Realism is defined as “The faithful representation of reality or verisimilitude, or the quality of appearing true or real. Realism is a literary technique in which one asks whether something is realistic or fictional. “In American literature, the term “Realism” encompasses the time period from the Civil War to the turn of the century. Realism was a movement that encompassed the entire country. In general, realism is a literary movement that attempts to discover life. Realism is the quality or fact of representing a person, thing, or situation accurately or in a manner that is true to life. Realism later evolves into literary movements such as naturalism and stream of consciousness. There are similar terms like Surrealism and Magical Realism that play a huge role in American literature. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s and is best known for its visual works and writings. The Surrealist movement in visual art and literature flourished in Europe between World War I and World War II. It was a 20th century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by a fantastical, imaginary and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.Huizar #2Magical realism is a term that describes contemporary fiction. Magical realism blends magical or fantastical elements with reality, meaning they put something that is real that has to be false to be used as reality. It tells its story from the point of view of people who live in our world and experience a reality other than what we call objective. Magical realism is used in many stories, but it takes an important role in one of the stories we read in class, "The Most Handsome Man Drowned".... middle of paper... people think about literary movements like a reaction against previous modes of writing and movements, for example, just as modernism is often seen as a response to realism.” (Quote; WHAT IS AMERICAN LITERATURE? AN OVERVIEW; http://www.learner.org/amerpass/ampasspg3-30.pdf) Overall, realism, surrealism, and magical realism play a huge role in American literature and each of the stories we read in class. These movements change the way we see and hear American literature. Realism is a literary movement that attempts to discover life, while surrealism attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by a fantastic imaginary and incongruous juxtaposition of topics. Magical realism. It combines magical or fantastic elements with reality. Ultimately it is important to know what each of these movements consists of and put them into practice.