Realism vs. Modernism

Modernism is a literary period that happened after the Realism literary period. Both of these literary period have similarities and differences with each other. Realism dealt like the name implies with reality. Stories, poems, and songs were developed around actual events and existing types of people. The hero was the average person, a real person, with flaws and inner beauty. The literary period was mainly developed around the society at the time. Modernism is the movement away from tradition, a new form of expression. "In other words, modernism inscribed a particular sense of radical rupture with the past and a perception of cultural crisis. Modernity, as Jurgen Habermas says, "revolts against the normalizing functions of tradition: modernity lives in the experience of rebelling against all that is normative." The normative changes associated with modernity include a sense of cultural crisis brought on by World War I and the sense that the new 20th century put the world closer to the apocalypse; Western notions of progress and superiority were breaking down" (Werlock). Realism and Modernism have similarities and differences.

The hero in realism and modernism are quite similar. In realism, the hero was the average person, and the average person was not perfect in any way. In modernism, the hero is not perfect either. In modernism, the hero had obvious flaws, but his character did not make him the hero. It was his ability to act calmly and gracefully in a difficult situation. That is what made him the hero. In realism, the hero was not always the "superman" or "batman" of the day. They were just a plain person in a situation. Like modernism, the actions and composure in a difficult situation or problem made the hero. This is how modernism and realism are similar.

However, modernism and realism differ in how they portrayed society. Modernism basically showed a society that was rebelling against tradition, while realism simply showed how society dealt with the normalities of life. Realism talked about the traditions of characters, how they lived, and what they dealt with. Modernism was rebelling against traditions of the realism generation. "Well-held precepts and norms for religion, sexuality, gender, and the family of the past Victorian world were also collapsing. Conflicts over racial, gender, class, religious, and colonial systems of oppression were moving to the fore. Large-scale migrations from rural areas into overcrowded urban centers and technological change also were causing cultural dislocation, and a preeminent modernist figure became the alienated and nihilistic self in a usually urban world" (Werlock).

The last thing that makes realism and modernism similar yet different is the themes. Realism showed life how it was with much detail, and sometimes, this depiction came off as sad, disappointing, and depressing. Modernism also has this theme, because of the effect World War I played on the literary period. People lost hope and heart, and this made the literature from this period depressing and hopeless. However, in modernism there was always a glimmer of hope at the end of the poem or story. Realism did not always have this. Modernism had hope, even if it was only a very small shred, at the end of the story differing it from realism.

Works Cited

Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." 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= CASS589&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 25, 2011).