Elements Of Realism In John Steinbeck

Broadly defined as ‘the faithful representation of reality’ or ‘verisimilitude’, realism is a literary technique practised by many schools of writing. Although strictly speaking, realism is a technique, it also denotes a particular kind of subject matter, especially the representation of middle class life. In arts and literature, realism may be defined as an attempt to represent life truthfully and also avoiding all such literary techniques which make life seem implausible, exotic, and extraordinary. The term originated in the nineteenth century, and was used to describe the works of Gustave Courbet and a group of painters who rejected idealization and focussed on representing everyday real life. Realism was a reaction against Romanticism - a movement which had influenced European literature and arts since the late eighteenth century. It revolted against the …show more content…
He has been described as a social protest writer, a realist, a journalist, and a playwright. There are many strong themes running through his works. The most notable are the strength of the family, the effect of environment on man, the dehumanizing effects of capitalism on the labour class, and social protests. He also experimented with many different writing styles and points of views. Steinbeck worked within the literary tradition of realism and expressed undistorted pictures of life’s struggles as well as the inequalities and exploitation that characterised American Industrialization. His work contributed to some extent, to the growing progressive political movements which aimed at eradicating social problems including the oppression of women, prejudice against immigrants, discrimination against racial minorities, unsafe housing conditions and exploitative labour