Term Paper about Realism

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Realism has been part of literature for a very long time now. Different authors see this as a means of directly reaching out to their audiences by presenting issues and stories in a manner that they can identify with easily. George Eliot is not an exemption in this as seen in her novel Silas Marner where the author focuses on the representation of real life throughout her story. Even though some studies and critiques have denied the existence of realism in Silas Marner, this paper proves otherwise by showing that most of the activities, settings and characters are indeed a representation of real life. Generally, it is easier to get an in-depth understanding of some human problems and characters just by exploring the honest way in which the realities of life are shown in this novel. This paper explores the consistencies in realistic depictions in Silas Marner in comparison with the same realism in Ethan Frome. Generally, realism is evident in the description of the real daily lives of the people, description of the population, and the different situations people have to deal with.
The description of places is realistic and consistent in the two novels. In Silas Marner, the novel gives a true depiction of England’s country life in the period of Napoleonic War as shown by the existing class-divisions. The division of society was in to two classes, these are the gentry, who were generally rich, and the ordinary working people. Lahane (4) echoes this fact by noting that during the England Napoleonic Wars the two class divisions were commonly used. In describing most of the residents, Eliot points out that it was occupied by “…certain pallid undersized men, who by the side of the brawny country-folk, looked like the remnants of a disinherited race.” This is in contrast with the rich landowners such as the Squire Cass. In Ethan Frome Wharton also gives us a setting in New England during the winter period in a manner that we cannot question the credibility of the same. In the very beginning, she states, “If you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post-office,” (Wharton, pg.1). She also goes ahead to describe the shops, brick pavements, even a congregational church that was found in this place at the time in a manner that is realistic. In the novel, we also get to learn about landlords who owned flats and the tenants that resided in those areas. From this, one cannot question the credibility of the picture created since it truly represents the social lives of the Raveloe village and Starkfield respectively. The realism comes in from the fact both the descriptions make us question and critiques the social structures of these places.
The portrayal of the population in Silas Marner and Ethan Frome is in a realistic manner. Ideally, in both cases, different individuals have various ethical problems to deal with. In Silas Marner for instance, the character Godfrey Cass was already married to Nancy but still went on to have a secret marriage to another girl, Molly whose character was questionable. Even though his...