Realism and Modern Literature

The Nineteenth Century was the time of the reign of Queen Victoria. Mainly her politicians ruled and she gave her moral example, which increased the popularity her monarchy. During this time, a lot of people were moving to cities in search of better lives, though most didn’t succeed. Women were the property of men during this time. Literature from this period speaks directly to the reader. Books were first published as essays in newspapers, and then published as books. The reader feels like a part of the book. Love, admiration, and awe were popular characteristics. Walter Scott was a writer of historical novels such as “Ivanhoe” and “The Lady of the Lake”. Charles Dickens had an unhappy childhood with financial problems. His father was imprisoned. He wrote a story called “The Christmas Carol” about how 4 ghosts come to visit Mr. Scrooge on Christmas Day. The 1^st ghost is his previous business partner who warns him, the 2^nd, the ghost of Christmas past wakes sentimentality in him, the 3^rd, the ghost of Christmas present shows him his employee having a good time despite his poverty, and the 4^th, the ghost of Christmas future shows him how it will be if he doesn´t change. He wakes up as a new person. Dickens also wrote stories from Parliament for the newspaper, “The Pickwick Chronicles”, “Oliver Twist”, and “David Copperfield”. He has great expectations and received a lot of social criticism but also sentimentality, as he tried to change the world. Lewis Carroll wrote “Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland”. Emily and Charlotte Brontë wrote “Jane Eyre”. Thomas Hardy wrote “Tess of the d´Urbervilles”, “Under the Greenwood Tree”, and “The Mayor of Casterbridge”. Oscar Wilde was a social critic and dramatist. He wrote, among others, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, and “An Ideal husband”. Rudyard Kipling wrote “The Jungle Book”. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”. The 20^th century brought about authors such as G. B. Shaw who wrote “Pygmalion” and H. G. Wells who wrote “The Time Machine” and “The Invisible Man”. James Joyce wrote “Ulysses”, which is a parallel to Homer (every chapter takes place in a different room of a different color...). Virginia Woolf wrote “Mrs. Dalloway” and “To the Lighthouse”. She has a way of describing people from the inside and she used experimental techniques. In the end, she committed suicide. T. S. Elliot, a poet, wrote “A Portrait of a Lady”. Agatha Christie was another popular author. In this time, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote “The Lord of the Rings” and George Orwell wrote “Animal Farm” and “Nineteen Eighty-four” and Kingsley Amis wrote “Lucky Jim”.