Postmodern 'realisms'

Traditional Realism: A Foundation

Traditional realism, as exemplified by authors like George Eliot, Gustave Flaubert, and Leo Tolstoy, aimed for verisimilitude – the appearance of being true. Key features included:

• Detailed Description: Meticulous attention to detail in portraying settings, characters, and social contexts.
• Objective Narration: A narrator who strives for impartiality and avoids overt commentary.
• Psychological Depth: Exploration of characters’ inner lives and motivations.
• Social Commentary: Often critiqued social injustices and inequalities.
• Linear Narrative: Stories typically followed a chronological order with a clear cause-and-effect relationship.

This approach sought to mirror the observable world, presenting a coherent and understandable representation of reality.

The Postmodern Challenge to Realism

Postmodernism, emerging after World War II, questioned the very foundations of realism. Influenced by philosophical movements like existentialism and deconstruction, it rejected the idea of objective truth and embraced subjectivity, fragmentation, and uncertainty. Key tenets include:

• Metafiction: Self-reflexivity, where the text draws attention to its own artificiality as a work of fiction.
• Intertextuality: The incorporation of references to other texts, blurring the boundaries between original and borrowed material.
• Fragmentation: Non-linear narratives, disjointed timelines, and broken perspectives.
• Unreliable Narration: Narrators whose credibility is compromised, forcing the reader to question the presented information.
• Pastiche & Parody: Imitation of styles and genres, often with a satirical or ironic intent.

Postmodern 'Realisms': Reconfiguring Representation

Postmodern authors didn’t entirely discard realism; instead, they repurposed it to explore the complexities of a fragmented and uncertain world. This resulted in several distinct forms of 'postmodern realism':

Magical Realism

Popularized by Latin American authors like Gabriel García Márquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude, 1967) and Isabel Allende, magical realism blends realistic settings and characters with fantastical elements, presented as commonplace. It doesn’t question the reality of the magical elements but rather uses them to explore cultural beliefs, political realities, and the subjective experience of reality.

Hyperrealism

Authors like Don DeLillo (White Noise, 1985) employ hyperrealism, which exaggerates the details of everyday life to the point of absurdity. This technique reflects the overwhelming saturation of information and simulation in contemporary society, blurring the line between reality and representation. The focus is on the simulacra – copies without originals.

Historical Fiction with a Postmodern Twist

Authors like Thomas Pynchon (Gravity’s Rainbow, 1973) utilize historical settings but disrupt traditional historical narratives with paranoia, conspiracy theories, and fragmented perspectives. This challenges the notion of a singular, objective historical truth.

Minimalism & Dirty Realism

Writers like Raymond Carver and Charles Bukowski focused on the bleak realities of working-class life, employing a minimalist style and stark, unadorned prose. While seemingly realistic, their work often lacks traditional plot development and psychological depth, reflecting a sense of alienation and despair.

Comparing Realism and Postmodern 'Realisms'

Feature	Traditional Realism	Postmodern 'Realism'
Truth & Objectivity	Belief in objective truth and the possibility of accurate representation.	Skepticism towards objective truth; emphasis on subjective experience and constructed reality.
Narrative Structure	Linear, chronological, and coherent.	Fragmented, non-linear, and often self-reflexive.
Narrator	Objective and reliable.	Unreliable, biased, or absent.
Purpose	To depict life accurately and offer social commentary.	To question the nature of reality, expose the constructedness of representation, and explore the complexities of the human condition.