American Realism: A Faithful Representation of Reality - Essay Sample

Introduction

American realism can be seen as a faithful representation of reality. Realism is, therefore, a literary technique that is practiced in writing schools and defines a subject matter, such as the representation of the middle-class life. The American literature was not written in a vacuum, and literary realism cannot be overstated for both Europeans and American realists. The logic of realism has for long been opposed for different reasons such by the nationalist school, which intended to revolve around the genre and that there is no clear distinction between realism and naturalism. Most literary writings present fiction stories that could really happen in life and are stories that depict people and their ordinary or universal occurrences. American realism, therefore, promotes a truthful and objective, unvarnished look at life as it is. In the following assignment, we analyze different fiction passages and review their realism and demonstrate useful aspects of life.

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Bret Harte - "The Luck of Roaring Camp"

In the introduction scene of the story, violence was so rampant in mining camps in the nineteenth century, and crowds were not allowed to hold fights. The realism of temporary home in the modern world is presented by the phrase, "rude cabin on the outer edge of the clearing." The roaring camp also has one female, Sal. The language used by men such as,

"Go in there and see what you kin do. You have experience in them things." This represents the gender status in the modern society and the role of women in the society. As the only lady, Sal is described as sinful and coarse, "perhaps the less said for her, the better.she was a corse, and it is to be feared a very sinful woman." The realism in this scenario is that the female is expected to be a prostitute with a difficult life as the only woman. Realism is also presented by the death of Sal during birth. This represents the reality in the modern world of mortality rates for women. The death of Sal is real as there are primitive conditions in the camp, such as lack of health facilities and skills where birth is delivered by one of the men.

Henry James - "Daisy Miller"

In the story Daisy Miller, realism is presented in different scenarios. In the opening paragraph of the story, Henry James presents a vivid description of the many hotels in the story, which gives a picture of the entertainment of the tourist's stylish hotels. For example, the paragraph, the grand hotel of the newest fashion, with ...hundred balconies,...,names inscribed in German-looking lettering..." this presents realism in that there is a descriptive detail to the story painting a vivid picture about a situation.

The second case where we see realism is the selection of characters and their presentation in terms of social class in society. Daisy and her family, as presented in the story, are presented like a middle-class family. The paragraph, "my father's in Schenectady. He got a big business. My father is rich, you bet!" signifies a social class for the family. In the modern world, there are three social classes, which are high-income earners, the middle class, and the low-income class. This, therefore, presents realism in a modern world where society is divided into the social class according to the level of resources.

Further, Henry James develops characters in such a way that their psychological states are expressed through motivations, emotions, opinions, and feelings as well as through other emotional processes. Henry James develops characters like Daisy through exploration such that the reader is aware and associates with the character. Readers can sympathize with the character. A psychological exploration of the characters exposes their inner psychological, emotional, and cognitive process, and the reader understands the characters as one with traits similar to those people in the real-world experience. For example, the paragraph, "and what is the evidence you have offered?" asked Winterbourne, rather annoyed..." represents emotions which are also real in the modern world and not just in the fiction.

Edith Wharton - "Roman Fever"

In Roman Fever, Edith presents the story in a realistic setting. The start of the story describes two American ladies who seem well-off. The ladies dine in a roman restaurant while overlooking the landscape, as described by the paragraph, "the lofty terrace of the Roman restaurant." While in the hotel, the ladies tips a headwaiter who then bows signifying gratuity and assure the clients that they were most welcome to spend the night in the hotel and that there was more at the hotel.

This setting in the story can be argued to be realistic and a reflection of the present. There is a deep description of the headwaiter and her behavior, such as bowing over to express gratuity after being tipped. This description is not a new invention but rather activities that also take place in the real world. The description of the landscape paints a picture of the environment for the reader. The development of the characters and their presentation as well-off ladies is similar to a modern environment where the society is grouped in classes. The two ladies in the story are from an upper class. They seem to be much in control of their environment and less impacted by the environment-the fiction story us a true representation of the real-world setting where people are grouped in classes.

Stephen Crane - "The Open Boat"

The Open Boat presents the story of four men stranded from a shipwreck in the middle of the ocean with barely any tools for survival. The story sparks the reality of the real-life and the reader is tempted to think about the reality of life and the existence of superpowers such as God. For example, one of the characters in the story, Oiler, is presented as a strong and agile man when he swam faster than all of his companions when their boat swamped. Although physically strong and hardworking, he dies despite having the physical attributes. This suggests that even the strongest persons die.

In this fiction, the author clearly describes the unlovely reality in the ocean, such as the slate waves and the presence of sharks. In the real-life, the fiction presents the reality in nature where there are life and death. The life of human beings can be seen to be described as a result of fate. Whatever the status, social class, environment, religion, or being in other defining structures, human beings are all equal in the sense that we are all mortal, and the reality is that anyone can die despite their status in the society.

Jack London - "To Build A Fire"

The fiction story, To Build a Fire, is realistic in that it presents a situation depicting the normal life of people in the real world. There is a believable plot, which is a characteristic of realism. There is a lone hiker in the cold Arctic and behaves ordinarily. Although he is advised not to travel alone, he does not follow people's advice, which shows the behaviors and reactions of ordinary people. He fears death, which is usually in the real world and finally dies, representing the mortal nature of human beings. The reader, in this case, associates with the fiction story and usual reactions/situations in the story.

There is naturalism in the story, which is an example of extreme realism. The man in this story, who is the protagonist, interacts with the environment, which becomes one of the character in the story. The cold environment is the result of death for the protagonist, as he cannot control natural forces. Reaslims has also seen in the story through the detailed description of the region the story takes place. The protagonist in the story interacts with the hostile environment, which is within a frozen creek and finally dies. The man tries to survive with his dog in a state of nature presented as a frozen environment. Although the dog has been a companion and servant of man, the man tries to kill the dog so that he can preserve his life. This represents the desperate struggle of survival between man and animals.

Willa Cather - "Neighbor Rosicky,"

Rosicky, as the main character in the story, migrates to the United States with his family and lives on a farm after giving up tailoring. The doctor informs the character about his heart condition and that he needs to take it easy. The different struggles for the character before and after migrating to the US reflects realism. The reader can identify with Rosicky's struggles and his solution to the situation.

Willa Cather - "The Sculptor's Funeral"

The story, The Sculptor's Funeral, is a realist story. A sculptor student, Steavens from Boston, attended his mentor's funeral in Sand City, Kansas. He is amazed that despite living in a small town which "closer to nature," the mentor's parents, as well as the townpeople, are not kind. They are deeply flawed and their vices unfold in a drama as people watch over the coffin. In real life, the sculptor's death should teach and be handled with dignity and outing people's differences aside.

Sherwood Anderson - "Hands"

This story introduces Wing Biddlebaum, who lived isolated from Winesburg. His isolation is caused by past experience that was traumatic. He helped young boys as a gifted schoolteacher until his attentions were misinterpreted as being erotic. He fears that his hands will betray him again and therefore isolates himself as he would be mistaken for homosexuality. The story reflects on realism in that it presents people's reaction when life takes a turn to the worst. In the real world, people often isolated themselves from others due to traumatic experiences, and therefore the fiction relates well to the situations of the modern world.

Sherwood Anderson - "Mother

In the story, Mother, we are introduced to Elizabeth, who has a ferocious bond with her son George. Elizabeth is married to Tom Willard, who has disparaged her dreams and ridiculed her to the extent that she is physically ill.her self-esteem is low and spends most time in her room. Elizabeth is incensed when Tom tries to kill her sons dream. The story reflects realism in that it presents the life of frightening childhoods with lost dreams such as Elizabeths and the paranoia in every environment in the real world.

Conclusion

From the analysis, we can infer that realism renders reality in comprehensive detail; the character is more important as opposed to plot and action, and the most common subject is a complex ethical choice. Further, it is clear from the American realism analysis that characters are presented as complex in their real complexity of motive and temperament, the class is important, events are plausible, and objectivity is increasingly important.