(From Richard Chase. The American Novel and Its Tradition)
• Renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail. Selective presentation of reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of a well-made plot
• Character is more important than action and plot; complex ethical choices are often the subject.
• Characters appear in their real complexity of temperament and motive; they are in explicable relation to nature, to each other, to their social class, to their own past.
• Class is important; the novel has traditionally served the interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class. (See Ian Watt. The Rise of the Novel)
• Events will usually be plausible. Realistic novels avoid the sensational, dramatic elements of naturalistic novels and romances.
• Diction is …show more content…
Lots of novels written today are written in straightforward language about contemporary issues, for example. Hey, who can resist the soap operas of daily life, all packaged up as a 500-page slice-of-life novel?
Realism naturalism and romanticism
Realism was the second phase of modern drama. Realism used the same subject matter as romanticism. However, the two movements differ in that realism did not attempt to romanticize its subjects lives. Realism theater sets, costumes and props, were made to mirror their real-life counterparts. Realism strived to eliminate the distance between the audience and the stage by making its productions mimic real life as close as possible.
Naturalism exhibits the same characteristics of realism. However, naturalist plays removed the dramatic elements of theater in an effort to present a real-life moment of its subjects. Naturalist plays were therefore considered "slice of life" plays because they rarely changed their settings, and the time span of the play mirrored the passing of time for the