Realism vs. Modernism

The change from the Realism writing style to the Modernism writing style is a pretty significant part of the history and development of American Literature and writing. While these two literary genres are completely separate from each other, they still share many common characteristics. Both of these literary movements were shaped by what was going on in that country at the time, like World War I during the Modernism movement (Anderson). Realism also had connections with war and current events of the time period. The fact that the writing of both Modernism and Realism was so largely impacted by the good and bad parts of the time period is probably one of the biggest characters the two movements share, although not the only one. Both of these genres were shaped by the time periods they took place in, but also left an impact on that part of history as well. During the time period that Realism took place, there was a lot going on in the history of our country. The country was expanding westward all the way to the Pacific Ocean, the economy was at a high point- mostly because of new industries forming and developing, and social changes were happening as well. This topics were new and exciting, so writers took advantage to write about things that American people were interested in and would be able to relate to very easily. Mark Twain the most famous realism writer that I know off, and pretty much the only one I think people could name off the tops of their heads. He was focused mainly on the Regionalism branch of Realism, and brought local dialect and traditions of places like Missouri into his stories. He was known for writing about the things around him, and did not place as much emphasis on things like western expansion but more on descriptions and a lot of details. Being extremely detailed is a very distinctive part of Realism (Werlock) and can be found in Modernism works as well. Werlock describes Realism very simply as "the attempt to depict life as it actually exists". She goes on to say that is description is not of the past or the future (or your interpretation of the past or the future), but of what is going on in the present time. Realism is all about right here and right now, and what is really happening. The situations described in the works of the Realism movement are displayed very accurately and are a good portrayal of actual events (Wherlock). While both Modernism and Realism share some common qualities, there are of course some differences as well. Realism is much more accurate than Realism, because Modernism writers tended to manipulate and edit the things that were going on during the time period, and Realism writers were very accurate of the events going on around them during the time that they were writing. One very famous Modernism writer is John Steinbeck. His most famous novel, "The Grapes of Wrath" told about the effects of the Great Depression on the people of the United States, but he gave his characters a little more hope at the end of the novel than people actually had throughout the Great Depression. Even as Roosevelt became President and the New Deal began, many people were still very downtrodden, without hope and without any prospects as well. Steinbeck's ending of "The Grapes of Wrath" was a little disturbing as well as uplifting for the characters of the novel, which probably wasn't the most accurate thing. I kind of find it hard to believe that women during the Great Depression were willing to breastfeed random strangers to keep them from starving- but what do I know? I wasn't alive then and I have never experieneced anything like that. However, I know that I personally would not be breastfeeding a stranger no matter how close to dying he was. Works Cited Anderson, George Parker. "modernism." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds. Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. April 6, 2011. 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. Web. April 6, 2011.