MARXISM

The ideology of marxism and how it can be applied to the way we „read“ texts

Learning Intention:

In today’s lesson you will:

• Acquire a knowledge of what Marxism is and who founded it

• Gain an understanding of how Marxism and Marxist lenses can be applied to the reading of a text

• Become competent with a variety of Marxist literary theorists

• Know what questions to ask when reading a text through a Marxist lens.

• Marxism came about in the 1800’s and is the theory of

German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and

revolutionary socialist, Karl Marx (1818 – 1883). As well

as Marx’s lifelong co-worker; Frederick Engels.

Karl Marx

• His ideal was a classless society whereby economic & political power is spread equally

throughout and capitalism is considered unsatisfactory in a sense that it alienates one from

themselves through a form of a consumerist trick.

What is Marxism?

• Marxism is the theory of how society works, in particular

the nature of capitalism through an anti-capitalist lense.

MAIN IDEAS

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- History is a cycle of struggles between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

MAIN IDEAS

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- Workers are alienated from their labor and from themselves

MAIN IDEAS

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- All cultural products can be analyzed as if they were works of literature

Marxist Literary Criticism:

• Marxist literary criticism emerged through class struggle, politics and economics.

• Marxist criticism says that the text will reflect the society that has produced it.

• It ALWAYS has a relationship to the society and judges literature by how it represents the main struggles for power going on that time and how it may influence those struggles.

• The working class is manipulated to accept the ideology of the dominant class.

• Like feminist critics, Marxist Literary Criticism investigates how literature

can work as a force for social change, or as a reaffirmation of existing

conditions.

• Similar to New Historicism it examines how history influences literature;

the difference is that Marxism focuses on the lower classes.

• The social situation of the author determines, according to Marxists,

which characters will be given power, finances and the most influence

in the text, for example marginalised characters are generally those

who are marginalised in society i.e. women, diverse ethnicities.

• Marxist literary theories tend to focus on the representation of class conflict as well

as the reinforcement of class distinctions through the medium of literature.

• Marxist theorists use traditional techniques of literary analysis but subordinate

aesthetic concerns to the final social and political meanings of literature.

• A Marxist critic examines texts for themes of social justice, class structure, and the

unequal distribution of resources and social status, among others.

Marxist Literary Theorists

MAIN IDEAS

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- Writers and writings are shaped by economic context

MAIN IDEAS

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- Literature can be a political tool

Marxist Literary Theorist:

Believed in Hegemony - the dominance of ruling class values in media texts

influences audiences to believe that these values are 'common place'

Antonio Gramsci

Marxist Literary Theorist:

Sergei Eisenstein

Believed that all conventions used by Hollywood cinema is designed to draw

audiences into believing in capitalist propaganda and ideologies. He believed the way

to get around these conventions was to focus on the group rather than the individual

and to tell the narrative through montage to make the audience realise that what they

are watching isn't real.

Marxist Literary Theorist:

Raymond Williams

Rejected the term 'mass culture' and instead believed that products of culture industries

are either 'low culture', suitable for workers, or 'high culture', e.g ballet or opera with

'high culture' having a great status than 'low culture'. This exists today with theatres

having greater status than cinemas. This also explains why most US film actors go onto

acting at theatres as they want to prove themselves as serious actors which is gained

through the difference in status.

In American colleges and universities, Marxism has evolved into an even more influential LITERARY theory than an actual political system. Some of the most important theorists have included:

Leon TrotskyGyörgy LukácsBertolt BrechtWalter BenjaminTerry EagletonHerbert MarcuseTheodor AdornoLouis AlthusserFrederic JamesonJürgen Habermas

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Some Questions to ask when reading:

1. What is the economic status of the characters?

2. What happens to them as a result of this status?

3. How do they fare against economic and political odds?

4. What other conditions stemming from their class does the writer emphasize?

5. To what extent does the work fail by overlooking the economic, social, and political implications of its material?

6. In what other ways does economic determinism affect the work?

7. How should the reader’s consider this story in today’s developed or underdeveloped world?

Some Questions Marxist Literary Critics Ask: Who benefits if the work or effort is

accepted/successful/believed, etc.?What is the social class of the author?Which class does the work claim to represent?What values does it reinforce?What values does it subvert?Is there a conflict between the values

the work champions and those it portrays?What social classes do the characters represent?How do characters from different classes

interact or conflict?

TWO MAIN QUESTIONS:

1. How was this text “written” by its material conditions [economics, work, society, class, politics]?2. How might the materialconditions of the society inwhich the text is receivedshape the reading?

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"...what drives historical change are the material realities of the economic base of society, rather than … politics, law, philosophy, religion, and art" (Richter 1088).

" our socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience" (Tyson 277).

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” (Marx, qtd. in Sim & van Loon 19).

“You can analyse and form value judgments on any cultural phenomenon: literature, art, music, political systems, sport, race relations, etc.” (Marx, qtd. in Sim & van Loon 4).

“Social class, and its prevailing 'ideology'...have a major bearing on what is written by a member of that class” (Barry 158).

How to “do” a Marxist reading: 1. Look for examples of oppression, bad working conditions, class struggles, etc. 2. Search for the “covert” meaning underneath the “overt,” which is about class struggle, historical stages, economic conditions, etc.3. Relate the context of a work to the social-class status of the author. 4. Relate the literary work to the social conditions of its time period. 5. Explain an entire genre in terms of its social period. 6. Show how literature is shaped by political, economic, labor, and class conditions.

THE CONTEXT WRITES THE

TEXT

THE CONTEXT WRITES THE

TEXT