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Realism in literature influence on today
Social change in the victorian era
Social change in the victorian era
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In a world where individualism is cherished, and everyone cares only for their sole interests, influence over people is admired, some even consider it an art of the spoken word. Oftentimes, people influence other people without wanting to. Unconsciously, they alter the thoughts of the influenced mind, creating a new, different person. Similarly, in the book The Picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde, several characters fall prey to the art of influence. The protagonist, Dorian Grey, is influenced by several people during his lifetime, such as Lord Henry, a rich, upper class gentleman that introduces Dorian to hedonism, and Basil Hallward, an artist that is enchanted by Dorian’s appearance.
The nineteenth century was a breeding ground for many literary movements, including realism, romanticism and naturalism. Realism consists of literature that is consistent, predictable, and sticks to the “simple truth” of how regular people live and talk. Romanticism is literature that contains things of intellect, strangeness and remoteness and tries to make the familiar unfamiliar. Finally, naturalism is literature that has regular people in extraordinary circumstances; the hero is at the mercy of larger social and natural forces, which are cruelly indifferent; traces of social Darwinism can be found in the literature and there is generally a brutal struggle for survival. Realism can be seen in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman,
2. The bulk of Chapter 11 lists, page after page, the various pursuits of Dorian's adult life. In these lists, Wilde shows the result of Dorian's chosen path. The reader sees the peculiar kind of hell that Dorian inhabits because of his pact; Wilde delivers a strong judgement against the dangers of decadence. The lengthy passages describing Dorian's study of perfumes, music, jewels, and embroideries border on being tedious.
There are many modern novelists that were and still are affected by the Realist movement. One of these authors is S. E. Hilton, she wrote almost all of her novels in a Realist style. This essay will discuss her style of writing and how it affected the Realist movement. So lets start at the beginning. The realist movement was a famous movement from 1865-1900 that featured more realistic literature.
A strong response against romanticism and the burgeoning influence of rational philosophy prompted a literary movement which revealed life in its truest form. Realism, with its attention on the immediate situation and its consequence, spread throughout the world in the 19th century. Pivotal writers of the time such as William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Gustave Flaubert adapted the realism into their writing. They refrained from using the usual romantic take to writing in order to reveal a more realistic aspect of life. Realist writers believed in revealing the true nature of situations instead of romanticizing them.
In the classic play The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde ridicules men and women in love and the pursuit of marriage in Victorian society to create a comedic and drama filled play. Oscar Wilde makes fun of love in Victorian society by adding comedic techniques to his writing. First off, Lady Bracknell makes it quite clear Gwendolen will never marry Ernest, leading Gwendolen to reassure Ernest nothing her mother says “can alter my eternal devotion to you” (139). Jack and Gwendolen are in love, but Lady Bracknell does not approve. Gwendolen tells Jack that even if she marries another man, she will always fall back to him.
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 and passed away on May 19, 1864. Hawthorne was the only son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Clark Hathorne (Manning). His father was a sea-captain, died of yellow fever in 1808 when Hawthorne was four years old. Hawthorne suffered from a leg injury at an early age which left him immobile for several months. He developed an appetite for reading in his months of immobility and decided he wanted to become a writer.
In the 1800’s, America was the subject of many romantic visions and musings. The British and East Coasters alike saw everything west of Appalachia as a wild wonderland: home to cowboys, adventure, and opportunity. Oscar Wilde, a renowned British author and satirist, voyaged across America to test the truth of these claims. Afterwards, he published his findings and opinions in a piece known as Impressions of America. In the piece, he makes it clear that America did not live up to his expectations, and would disappoint his readers as well.
The realism literary time period can often be described as an individual’s direct or literal interpretation of a subject matter. From 1865 to 1914, realist writers flourished as they forced out romantic ideals and expanded into a new, factual literary front. Donna Campbell in “Realism in American Literature” states that many realist writers “wrote fiction devoted to accurate representation and an exploration of American lives in various contexts” (1). During this time period, many Americans were devoted to removing European influences and had started to picture their surroundings exactly as they were, with a large emphasis on the lives of the middle-class and the consequences of their actions. Realist writers often focused on the characters of their works so that the choices and actions of the American culture could be highlighted through the actions of the
Art, morality, and depravity: what do all of these have in common? For the late Victorians and thinkers of the time, artists who adhered to aestheticism and, soon after, to the decadence movement, were enabling a loss of morality in the arts. This loss was characterised by, what they considered to be, lewd behaviours, and an increase in ‘idleness’, depression and general ennui (a great enemy of society; the so-called ‘mal du siècle’ that afflicted so many of the young). These artists wished to be free to represent whatever subject matter they could think of, without restraints. Thus, ‘aestheticism’ was born out of a necessity to stand out from the previous generations.
Mark Twain’s unique style is shown in his work. Mark Twain writes with regional dialect. This is where Mark Twain uses a distinct style of language that only a specific type of people use. An example of this is in his best seller called Tom Sawyer. While the judge walked forward to greet a man and all of the children started whispering gossip (CD).
The importance of being earnest is a play were Oscar Wilde displays different points of view of the society. The play shows the perspective of a high society member towards the ones from his own social standard. Wilde presents the play in such way that even Victorians laugh at themselves without noticing. However he intents more than make fun towards Victorians but to create conscience about some issues that are going on in the society.
Another theme illustrated through Wilde’s use of motifs and symbols is the theme of superficiality. The theme of superficiality can be understood as a sense of the superficial view of outer beauty that is shown in the work. It relates to the concept of remaining young, which is an important factor of what is shown in the novel. This is an important part of the novel because outer beauty plays a bigger role for Dorian, than inner beauty does. In the beginning of the novel, Lord Henry and Dorian have a conversation that focuses on the topic of youth and Dorian 's outer beauty – Lord Henry mentions the fact that Dorian has a beautiful face, and later during this conversation, Lord Henry states that: “youth is the only thing worth having…”
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, together with the numerous significant American poets, considered realism to be a faithful representation of what they viewed as a truthful portrayal of the reality in the era in which they lived in. With directly approaching the truth, they created the literary movement which was a genuine reflection of reality. The middle of the nineteenth century was the ideal period for the establishment of the realism. As opposed to Romanticism which stresses the importance of one 's individual feelings, Realism is attached to the problems that arise in a society, as well as their true colors. Realism offers different interpretation of the term individual, because realism emphasizes the importance of society and the person as part within that society.
Relatively all authors are very fond of creating an underlying message to criticize society. Authors do this through social commentary. The book “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is no exception. The author, Oscar Wilde, criticizes the upper class through the consistent underlying idea that people are often deceived by one's beauty and are unable to understand the poison that fills the world is corrupting it. From the beginning of this book, the social commentary towards the upper class begins with the structure of the novel.
