Realism Project- Define Realism

"Realism is the attempt to depict life as it actually exists, not as the author wants it to be in the present or the future, or imagines it was in the past. A realist carefully chooses details that illustrate this vision" (Werlock). When I read this definition of realism, it seems that realism is just the interest in something is more real of something that could actually happen. Like it says in our American Literature books, writers during this period were turning away from romanticism because they wanted to write about something that was closer to ordinary life ("Regionalism" 487). I think they were just wanting to show things that were actually realistic and something that actually seemed real and important in their lives. You can get that just by looking at the word. People that wrote on realism were known as realists. Realists did not want to transcend reality, but to show the experiences that we go through everyday ("Regionalism" 287). American realism was from the end of the Civil War to the beginning or our World War 2. That period of time was a big period for American Literature, and also it was a time that we still go back to for writings. I think that realism was a topic that would be better to write about after and during these periods, because it would be something that would show detail and real things that were going on. I think they stopped writing the romantic literature and went in to realism, because I do not think a lot of people would want to here about love and all that goes along with that right then. Realism did not happen really fast, it was a subject that developed gradually. Realism was spread by scientific and rationalist thought (Quinn). Bret Harte and Sarah Jewett were two of the first writers of realism. They were the ones who emphasized the facts of daily living (Quinn). Realism seems to be a very important topic, and one that I would really love to read a lot more about. I like to hear things that are real and would affect the daily living of everyone.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 25, 2011)

"Regionalism and Realism." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Douglas FIsher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. American Literature ed. Coulmbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 487. Print.

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. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0707&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 27, 2011).