impact of realism

The Tin Flute is a great example of realism. It is
interesting how Roy chose to write in third-person omniscient and this choice really
added to the novel by allowing many different viewpoints.Roy tried at showing the reader
each character’s innermost thoughts, which at times can be both raw and selfish. The
characters can be viewed as selfish and completely absorbed in their own various
happenings. The flaws and frustrations of all of these characters is what bring the
realist element to the table.Roy explores the struggle to escape the paradoxical cycle
of poverty, exploited by war and perpetuated by peace.Roy creates an image of suffering
which is not easy to shake. .Roy appeals to our human compassion through her intimate
portrayal of human suffering. The realism makes the novel move at the pace of a film,
with highly emotional scenes. Unlike a film, her realism simultaneously draws us even
closer to the characters by exposing their thoughts, which are deeply personal, not
always flattering and often in direct opposition to their actions. Tin Flute is an
important piece of work for the genre of realism because it honestly portrays the lives
of people living in Montreal slums in the early 20th c. This is why the novel is
important, because it makes a statement.Roy’s used her ability of eloquent descriptions
to burn this image of poverty into people’s minds. While Rose-Anna is searching for a
new house in the ‘spring move’ she
describes,

 “A crowd  of ragged children were
playing on the sidewalk among the litter. Women, think and sad, stood in their
evil-smelling doorways, astonished by the sunlight. Others, indoors, set their babies on
the windowsill and stared out aimlessly. Everywhere you saw windows plugged with rags or
oiled paper. Everywhere you heard shrill voices,children crying, cries of misery coming
from the depths of this house or that, door and shutters closed, dead, walled up against
if it were a tomb (97).”
 That  paints a picture of a slum very
vividly. Thiese are very realistic images of a war suffering
society.