Realistic elements in literature and art

Realistic Elements

When evaluating the development of realism in American literature, it is important to take note of the vast contribution that corridos have made to the genre. Realism, as a literary movement, was adapted in the 19th century from the French movement of literary realism. The idea was to depict every day, seemingly banal situations that could easily happen in real life, rather than an overly romanticized or stylized presentation of a story or an event.

In the United States, Stephen Crane was one of the foremost representatives of the realist movement in literature. His story "The Open Boat," a tale of four men trapped on a dinghy after being shipwrecked at sea, encompasses many of the qualities that uphold modern definitions of realism in literature. The story's unadorned prose combines detailed description of occurrences with meditations on nature's effects on the individual:

The boat was headed for the beach. The correspondent wondered if none ever ascended the tall wind-tower, and if then they never looked seaward. This tower was a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants. It represented in a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual -- nature in the wind, and nature in the vision of men. She did not seem cruel to him, nor beneficent, nor treacherous, nor wise. But she was indifferent, flatly indifferent. It is, perhaps, plausible that a man in this situation, impressed with the unconcern of the universe, should see the innumerable flaws of his life and have them taste wickedly in his mind and wish for another chance. A distinction between right and wrong seems absurdly clear to him, then, in this new ignorance of the grave-edge, and he understands that if he were given another opportunity he would mend his conduct and his words, and be better and brighter during an introduction, or at a tea. (Crane 738)

Mexican corridos have also made a vast contribution to the development of realism in American letters. Like the writing of such authors as Crane, corridos tend to be written in a plain, unadorned style. Frequently concerned with rural themes, they may also explore themes of nature, but they also take into account how other aspects of reality, such as time or even politics, may interfere with an individual's life. "Tiempos Amargos" (Bitter Times), with its ironic lamentation on the passage of time, criticizes life under the exploitive Mexican president Porfirio Diaz:

These are no longer the times of Porfirio (D'az), when they cried for the master when they'd meet him, they'd shake his hand, and button his pants.

If one day the steward became angry with a worker it was because there was another one closer to the snaps of his pants.

If someone had pretty daughters he'd get a job as a night watchman, or else he'd land a good job, at least as a payroll clerk.

If someone had a pretty wife they didn't let him rest, they'd get them up very early to work just like the oxen.

El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez" tells the tale of a Mexican outlaw who refuses to give up, even when he is cornered at the very end: