Module 4: Realism and Historical Fiction

This module will explore the elements inherent to realism, historical fiction, and nonfiction. The three genres often intersect. Students will demonstrate awareness of some of the fine differences between the three genres and learn the impact these genres have on children’s literature.

Historical Fiction

I. 

• Georg Lukács feels that some early 19^th century novels just used locations and fashion of earlier times as backdrops, but true historical novels make the period integral to the story.
• Just placing a story in a time prior to the author’s writing does not qualify as historical fiction.

II.

• “Trauma Theory” – study of trauma and culture. Characters may recreate traumatic situations in order to cope with them. Ted Morrisey states this about trauma theory. “Literary trauma theory seeks to identify “trauma texts,” that is, texts that employ intertextuality, repetition, fragmentation, and language manipulation to create meaning due to extreme traumatic stress. In the twentieth century, the works of William H. Gass appear to be prime examples of postmodern trauma texts.
• Freud observed veterans repeating horrible events in their dreams
• Reliving traumatic events through literature may make it possible to work through them psychologically.
• Judy Blume – Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself – character deals with the death of aunt and cousin in the Holocaust.

III.

• Past can be romanticized and sanitized.
• Wilder – Little House – western frontier, viewed the west as idyllic though challenging
• Angeli – The Door in the Wall – medieval era
• “Historical novels…are effective vehicles to promote values and attitudes pertinent to the formation…perpetuation of a national identity” (Wilson).

IV. 

Problems with representation

• Accuracy – faithfulness to historical record. Inaccuracy may arise due to ignorance, assumptions, or amalgamations.
• Authenticity – how a literary work fills in missing details of the historical record. Faithfulness to historic period places and mentality.
• Presentism – Historical novels are also reflective of the present moment and what society is reconciling.

Realism

Realism relies on mimesis (imitation or representation of the physical world)

Naturalism – characters are products of their environment.

New Realism – deals with once forbidden or banned topics (sexual abuse, pregnancy, homosexuality, drugs, etc) rose in the 1960s

1. The Problem Novel is a type of new realist work that focuses on a specific issue important to the author, not universal in its plot or characterizations. It is sometimes considered inferior, with little background development.
2. There can be many types of diversity in New Realism.
3. Trauma is sometimes dealt with since it is the real world from which stem the initial tragic experience.
4. A Bildungsroman is a coming-of-age story that can appear in both fantastic and realistic settings.
5. Magic Realism – an everyday world in which the fantastic can occur; Block’s Baby Be-Bop; Allende’s City of Beasts; Almond’s Skellig; Daniel Jose Older’s Shadowshaper; Italo Calvino and Gabriel Marquez are masters of this genre for adults. Also, the film Amelie is an excellent example.