Realism often refers to the artistic
movement which began in France in the 1850's. It is a theory that can be seen
as an accurate, detailed unembellished depiction of nature or contemporary
life. It rejects imaginative idealization in favour of a close observation of
outward appearance, it rejects the artificiality of both the classicism and
romanticism of the academics. The writer gives a composite picture of every day
life and unveil motivation that are more than admirable. He or She comprehend
something for people to understand either Social or Critical realism which Maya
Angelo is not an exception in Critical study of realism in documenting and
testifying to the deteriorating conditions of the society such as exploitation,
violence, poverty, racial segregation, corruption etc.
In American literature, the term
"Realism" encompasses the period of the time from civil war to the
turn of the century during which scholars like William Jean Howells, Rebecca
Harding, Henry James, Mark Twain and many others wrote frictions devoted to
accurate representation and exploration.
American lives in Various context, as the
United States grew rapidly after the civil war the increasing rates of
democracy and literacy was in progress form, the rapid growth in technology,
industrialization, and urbanizations, an expanding population base due to
immigration and relatively rise in
middle class affluence providing a fertile literacy movement for readers and
scholars to put interest in understanding these rapid shift in culture.
African Americans are well known as Blacks
in America, they constitute the second largest racial and ethics minority in
the United States which started in 15, 16th century with Africans forcibly
taken to Spanish and English colonies in Northern America as slaves. The Blacks
were use as labourers in farming, Instruments for the civil war and possible
use Blacks women for sex and abandoned them. After the United States come in to
being, black people continued to be enslaved and treated inferiors as the
native sons and daughters of the country, the circumstances were change by
reformation, reconstruction, peace movement, and equality of human beings been
black or White, some blacks communities like Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas,
etc were developed based on the black participation in the great Military conflicts of the United States.
Despite the struggles of Blacks in
developing America they were not recognize in any affairs of the country. The
elimination of racial segregation and civil rights movement brings hope for
some blacks and in 2008, Barrack Obama became the first black Man to be elected
as president of the United States.
Maya Angelo in her Singin and Swingin and
Gettin Marry Like Christmas, she portrays the realistic happening within her
struggle to achieve in life as a Black woman which presents Angelo's
confinement resulting from racism, suppression, oppression, injustice, slavery,
maltreatments, religious bigotry, inferiority, segregation, etc.
She succeeds in using critical realism to
mirrored the American society in its state of Corruption, racial segregation
and prejudice etc against the African Americans known as blacks. In her
autobiographical text
One will sort out the following realism as
captures
Denial or right and opportunity from Whites
to Blacks. In the text, Maya Angelo works with Purple Onion Club and Porgy and
Bess as a singer but the whites who manage those clubs at the end of every Show,
gives her a little money saying "blacks
songs are not competitive enough" and the manager of those clubs
Don Lyold could not allow her to go out
for other clubs that wishes to sign her for her musical profession. Example in
the text shows where Bernard Bobby and Bem who comes for Maya Angelo to join
them in their forth coming production but Purple Onion turn down the wishes of
the musicians.
Sexual Abuse: The whites finds advantage of
seducing the blacks, as Maya Angelo Sing and Swing on stage the whites touches
her breast and wish to sleep with her in the hotel rooms.
Betrayal of trust: In the text, Tosh Angelo
betray the trust that Maya has in him confidently, concerning marriage where
one day Tosh Angelo confirms to Maya that " I think I am just tired of
being married " page 37. This result to Tosh to divorce Maya quickly and
Maya comes to Arkansas where she stays with her grandmother until she fully
recover from her failed marriage and
betrayal of trust from Tosh Angelo. Any marriage between black and White never
last for years as whites feels blacks are inhuman and chimpanzees.
In fact Maya Angelo shares many ill facts
about the Whites to African Americans in all her books as a renounced and
influential voice of African Americans. Hailed as a global Renaissance woman,
a poet, memoirist, novelist, educator,
dramatist, film producer actress, Singer, historian, and civil rights activist
who was born April 4th 1928 in St Louis Missouri and died on 28th May, 2014.
Also one can see her struggle as a black woman who is proud of her Black
identity in her following books:
I know why the cage Bird Sings ( 1969).
Gather Together in my Name ( 1974).
Just give me a cool drink of water fore I
diie (1971)
Including her " Pulse of Morning
" a recited poem at the President Bill Clinton's innuaguration in 1993.
The first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at JF
Kennedy's innuaguration in 1960. She was highly honored for her body of work
and including being awarded other 30 honorary degrees.
In Conclusion, Realism is a very strong
instrument for literary analysis, weather critical or socialist realism. In
Nigeria, Tyoor Victor in his book
Substance of Literature, and Joshua Agbo in
Beyond the dark Cloud never exclude any of the two realism, Femi
Osifisan, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa thiongo, Moses Tsenongu, Maria Ajima, David
Ker, Joseph Iorhii, Terzungwe Qua-Aondo, Andrew Aba, Su'eddie Vershima Agema, Sewe Leah, Sarah
John, Vershima Terzungwe Tasco, Chris UKANDE, Terwase Shittu etc equally uses those realisms in their intellectual schollary works to call
for change either in Short story, poems, novels, plays and paper presentations
on the contemporary life and happenings of 21st century. ( A close reading of
their literary works)
Realism therefore, is a good tool that
writers can be use to exposed ills in their societies and possible effect
changes. Today , the experience of Blacks Americans in America society is not
harsh, hard or unbearable as it used to be due to efforts of realist Writers
like Maya Angelo and many others to present the real life situation of their
society and make adequate need for change.
Literature represent society and the
society is in Literature as writers write for society.
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Henry Kwaghkule is a Poet.
kwaghkulehenry@gmail.com.
Ikoyi, Lagos.
Nigeria.
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