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Marxism Literary Criticism

Marxist Criticism deals with focusing on the ideological content of a work of literature and its
explicit and implicit assumptions and values about matters like culture, race, class, and power.
It is based on Marxism, or the theories of Karl Marx. Marxists believe that a work of literature
is not a result of divine inspiration or pure artistic endeavour, but that it arises out of the
economic and ideological circumstances surrounding its creation. Marxist Critics view the
literature as a reflection of the authors own class or as an analysis of class relations.

The Class System in America

It is becoming increasing difficult to classify as bourgeoisie or proletariat. Bourgeois come to
refer to middle class, and there is no distinction between owners and wage earners. You can
classify according to lifestyle. There are striking difference in lifestyle- material possessions,
education, career opportunities, financially established, luxury items, wealth, and ownership.
Americas 5 classes are underclass, lower class, middle class, upper class, and aristocracy.
Underclass and lower class are economically oppressed; aristocracy and upper class-
economically privileged. The middle class is in-between. The struggle to survive keeping down
oppressed- more oppressed by ideology.


The Role of Ideology

Ideology is a belief system produced by cultural conditioning. There are undesirable ideologies
which promote repressive political agendas. They pass themselves off as natural ways of
seeing the world so that they are accepted among citizens, instead of a product of cultural belief.
They prevent understanding the material/ historical conditions we live in because they do not
acknowledge that those conditions have any bearing on the way we see the world. Marxism is a
nonrepressive ideology. It works to make us constantly aware of all the ways in which we are
products of material/ historical circumstances and of repressive ideologies that blind us to this
fact in order to keep us subservient to the ruling power system. Ideals that function to mask its
own failure are false ideals or false consciousnesses to Marxists. A false ideals purpose is to
promote the interests of those in power.

To Marxists, ideology is important in maintaining those in power. Ideologies like Classism,
Patriotism, religion, rugged individualism, and consumerism are used to show the Marist view of
repressive ideologies. Marxist critics identify the ideology at work in literature or other works and
analyze how that ideology supports or undermines the socioeconomic system, the power
structure, in which the work plays a major role. Marxists believe that culture cannot be
separated from the socioeconomic system that produced it


Marxism and Literature

A Marxist reading would focus o how the psychological problems of a character are produced
by material/historical realities within which the family operates. Marxist Critics sometimes
overlap with or barrow other concepts to service Marxist goals.
Authors are assumed to create works that embody ideology because human beings are
produces of their socioeconomic and ideological environment. Because of this, Marxist critics
are interested in two things: The literary work might reinforce in the reader the ideologies it
embides or it might invite the reader to criticism the ideologies it represents.
Realism is the best form for Marxists because it accurately and clearly represents the real world
with all of its socioeconomic inequities and ideological contradictions, and encourages readers
to see the unhappy truths about material/historical reality, whether the author intended it or not
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they are bound to represent socioeconomic inequities and ideological contradictions if they
accurately represent the real world. Nonrealistic or experimental fiction is rejected by Marxists,
though many value it because of the fragmentation of experience it represents and the
estrangement the reader experiences constitutes a critique of the fragmented world and the
alienated human beings produced by capitalism in todays world.


Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: a User-friendly Guide. Second Edition. New York: Routledge,
2006. Print.

Marxist critics are careful readers or viewers who keeps in mind issues of power and
money, and any of the following kinds of questions:


What role does class play in the work; what is the author's analysis of class relations?
How do characters overcome oppression?
In what ways does the work serve as propaganda for the status quo; or does it try to
undermine it?
What does the work say about oppression; or are social conflicts ignored or blamed elsewhere?
Does the work propose some form of utopian vision as a solution to the problems encountered
in the work?


http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/marxist.crit.html




Characteristics of Marxist Criticism:


Based on the beliefs of Karl Marx, who criticized exploiting the working class by the capitalist
(owning) class
o Believed history of class struggles lead to goal of classless society of equally shared wealth
o Utopian society result from working class overthrowing the capitalist domination of economy
Humans divided into classes- working and owning
o Major difference in lifestyle between the classes
Working class oppressed- kept from rebellion
Working class produce labor but capitalist receive all the rewards- justified by their superiority
Sympathize with working class