For many people, being able to relate to a story can be integral in whether or not they have actually enjoyed it; though in more extreme cases, it might be the only criteria necessary for one to enjoy it. Frankly, this is why the realism movement in nearly all media has been so successful. One part of the realism movement that is of relatively central importance, however, deals with American Literature in the late 1800’s; the literary landscape changed after the Civil War out of analysis of the lives Americans started leading post-bellum towards the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to more retrospective analyses of the periods prior to and during the Civil War. Thus, we ended up with many fascinating stories provided by a plethora
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Part of what makes this story interesting is the fact that the tale told, in it of itself, seems like a bizarre flight of fancy that seems extremely unrealistic given how Simon depicts Jim: “He was always ready and laying for a chance; their couldn’t be no [solitary] thing but that feller’d (sic) offered to bet on it, and take ary (sic) side you please as I was just telling you” (Twain 1286). To be succinct, Jim’s depiction was a gambler with nothing left to lose, and luck sided with him (albeit, not all the time). However, this isn’t what makes the story “realistic;” instead, the idea of it being “realistic” comes from how Twain frames the story. Much of Twain’s beliefs about the truth tied in with the nature of storytelling, and he believed that a story can be true if told from another’s perspective. The whole story is about being told a story that seemingly makes no sense, but the fact …show more content…
Mostly known as the author to the famous novel “The Red Badge of Courage,” he was also an avid short story writer (Byam 1767). One story of his, in particular, is “The Open Boat;” to give a brief summary; it is a tale about a shipwrecked crew (consisting of the captain, the ships oiler, a correspondent, and the ship’s cook) surviving out on the open ocean, their interactions with each other, and how they cope with their circumstances until the end where they reach the shore but the oiler perished just before reaching shore (Crane 1768-1785). Most of the realistic ideas derived from this tale revolve around the actions of each individual and how they manage to cope with their predicament. The concept, for realism’s sake, as a whole revolves around human nature during times of crisis: the cook symbolizes the helpless, considering his role in the story is nominal at best; the captain symbolizes the leader of their group along with being a sensible leader during times of crisis; and the correspondent and oiler provide most of the physical work necessary to keep their group going, in addition to them having the greatest presence in the story. It’s this dynamic of their positions which then leads to how they interpret their own conditions, and give insights as to their own personal thoughts of them; all of which do contribute to the idea that
Part of what makes this story interesting is the fact that the tale told, in it of itself, seems like a bizarre flight of fancy that seems extremely unrealistic given how Simon depicts Jim: “He was always ready and laying for a chance; their couldn’t be no [solitary] thing but that feller’d (sic) offered to bet on it, and take ary (sic) side you please as I was just telling you” (Twain 1286). To be succinct, Jim’s depiction was a gambler with nothing left to lose, and luck sided with him (albeit, not all the time). However, this isn’t what makes the story “realistic;” instead, the idea of it being “realistic” comes from how Twain frames the story. Much of Twain’s beliefs about the truth tied in with the nature of storytelling, and he believed that a story can be true if told from another’s perspective. The whole story is about being told a story that seemingly makes no sense, but the fact …show more content…
Mostly known as the author to the famous novel “The Red Badge of Courage,” he was also an avid short story writer (Byam 1767). One story of his, in particular, is “The Open Boat;” to give a brief summary; it is a tale about a shipwrecked crew (consisting of the captain, the ships oiler, a correspondent, and the ship’s cook) surviving out on the open ocean, their interactions with each other, and how they cope with their circumstances until the end where they reach the shore but the oiler perished just before reaching shore (Crane 1768-1785). Most of the realistic ideas derived from this tale revolve around the actions of each individual and how they manage to cope with their predicament. The concept, for realism’s sake, as a whole revolves around human nature during times of crisis: the cook symbolizes the helpless, considering his role in the story is nominal at best; the captain symbolizes the leader of their group along with being a sensible leader during times of crisis; and the correspondent and oiler provide most of the physical work necessary to keep their group going, in addition to them having the greatest presence in the story. It’s this dynamic of their positions which then leads to how they interpret their own conditions, and give insights as to their own personal thoughts of them; all of which do contribute to the idea that