Marxist Literary Theory

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Marxist Literary Theory
Marxist Literary Theory
A form of critique or discourse for interrogating
all societies and their texts in terms of certain
specific issues including race, class, and the
attitudes shared within a given culture.
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Historical Development

• Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883)
• Friedrich Engles (1820-1895)
• German Writers, Philosophers, Social Critics
• Coauthored The Communist Manifesto
• Declared that the capitalists, or the
  bourgeoisie, had successfully enslaved the
  working class, or the proletariat, through
  economic policies and control of the production
  of goods

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Who was Karl Marx?

• Born in Trier, Germany in 1818
• German philosopher who rejected the tenets of
  Romanticism in favor of philosophy of dialectical
  materialism.
• Criticized the injustice inherent in the European
  class/capitalist system of economics operating in
  the 19th Century.
• Believed that capitalism allowed the bourgeoisie
  to benefit at the expense of the workers.
• The Communist Manifesto.
• Das Kapital, analyzes the capitalist form of
  wealth production and its consequences for
  culture.

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Assumptions

• In America, for example, the capitalists exploit
  the working classes, determine their salaries and
  working conditions, and other elements of their
  lives. From this base, arises the
  superstructurea multitude of social and legal
  institutions, political and education systems,
  religious beliefs, values, and a body of art and
  literature that one social class uses to keep
  members of the working class in check.

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Marxist Criticism

• A Marxist critic may begin such an analysis by
  showing how an authors text reflects his or her
  ideology through an examination of the fictional
  worlds characters, settings, society, or any
  other aspect of the text. The critic may then
  launch an investigation into

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Marxist Criticism

1. The authors social class
2. Its effects upon the authors society
3. Examining the history and the culture of the
   times as reflected in the text
4. Investigate how the author either correctly or
   incorrectly pictures this historical period

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Marxist Literary Theory

• Focuses on the representation of class
  distinctions and class conflict in literature
• Focuses more on social and political elements
  than artistic and visual (aesthetic) elements of
  a text

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Questions Raised By the Marxist Literary Lens
?
?

• How does the authors social and economic class
  show through the work?
• Does the work support the economic and social
  status quo, or does it advocate change?
• What roles does the class system play in the work?

?
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Questions Raised By the Marxist Literary Lens

• What role does class play in the work what is
  the authors analysis of class relations?
• How do characters overcome oppression?
• What does the work say about oppression or are
  social conflicts ignored or blamed elsewhere?

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Questions Raised By the Marxist Literary Lens

• Does the work propose some form of utopian vision
  as a solution to the problems encountered in the
  work?
• In what ways does the work serve as propaganda
  for the status quo or does it try to undermine
  it?
• Does the literature reflect the authors own
  class or analysis of class relations?

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Key Terms
Proletariat
Bourgeoisie

Capitalism

• Materialism
• Classism

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Ask Questions

• Is there an objection to socialism?
• Does the text raise criticism about the emptiness
  of life in bourgeois society?
• What does the author portray about society?
• What is emphasized, what is ignored?
• Are characters from all social levels equally
  sketched?
• Are the main problems individual or collective?

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How to Use

• Expose class conflict
• Who or what is the dominant class?
• What does the dominant class believe?
• How do they impose their beliefs on others?

• Show how the working class is trapped
• Show how the working class is oppressed
• Show how the working class can end their own
  oppression

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Applying Marxist Literary Theory to Texts
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• Union
• Not me alone
• I know now
• But all the whole oppressed
• Poor world,
• White and black,
• Must put their hands with mine
• To shake the pillars of those temples
• Wherein the false gods dwell
• And worn-out altars stand
• Too well defended,
• And the rule of greeds upheld
• That must be ended.
  Langston Hughes

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Activity Re-cap

• What should we expect to see through a Marxist
  lens?
• the political context of the text itself (places
  the study of literature in the context of
  important social questions)
• that we as readers are socially constructed
  subjects
• the idea that literature is a part of ideology

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References

• Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High
  School English Teaching Literary Theory to
  Adolescents. New York, Teachers College Press,
  2000.
• Brewton, Vince. Marxism. The Internet
  Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2002.
• 14 Sept. 2004 lt http//www.iep.utm.edu/literary.
  htm gt.
• Brizee, Allen. Karl Marx. Marxist Literary
  Criticism. 2000. 18 Sept. 2004
  lthttp//athena.english.vt.edu/hbrizee/marxindex.h
  tm gt.
• Karl Marx. 15 Sept. 2004 lt http//ni206173181.
  blogspot.com gt.
• Mansour, Dr. Wisam. Marxist Literary Theory.
  2000. 16 Sept. 2004
• lt www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy4573/Lectures/m
  arxism.html gt.
• Schakel and Ridl. Approaching Poetry
  Perspectives and Responses. New York St.
  Martins Press, 1997.
• Marxism. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia.
  14. Sept. 2004 lt en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism gt.

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Works Cited

• Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism An
  Introduction to Theory and Practice. Englewood
  Cliffs Prentice Hall, 1994.
• Murfin, Ross and Ray, Supryia. The Bedford
  Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.
  Boston/New York Bedford/St. Martins, 2003.