Like Water For Chocolate And Modernism

Literature has always been a universal tool used to show an individual’s perspective on society’s negative and positive aspects. It gives people the freedom to speak their mind and express their emotions on paper. It has enlightened people on problems and allowed them to form their own opinions. This influence has been ongoing for centuries, continuing to inspire those all around the world. Until now many literary styles, such as realism and modernism, are still used in many best-selling novels including Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (1989) and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951).

From the 1860’s to the late nineteenth century, realism was developed in France, spread to the United States, and onward into Europe (Realism).

It “encompasses the period of time from the Civil War to the turn of the century during which William Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis, Henry James, Mark Twain, and others wrote fiction devoted to accurate representation and an exploration of American lives in various contexts” (Campbell). During this era, authors used realism as a way to represent the middle class and their different lifestyles after the civil war. This major event changed many people in America during this time and brought a negative or positive light into their lives which they chose to express through writing. Realism also embraces “the progressive aims of modernism, seeking new truths through the reexamination and overturning of traditional systems of values and beliefs” (Realism Movement). It questioned authority and went against the popular belief of their time. Realist writers went against those of the romanticism movement and focused on groups of people rather than just one (Realism).
Between 1900 to 1950, the Modernist movement was eminently present throughout the time period. The movement not only influenced those in literature, but all people who came from different walks of life including painters, sculptors, musicians, and those in theater. Modernism “emerged as a result of changes in the cultural, political, and artistic sensibilities that occurred in the years before, during, and after World War 1” (Modernism). Writers and artists were struggling to find new ways to create new works and art that reflected the problems created after the war. They no longer wanted to conform to the old way of thinking. Literary modernists wanted to start a "tradition of the new" (Modernism) and created their own paths for the future. It changed the way writers thought about style, form, genre, etc. In contrast to the Romantic worldview, “the Modernist cares rather little for Nature, Being, or the overarching structures of history. Instead of progress and growth, the Modernist intelligentsia sees decay and a growing alienation of the individual” (Rahn). To Modernists, the reality of life is only a matter of perception and once one comes to a realization with it, the spiritual loneliness of the individual will set in.
With the rise of both the realism and modernism movements, authors began to create their soon to be masterpieces––Willa Cather was one of these creators.

Cather was unique in the sense that she was neither a modernistic or realistic writer; she was both. She is not recognized as solely a modernist because her “fiction seems, on the surface, less challenging, experimental, or disillusioned” than expected (Murphy). Despite her writing being dissimilar from those who followed the same literary style, she created her own refined “brand” of modernism. In her various works, she expresses many of the elements of modernism such as “experimenting with narrative structures, narrative voices, and symbols, exploring inner consciousness as a major theme and embracing communities steeped in tradition and history as a relief from the upheavals and alienation of modernity” (Murphy). In other ways, she was also considered a realistic writer. As mentioned before, realism portrays the lives of ordinary people. In several of Cather’s books, she described life in the frontier and the hardships it came with. Although some of her writing were fiction, many of her recounts were based on the experiences she went through personally. For example, in Cather’s short story, A Wagner Manitée, she depicts real settings of the east coast and frontier (Cather). It also portrayed realism by explaining how a young woman’s ideas of love and adventure could come out different than expected. This conveys the reality of life, hence the name

“realism.”
Although Willa Cather is not a popular name in the world of literature today, she has had a great influence on authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer of the widely known novel The Great Gatsby. In fact, several of his characters are based on her book A Lost Lady (Jewell). Cather’s depiction of landscape and portrayals of individuals brought back life into every line. Her use of both realism and modernist styles in her writing helped ignite a different outlook on life as a pioneer. The ideas of realism and modernism have influenced many and are found in numerous books due to its ability to connect with readers. Without either, the stories known today may have never been created.