Name at least three issues or ideas which were important in the age of Realism (the 19th century).

The age of realism, particularly in literature, was focused on several issues. As people became more aware the plight of other individuals and the lives of those in other nations, there was a push for art to more realistically reflect people's real lives.
Facing a world that was quickly modernizing and becoming more diverse, the writers of this era wanted more representation different walks of life—which is why many stories during this era focused on the lives of the impoverished or people in far away countries. Prior to this time, stories of this nature were more rare.
A second important issue of the age was a growing opposition to idealization. Traditionally, it was common in art for certain elements to be romanticized or idealized, made better or more picturesque, but realist writers eschewed this tendency. For example, there was nothing idealistic about Oliver Twist begging for food in the poor house.
Two other concerns of artists in this period were Social Darwinism and politics. Most literature prior to the age of realism avoided making overt political statements or talking about the plight of the impoverished—in fact, people historically blamed the poor for being poor. Now, however, writers began to focus on the larger social circumstances that had driven so many people to poverty, and they used their art to question the political and social forces that made life difficult for ordinary individuals.