Definition of Realism

Realism has many traits and characteristics that set it apart from any and all other periods in American literature. It spans many years throughout American history. From the early colonial period, into the early 20th century. America was not the first country to have a realist period. Many European countries, especially France, had already been producing realist works for many years. But no where else did it have such a profound affect on every day life. The literary period tailing realism, romanticism, quickly grew out of style after the Civil War. People were sick of the romantic view of life. The Civil War destroyed any romantic view of life. Many other factors also contributed to this. Poverty in large cities, such as New York, and pictures of such made romanticism a thing of the past. No longer was there such thing as an "unspoiled wilderness".
Back to the characteristics. Many of the realist works included many, meticulous even, details, seemingly unnecessary at times. The attention to the smallest detail is an important part of what makes realism realism. Many characters in realist stories speak in their own vernacular, which is another realism trait. Many authors who wrote realist titles made their hero a man who had no particular heroism. He was an average person, which was another move away from romanticism, and in turn it moved towards realism. Many realist writers attempted to use photographs, a relatively new invention, to show the world the true and unabridged world around them. They used words and pictures to expose the horrors of the big city. The crowded slums, filthy, cramped, dark, and prone to fires. The very fact that these conditions existed in America was one part of what caused a major shift from romanticism to realism. These authors and photographers caught forever the pictures of the "slum children" and "street rats" that inhabited many of the ally ways and dark corners of the city. These writings were never augmented, they were as they looked. They were not embellished or camouflaged. This is the thing that sets realism apart from any other type of writing. It is, as its name suggests, realistic. It doesn't romanticize anything, and it doesn't change any facts or the truth, even if the truth is ugly and unappealing. Many of the works of realism contained parts of human physiology, which was also a new study and science. They used this to help understand human life, and in result many of the conflicts in realist stories are something that you or someone you know could have experienced.

Barney, Brett, and Lisa Paddock. "literary realism, late 19th-century." Encyclopedia of American Literature: The Age of Romanticism and Realism, 1816–1895, vol. 2, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
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Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., and Douglas Fisher. "Regionalism and Realism." Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. 480-94. Print.