Realism in the literature and its features

Realism in literature is a direction whose main feature is a truthful depiction of reality and its typical features without any distortion or exaggeration. This literary trend originated in the XIX century, and its adherents sharply opposed the sophisticated forms of poetry and use in the works of various mystical concepts.

Signs of referral

Realism in the literature of the 19th century can be distinguished on the basis of clear signs. The main one is an artistic depiction of reality in familiar images for the average person, with whom he regularly encounters in real life. The reality in works is considered as a means of cognition by a person of the surrounding world and himself, and the image of each literary character is worked out in such a way that in it the reader can recognize himself, a relative, a colleague or an acquaintance.

In novels and novels of realists, art remains life-affirming, even if the plot is characterized by a tragic conflict. Another sign of this genre is the desire of writers to consider the surrounding reality in its development, each writer trying to discover the emergence of new psychological, social and social relations.

Features of this literary trend

Realism in literature, which replaced romanticism, has signs of art seeking truth and finding it, seeking to transform reality.

Literary characters in the writings of realist writers made discoveries after long reflections and dreams, after analyzing the subjective worldviews. This feature, which can be distinguished by the author's perception of time, determined the distinguishing features of realistic literature of the early twentieth century from the traditional Russian classics.

Realism in   XIX century

Such representatives of realism in literature as Balzac and Stendhal, Thackeray and Dickens, Sand Sand and Victor Hugo, in their works most clearly reveal the themes of good and evil, while avoiding abstract concepts and showing the real life of their contemporaries. These writers make it clear to readers that evil lies in the way of life of bourgeois society, capitalist reality, people's dependence on various material values. For example, in Dickens's novel Dombey and Son, the owner of the company was heartless and callous not by nature. Just such traits of character he appeared because of the large amount of money and ambition of the owner, for whom the main life achievement is profit.

Realism in literature is devoid of humor and sarcasm, and the characters' images are no longer the ideal of the writer himself and do not embody his cherished dreams. Of the works of the XIX century, the hero practically disappeared, in the image of which the author's views are viewed. This situation is particularly evident in the works of Gogol and Chekhov.

However, the most clearly given literary trend is manifested in the works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, describing the world as they see it. This was expressed in the image of characters with their virtues and weaknesses, describing the mental torments of literary heroes, reminding readers of the harsh reality that it is impossible to change to one person.

As a rule, realism in literature affected the fate of representatives of the Russian nobility, as can be judged from the works of IA Goncharov. Thus, the characters in his works remain contradictory. Oblomov is a sincere and gentle person, but because of his passivity he is not able to change life for the better. Similar qualities have another character in Russian literature - the weak-willed, but gifted Boris Raisky. Goncharov managed to create the image of an "anti-hero" typical for the XIX century, which was noticed by critics. As a result, the concept "Oblomovism" appeared, referring to all passive characters, the main features of which were laziness and lack of will.