1. What is the flaw of development of western social system according to Marx? Explain.

Marx discovered the law of development of human history: the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an
overgrowth of ideology, that mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it
can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.; that, therefore the production of the immediate
material means, and consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people
or during a given epoch, form the foundation upon which the state institutions, the legal
conceptions, art, and even the ideas on religion, of the people concerned have been evolved, and in
the light of which they must, therefore, be explained, instead of vice versa, as had hitherto been the
case.

According to Karl Marx, all the legal relations, politics, forms of the states, etc. are to be understood,
not in terms of development of human mind but in terms of the material condition of life. To him, in
the process of development of human society human being has emerged to be a producing animal
and thereby tied with several production relations. To quote him: In the social production of their
life, men enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will, relations
of production which correspond to a definite stage of development of their material productive
forces.

2. What do you know about commodification? Explain.

Commodification occurs when things that were earlier not traded in the market

become commodities. For instance, labour or skills become things that can be bought and sold.
According to Marx and other critics of capitalism, the process of commodification has negative social
effects. For example: commodification of labour. In earlier times, human beings themselves were
bought and sold as slaves, but today it is considered immoral to treat people as commodities.
Traditionally, marriages were arranged by families, but now there are professional marriage bureaus
and websites that help people to find brides and grooms for a fee.

3. Write a short summary of “The Diamond Necklace” by Guy d’Maupassant (in 20-50 words).

Monsier Loisel takes Mathilde with an invitation to a formal Ministry of Education party, which he
hopes Mathilde will be delighted with because she can dress up and blend in with the upper class.
On the other hand, Mathilde was immediately irritated that she had nothing short of inappropriate
to wear to this kind of event.Mathilde's tears swung Monsier Loisel to buy her new clothes even
though money was tight.Mathilde asked for 400 francs. Monsier Loisel planned to spend 400 francs,
saving for his own gun, but agreed to give the money to his wife. Approaching the date of the party,
Mathilde also decided to borrow jewelry from Madame Forestier. He took the diamond necklace
from Madame Forestier's jewelry box.

The party went well for Mathilde, who was the belle of the ball. When the night ends and the couple
returns home, Mathilde is saddened by the simple circumstances of her life compared to the fairy
tale she had just experienced. But these emotions quickly turned to panic when he realized he had
lost the necklace Madame Forestier had lent him.

The Loisels searched for the necklace but could not find it, and finally decided to break it off without
telling Madame Forestier that Mathilde lost the real one. They find a similar necklace, and for a gift
they take and owe.For the next 10 years, the Loisels lived in poverty. Monsier Loisel worked 3 jobs
and Mathilde did the heavy housework until their debt was paid off. In the process, Mathilde's
beauty had become the tired languid face from a decade earlier.One day, Mathilde and Mrs
Forestier met each other on the street. At first, Madame Forestier didn't recognize Mathilde, and
then was surprised to realize it was her. Mathilde finally explains to Madame Forestier that she lost
the necklace, replaced it and worked for 10 years to pay for the replacement. The story ends with
Madame Forestier desperately telling Mathilde that the necklace she gave you is fake and almost
worthless.

4. Who represents Bourgeosie and who represents Proletariat in the short story?

Proletariat : Madame and Mr. Loisel.

Bourgeouise: Madame Forestier.

5. How Bourgeosie keeps distance from Proletariat? Quote from the story to support your idea.

The bourgeoisie keeps more and more doing away with the scattered state of the population, of the
means of production, and of property. It has agglomerated population, centralised the means of
production, and has concentrated property in a few hands. The necessary consequence of this was
political centralisation. Independent, or but loosely connected provinces, with separate interests,
laws, governments, and systems of taxation, became lumped together into one nation, with one
government, one code of laws, one national class-interest, one frontier, and one customs-tariff.

6. Do you see “Economic Power” and class conflict as the essence of Marx theory in the short story?
Quote from the story to support your idea.

It plays a big role in this story. The act to limit the attendee of the ball to shows the difference in
power, to match the standard clothing of higher class people needs a big amount of money for lower
class people, and assum that a Burgoise didn't have an imitation product that wont suit their image.