Realism

What is realism? To some it's telling about the unpleasant side of life. To others, it may be that life really is not all that bad and needs to be viewed that way.
If literature is to be like life, how far should an author take that idea? Some would say that there should not be conclusive endings, or plots in life that do not exist. Life should be told as close as possible to real life. Literature should not have an narrator since there are not narrators in real life. The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic novel in which Steinbeck shares about life in the 1930s in Okalahoma.

"Three dollars a day. I got damn sick of creeping for my dinner--and not getting it. I got a wife and kids. We got to eat. Three dollars a day, and it comes everyday" (Steinbeck 37).

Steinbeck is letting the readers know how hard life was during the 30s. With the dust bowl and the great depression everybody was doing what they had to do to survive. The 30s were dificult times for everyone and many people did not have anything to look forward to. The way Booth puts it in his book, "Many in this century have required that a work reflect adequately the ambiguities of the human condition or even of the universe."

I do not believe that realism is strictly good, or strictly bad. Writers need to consider their purpose, the functions and effect. People can relate to realism and life. Whether the story is depicting life as pleasant or unpleasant the reader can sympathize with the character's view. The reader may have had a similar experience. Many of Steinbeck's readers may have lived through the 30s and can remember the difficulties during that time. It can serve as a picture of life during that time and be a bit of a history
lesson for all. It may even lead a reader to consider their own personal growth in honesty, integrity, their values about money and saving or even a good work ethic.