The Concept of Social Realism in Global English Literature

Abstract

Social realism is a term that derives from Russian inspired beliefs about the function of literature in a revolutionary socialist society.The international production of social realist fiction is characterized by a belief in the power of the word and in the writer’s ability to portray in a satisfying documentary fashion the structure of social reality. It is inspired in various ways by the Russian revolution, Soviet communism, international Marxism, and the need to respond critically and in a denunciatory fashion to the various mechanisms of repression and the frustration of personal and collective aspirations. It is nothing but an acute observation of life as it is. It is a simple recording process from which any deviation is voluntary. Reality is that which human beings make common by work or language. Thus, in the very acts of perception and communication, this practical interaction of what is personally seen, interpreted andorganized and what can be socially recognized known and formed is richly and subtly manifested.