In The Art of Fiction he claims that a novel “is a proof of life and curiosity” . At another point in this discourse he writes, “The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life” . This is synonymous with the definition of realism that I have stated above which claims that realism in literature is the representation of life. In the essay, James highlights the basis, which he believes, are essential for a piece of fiction to become art. According to him, a piece of fiction should be informative and should not carry with it the load of moral judgments or analysis.
The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. 2033-35.
The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007. Print. Robinson, Lillian S., and Greg Robinson.
Keats, John. "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles." Ed. Abrams H. M. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume Two The Romantic Period through the Twentieth Century. New York: W. W. Norton, 1986.
“Robert Frost” Norton Anthology of American Literature Shorter 7th Edition. New York: Norton, 2008. 1951-1952. Cahan, Abraham. “A Sweatshop Romance” Baym 1661-1670 Dickinson, Emily.
in Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 1.
Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc. , 2008. 607. Hawthorne, Nathaniel.
Do you think that realism is an attainable goal for a piece of literature? Gustave Flaubert incorporates and composes a realistic piece of literature using realistic literature techniques in his short story, “A Simple Heart.” Flaubert accomplishes this through telling a story that mimics the real life of Félicité, and writing fiction that deliberately cuts across different class hierarchies; through this method, Flaubert
American Literature: Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century. New York: Harper and Row, 1978. Fogle, Richard Harter. Hawthorne's Fiction: The Light and the Dark. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1952.
“John Greenleaf Whittier.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Seventh Shorter Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2008.