Literary Criticism

MARXIST
CRITICISM
 MARXIST CRITICISM
Examines literature in the cultural,
1.
economic and political manner
2. This theory, sometimes, examines the
author’s society to better understand his
literary works, or it may examine the
representation of such societal elements
within literature itself.
 MARXIST CRITICISM

This is one influential type of sociological

criticism, which focuses on the economic
3. and political elements of art, often
emphasizing the ideological content of
literature because Marxist theory often
argues that all art is political.
 BACKGROUND
As the name suggests, KARL MARX, in
collaboration with Friedrich Engels, was the
inspiration for the ideology behind this criticism.
Karl Marx was primarily an ideologist who believed
that the main reason behind conflicts in history was
the attempts by the LOWER CLASS to obtain
power, and the effort by the UPPER CLASS to retain
what they already had.
 BACKGROUND
Marxist Criticism claims that literature is not art
independent of its time and culture but rather a
product of it. However Marxism analyzes history
specifically in terms of the conflict between
socioeconomic classes. The focus is to analyze how
the competition between different classes inspired or
influenced a given work.
 BACKGROUND
FOR MARXISM, getting and keeping economic power
is the motive behind all social and political activities.

SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS class structures in

Economics

With Economics being the base of how superstructures

of social/political/ideological realities are built
 TERMINOLOGY

Economic Conditions referred to as MATERIAL

CIRCUMSTANCES

S/P/I atmosphere generated by material conditions is

called HISTORICAL SITUATION
 TERMINOLOGY

For the Marxist critic, neither human events nor

human productions can be understood without
understanding the specific material/historical causes.
 TERMINOLOGY

MARXIST PRAXIS dictates that theoretical ideas

can be judged to have value only in terms of their
concrete applications, that is, only in terms of their
applicability to the real world.
 BOURGEOISE PROLETARIAT
“HAVES” “HAVE-NOTS”
Those who control the Those who live in
world’s natural, substandard conditions
economic and human and how have always
resources performed the manual
labor that fills the
coffers of the rich
 THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY
IDEOLOGY -> BELIEF SYSTEM ->
CONDITIONING

“men are natural leaders because of their biological

superiority”
“every family wants to own its own home on its
own land”
 THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY
The most successful ideologies are thought of as
natural ways instead of ideologies

The concerns of the middle-class on the

government programs for the poor

“BETTER” than other people have (competition)

 THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY
CLASSISM – equates one’s value with the social
class to which one belongs
PATRIOTISM – keeps poor people fighting wars
against poor people in other countries; view
themselves as separate from other nation
 THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY

RELIGION – “opiate of the masses”; helps to keep

the faithful poor satisfied with their lot in life or at
least tolerant of it; if they remain nonviolent they
will find their reward in heaven; exploitation of
Christianity for capitalist purposes
 THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY

RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM – romanticizes the

individual who strikes out alone in pursuit of a goal
not easily achieved; puts self-interest above the
needs or even the survival of other people; works
against well-being of the society and the
underprivileged people
 THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY

CONSUMERISM – “I’m only as good as what I

buy”; illusion that one can be as good as the
wealthy if they can purchase what the wealthy
purchases or a reasonable facsimile thereof
 THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY

When we are being entertained, our guard is down,

so to speak, and we are especially vulnerable to
ideological programming.
SOME QUESTIONS MARXIST CRITICS
ASK
ABOUT LITERARY TEXTS
Does the work reinforce (intentionally or
1. not) capitalist, imperialist or classist
values? If so, then the work may be said to
have a capitalist, imperialist, or classist
agenda, and it is the critics job to expose
and condemn this aspect of the work.
SOME QUESTIONS MARXIST CRITICS
ASK
ABOUT LITERARY TEXTS
How might the work be seen as a critique
2. of capitalism, imperialism or classicism?
That is, in what ways does the text reveal,
and invite us to condemn oppressive
socioeconomic forces (including repressive
ideologies)?
SOME QUESTIONS MARXIST CRITICS
ASK
ABOUT LITERARY TEXTS
Does the work in some ways support a
3. Marxist agenda but in other ways (perhaps
unintentionally) support a capitalist,
imperialist or classist agenda? In other
words, is the work ideologically
conflicted?
SOME QUESTIONS MARXIST CRITICS
ASK
ABOUT LITERARY TEXTS
How does the literary work reflect
4. (intentionally or not) the socioeconomic
conditions of the time in which it was
written and/or the time in which it is set,
and what do those conditions reveal about
the history of class struggle?
SOME QUESTIONS MARXIST CRITICS
ASK
ABOUT LITERARY TEXTS
How might a work be seen as a critique of
4. organized religion? That is, how does
religion function in the text keep a
character or characters from realizing and
resisting socioeconomic oppression?
 Despite disagreements, many
Marxists find value in all literary
works even those reinforcing
classist values, as they can
illuminate oppressive ideologies.