GROWTH OF INDUSTRIALISM, ADVANCES IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF MASS PRODUCTION, THE RISE OF THE STOCK-MARKET SYSTEM OF INVESTMENT CAPITALISM, CREATED SEVERAL CONDITIONS THAT HELPED LEAD TO REALISM . . .

    4. RESULTS OF INDUSTRIALISM CITIES BECAME MANUFACURING CENTERS AND MORE PEOPLE MOVED FROM RURAL AREAS INTO THE CITIES TO FIND JOBS; A LARGE URBAN MIDDLE CLASS APPEARED, INVOLVED IN MANUFACTURING, WHOLESALE AND RETAIL SALES, BANKING, THE LEGAL AND OTHER PROFESSIONS, AND THE STOCK MARKET.

    5. 2. ADVANCES IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF PRINTING ALLOWED CHEAPER PRODUCTION AND MASS MARKETING OF BOOKS; THE MASS CIRCULATION OF POPULAR MAGAZINES BOTH OF WHICH PROVIDED FICTION THAT APPEALED TO THE INTERESTS OF MIDDLE-CLASS READERS.

    6. 3. TWO INTELLECTUAL INFLUENCES OPERATED TO FOSTER THE ATTITUDES REFLECTED IN REALISM: THE SPREAD OF EDUCATION, THROUGH THE PROLIFERATION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN THE INDUSTRIALIZED WESTERN WORLD; THE THEORETICAL LEGACY OF THE AMERICAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS OF THE 18TH CENTURY. THESE CONTINUED INTO THE 19TH CENTURY . . .

    7. THE INTELLECTUAL LEGACY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA: IN ENGLAND, THE CHARTISTS AGITATED FOR LOWERING THE FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RIGHT TO VOTE; IN FRANCE AND THE GERMAN AND ITALIAN STATES, THERE WERE THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1848; IN THE U. S., THE DEMOCRATIC IDEAL ACQUIRED NEW RELEVANCE IN THE CIVIL WAR AND THE EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE FRONTIER.

    8. THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF THESE CONDITIONS WAS THE FORMATION OF A LITERATE MIDDLE CLASS THAT SAW ITS MEMBERS AS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PROTAGONISTS; WANTED A LITERATURE THAT REFLECTED ITS SOCIAL STRUCTURE, MANNERS, AND ETHICAL VALUES.

    9. 4. IN ADDITION, AMONG WRITERS THERE WAS A REACTION AGAINST TWO EXAGGERATIONS OF 19TH-CENTURY ROMANTICISM: IDEALISM--THE VISION OF THE WORLD AS POLARIZED INTO GOOD AND EVIL, HIGH AND LOW, NOBLE AND IGNOBLE; ESCAPISM—THE DESIRE TO ESCAPE FROM THE INSTABILITY, CONFLICTS, AND SUFFERING OF THE REAL WORLD.

    10. THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF REALIST FICTION THE SETTINGS ARE URBAN— THE HOMES, FACTORIES, OFFICES, RESORTS, AND OTHER PLACES FREQUENTED BY BOTH THE UPPER AND LOWER MIDDLE CLASS.

    11. THE PLOTS ARE BASED ON THE PRACTICAL AND ETHICAL PROBLEMS FACED BY MEMBERS OF THIS CLASS, AND THE DECISIONS THAT THEY MUST MAKE--FOR EXAMPLE, CHOICE OF SPOUSE CONDITIONED BY ECONOMIC AND ETHICAL AS WELL AS ROMANTIC OR SENTIMENTAL FACTORS; CHOICE OF PROFESSION; CHOICE BETWEEN SELF-INTEREST AND INTEGRITY IN BUSINESS DEALINGS OR PERSONAL AFFAIRS.

    12. THE PROTAGONISTS ARE TYPICAL MEMBERS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS AND REFLECT THE ATTITUDES AND VALUES AS WELL AS THE CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF THIS CLASS. (SOME CHARACTERS MAY BELONG TO OTHER CLASSES.) 4. UNLIKE ROMANTIC HEROES AND VILLAINS, THE CHARACTERS ARE NEITHER EXTREMELY GOOD NOR EXTREMELY BAD, BUT HAVE A MIXTURE OF BOTH QUALITIES.

    13. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CHARACTERS IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE EXTERNAL ACTION OF THE PLOT— THE TEXT INCLUDES A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF REVELATION AND ANALYSIS OF CHARACTER, AND THE READER IS EXPECTED TO BE AS INTERESTED IN HOW A CHARACTER DEALS WITH HIS OR HER REALITY AS IN HOW THE STORY ENDS.

    14. NARRATORS AVOID THE OVERTLY EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE OF ROMANTICISM: JUDGMENTS MAY BE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED; THE NARRATOR MAY REMAIN NEUTRAL, LEAVING THE READER TO FORM HIS OR HER OWN JUDGMENTS. 7. THE NARRATIVE TONE MAY BE NEUTRAL, MILDLY COMIC, OR SATIRIC.

    15. D. THE PRINCIPAL NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES OF REALISM EXPOSITION IS NOT LIMITED TO EXPLICIT INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL IN THE INITIAL PARAGRAPHS OF THE TEXT, BUT SCATTERED THROUGHOUT; AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IT IS REVEALED THROUGH THE DIALOGUE, AS IN DRAMA.

    16. 3. IN ESTABLISHING THE SETTING OR INTRODUCING A CHARACTER, THE AUTHOR PRESENTS A FEW VIVID PHYSICAL DETAILS THAT SUGGEST THE ENVIRONMENT OR THE PERSONALITY. 4. IN KEEPING WITH THE RELATIVELY OBJECTIVE TONE, THE AUTHOR AVOIDS PERSONIFICATION AND STRONGLY AFFECTIVE TERMS IN ESTABLISHING THE SETTING.

    17. THE DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS COME FROM DELIBERATE OBSERVATION OF REAL PEOPLE AND PLACES; THE REALIST NEITHER INVENTS NOR EXAGGERATES, BUT OBSERVES AND RECORDS. 5. THE CHARACTER’S—OR EVEN THE NARRATOR’S—VALUES ARE IMPLIED OR SUGGESTED THROUGH THE DETAILS RATHER THAN EXPRESSLY STATED.

    18. 6. THE WRITERS USE DIALOGUE AND GESTURE (BODY LANGUAGE) AS WELL AS EXPLICIT ANALYSIS AND EXPLANATION TO REVEAL A CHARACTER’S PSYCHOLOGY, EMOTIONAL STATES AND MOTIVATION.

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