Modernism vs. Realism

Modernism and Realism are very similar and slightly different types of American Literature. Both reflected the vast changes undergone by society at their times. Realism was brought on due to the aftermath of the Civil War and the changes that it caused when people needed something solid or "real" in their lives. Modernism was brought on by the two World Wars, as well as other wars and changes in society such as the Prohibition and the roaring twenties. Society during the Modernism period wanted to create something distinctly theirs so as to again have a solid foundation amidst all the change. Both literary isms also share a focus on individuals and the psychology of the individual. They are also similar in that, for the most part, they both focus on things that could actually happen. This is true for Realism especially. Also, both Realism and Modernism authors considered each piece its own work of art that could be studied as a unit ("Introduction"). The language of the two literary periods is also the same. Both used the common language of the people, particularly that of the middle class, which was greatly expanding during this time period.
For as similar as Realism and Modernism are, there are also some major differences. While Realism and Modernism were both very descriptive, Realism was more into a stating of facts and Modernism used more of an image approach, particularly with the Imagist subcategory. In modernism, the description of (and use of images in)the event was just important as the event itself and what was happening in the story. In Realism however, the happenings of the story often got lost in the sea of detail (a.k.a. boring facts) that were used to describe the events. The authors apparently were just fine with that, and the aspect of boredom that permeates many Realism works has become a defining characteristic of Realism. Also, Modernism often places its ordinary hero in extraordinary situations, while Realism wouldn't dream of such things. One example is "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber, Walter, a painfully ordinary man, has vivid fantasies of extraordinary situations. While he isn't actually in them himself, the imagery (which is a major characteristic of Modernism) is enough so it seems that he is. The last difference that I want to mention is that for as much of the change that went on right before the Realism period, I think that Modernism had much more change that went on in its time. That just makes Modernism more legitimate in my mind.
While I'm on the topic of personal differences, I much prefer Modernism to Realism. Realism gets boring really quickly for me. That's not to say that I don't find Modernism boring at times, but Realism is boring practically all the time. I think the only Realism work that I can remember that was not boring for me was "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Bierce. In Modernism, it was easier for me to find stories/poems that I liked, which I appreciated.