Realism is a literary movement that began in the early 19th century. Realists sought to portray life as it was, without embellishment or idealization. They believed that art should be truthful, and they strove to create characters and settings that were believable.
Realism was used by writers for many purposes:
1. To provide a window into other cultures: Realists wanted to create stories that showed characters from other countries and backgrounds, so they could provide readers with a better understanding of these people and their culture.
2. To comment on social issues: Some realist authors wrote about social problems that affected their own lives or the lives of others around them. Their stories can be seen as commentaries on these problems, challenging readers’ preconceptions about them and encouraging them to think critically about the world around them.
3. To create believable characters and settings: Realists strove for verisimilitude in their work—for their characters’ actions to seem possible within their setting, and for their settings to seem like real places rather than idealized visions of paradise or hellish pits of despair (as some earlier authors had done). This meant not only creating realistic characters but also realistic settings
