Realism: Shock value or Truth?
Every author knows that you need to grab the readers attention within the first two paragraphs or you have lost a reader. There was a movement in literature dubbed the “Realism” movement. Many famous short stories and novels have evolved from it. The question I beg is- were the authors truly depicting real life, or were they over-dramatizing and using vulgar means of metaphor and allusions- merely for the shock value to grip a nation? Look at Upton Sinclair- of the famous “Jungle” book ( a story that was a real look into the unfair working conditions of workers in the meat packing/distribution industry). He was an author, but he was also an activist- pushing for unions, fair labor laws, that sort of noble thing. Obviously he did a good job and caused such a public uproar the FDA was created- but did he truly write about the horrors of workers conditions to get it changed, or did he write it to create a sensationalist movement to throw light on his political agenda?
Mark Twain is one of my favorite authors and I am sure the frontier, like any other- was brutal and harsh and did not tolerate the weak. Yet in “To build a fire”he makes survival as such a flighty thing. Did he not exaggerate the harshness of the time? What actual pioneer would have been so head-strong and stupid to go into the wilderness by himself? While it makes for a chilling read, I cannot see someone being that foolish. Jack London highlighted the savage thinking of animals that no one can prove in “Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”.
Nowadays, tabloids are the cheap sensationalized thrills we read. However, most of us know that it is not true- a baby from aliens, abductions, etc. We take it as a good laugh, an amusing thought and nothing more. However, books of an older time have more prestige to them, and books with such noted authors have a weight of credibility in peoples minds. While I do not doubt life is gritty on the frontier, or harsh, or unfair, I believe these authors capitalized by using underhanded techniques to create a splash in the literature world and sell copies. The integrity of an author is important, and yes, sometimes it serves a purpose to be so exciting, but perhaps these authors should have a thought for future generations, that will read their book as fact, being unable to compare it for themselves, and put in a section of the back listing facts, or possibly the resources they used to garner their information, so us, the reader- can make up our OWN mind whether we believe it or not.
