REALISM IN COLOMBIA: TRENDS AND AUTHORS - LITERATURE - 2025

The literary realism in Colombia there arises the need to give voice to the common man conflicts, conflicts also caused by their environment. The economy also influenced literary realism, as capitalism was established as a new economic order and opened an even greater gap between the rich and the poor.

Literature in Colombia did not escape its context after independence mired in the violence of civil wars and the establishment of the republic. Literature and other types of artistic expressions began to give a voice to the ordinary citizen mired in the conflicts that plagued the new political-social order.

Eduardo Zalamea, representative of Colombian realism

The protagonists of the novels are now those who are affected by the economic boom, the political change with the birth of the republic, its hardships and its sad reality.

Criticism of the governments and policies of the time were reflected in the realist novel. The rural and urban environments that occurred due to political changes were the most notable characteristics of Colombian literary realism.

Literary realism in Colombia emerges as an innovation, since a novel or text spoke about a social crisis, and the lower-class man was given a voice for the first time.

Trends of literary realism in Colombia

There are several trends within literary realism in Colombia, however, social realism and magical realism are the greatest exponents of the genre.

Social realism

In social realism, novels and texts enhanced the everyday context of the lower classes; the workers, their illnesses and difficulties for a decent life.

They tend to show "unattractive" elements and sad images, illness, madness, etc. It is a movement that does not belong to a specific time, but that throughout history arises as a social criticism of a superior class established as dominant.

Magical realism

Magic realism is a variant of literary realism where fictional elements are introduced within a realistic environment.

It arises due to the need to expose and explain two irreconcilable realities of the post-colonial era: “that of the conquerors and the conquered”.

Among the most recognized authors within this genre we find Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Jorge Luis Borges, etc.

Main authors of literary realism in Colombia

These are the main Colombian authors of literary realism in all its tendencies:

-Eduardo Zalamea Borda, exposes in his novels the folklore of urban Bogotá in contrast to the rural coast.

-Gabriel García Márquez is the most recognized exponent of magical realism in Colombia. Well, in his novels we find "magical" elements in realistic contexts.

Some of Márquez's novels that follow this style are One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of Death Foretold, etc.

-In the novels of José Manuel Marroquín Ricaurte we find the political and military context of the time. The language he used was one that could be survived from the dominant political elite.

-José Osorio Lizarazo is an exponent of proletarian novels, typical of the industrialization of Bogotá and the economic crisis of the 20th century.

Origin of literary realism

Literary realism arises as a need to express through writing the specific environment of a time. It was increasingly common to find texts where the protagonists, speaking in colloquial language, expressed concerns of everyday life.

Myths, romanticism, dreams and imaginations were put aside to give way to a literature enriched by its realistic historical context.

What is literary realism?

It is a cultural movement that began in France in the mid-nineteenth century, the authors of the novels began to make social critiques of their environment in a simple and everyday language.

This position is opposed to romanticism and idealization, since the main characters in the realistic texts were lower-class people represented with a verisimilitude and minute details.

Literary realism gave rise to several trends, such as social realism, socialist realism, naturalism, and magical realism.

characteristics

Among the main characteristics of literary realism are:

Use of simple, colloquial language

Before literary realism the language of novels and texts was outlined in prose and poetry. It was an innovation to include common language within literary texts.

This is undoubtedly the most outstanding characteristic of literary realism; the reader felt identified, there was someone talking about him, his problems and in his own language.

The expression of detail

The authors began to carefully describe their surroundings, while immersing us in every minute detail of what they could see.

The expression of the detail gives the reader the feeling that what was read could not be a lie; it was real, because the amount of details expressed is such that it could not be otherwise.

Write verisimilitude

Realist writers wrote their novels, essays, or texts with as much truth as possible. They carried out research so that the text was as faithful as possible to reality.

Everyday life

Literary realism put aside myths, heroes and adventures, to write about the day-to-day lives of its protagonists, their problems, and their circumstances.

Social criticism

Realism not only writes about the daily life of ordinary people, but also about the difficulties they encounter thanks to governments, policies and economic systems. It emerges as a critique of social inequality.

Distinction of social classes

The social classes were very enhanced in literary realism, the distinction was seen quite frequently, especially when the poorer classes spent work as a result of the acts of the upper classes.

Deep characters

Despite the fact that the main characters were ordinary people, their personality was enhanced in their actions and passions. They began to delve into the character's fears, fantasies, dreams, concerns, and desires.

References

1. Latin-American Literature: Colombia. (2016). Recovered from: gbc.libguides.com
2. Literature. (2003). Recovered from: revista.drclas.harvard.edu.
3. Susanne Spröer. Remembering Gabriel Garcia Marquez, icon of magic realism. (2007). Recovered from dw.com.
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Realism. Recovered from: britannica.com.
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Magic realism. Recovered from: britannica.com