Contemporary Connections – Social Injustice

The Popularity of Realism Today

American Realist writers detailed the struggles and dreams of individuals. They wrote about their rights and their beliefs. Today, American literature is more vibrant and dynamic than it has ever been. People from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds have made their voices heard. Although all Americans share some cultural aspects that are unique to this country, each American also has his or her own version of tradition and reality. Today's most popular authors use a mix of fiction and nonfiction, reality and fantasy, regionalism and standardization to create individualized, authentic literature. Never before has American writing been so widely represented by such a plethora of cultures.

However, while modern literature may be a mixture of genres and literary forms, it is hard to escape the recurring elements of Realism in contemporary literature, especially when writers seek to reveal or expose social injustice. After all, one of the reasons that Realist literature strikes such a chord with audiences and readers is because as ordinary people, they can see themselves in the position of the protagonists. It is often hard to connect on an emotional level with larger-than-life characters in a story, but when a character is just a regular person, someone that readers could actually be or know, it touches them on a more personal level. This is what makes Realism and Realist literature so popular to writers and audiences alike.

James Baldwin

One such person who could not resist the allure of literature was James Baldwin, who wrote numerous novels, short stories, essays, and social criticism. Baldwin was born in 1924 and grew up in Harlem. His mother left his father when he was a baby and later married a preacher with whom she had several more children. Though he himself had a gift for preaching, he ultimately chose a career as a writer and lived abroad for some time, gaining experiences that influenced his writing. Thus, Baldwin did not just focus on African-American characters; living abroad gave him the space and freedom to write about what interested him more than what his readership desired, whether it was the relationship of black families or characters that were white or the plight of homosexuals. Indeed, Baldwin's friends and acquaintances were as diverse as his writing and included such figures as Marlo Brando, Charlton Heston, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Miles Davis, Jean-Paul Sartre, Chinua Achebe, Maya Angelou, and Toni Morrison.

Baldwin's first literary success was his semi-autobiographical novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, published in 1953. Notes of a Native Son, a collection of essays, was published two years later. He returned to the United States in the late 1950s and was an active leader in the Civil Rights Movements during the 1960s. In fact, he was such a prominent spokesperson for the movement that in 1963, he appeared on the cover of Time magazine. His writings published during the 1970s and 1980s were largely disregarded but recently have received renewed interest. When Baldwin died in 1987, Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison wrote a touching eulogy honoring his influence and inspiration in the literary world. In 2002, Molefi Kete Asante, a leading scholar of African American studies, named James Baldwin on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

Realism in "The Rockpile"

As a contemporary short story, James Baldwin's "The Rockpile" continues the tradition of discussing social injustice using elements of Realism. Aspects of Regionalism, dialect, and colloquialism are all woven into the narrative that touches on topics such as the treatment of women and children as well as the condition of middle class African Americans in New York City. Religion and its disenchantment, a prominent motif in the work of Baldwin, also plays an important role in the story.

What are some examples of Realism that Baldwin uses in "The Rockpile"? Take a moment to explore Regionalism, colloquialism, and social injustice in Baldwin's short story. In this interactivity, click on the segments to explore elements of Realism in "The Rockpile."

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

 

James Baldwin and Realism Review

Now that you have explored Realism in a contemporary short fiction story, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Read each quotation from "The Rockpile," then drag and drop the correct Realism term to the blank that is illustrated in the quotation. Click on the player button to get started.