marxism lecture

MARXIST LITERARY CRITICISM

Basic tenets• The world is always dominated

by a ruling class• Marx argues that all mental

(ideological) systems are the products of real social and economic existence.

• The material interest of the dominant social class determine how people see human existence, individual and collective.

• Marx described this view in terms of an architectural metaphor, the superstructure (ideology, politics) rest upon the base (socio economic relations).

• In the book, The German ideology, Marx and Engel talk about morality, religion and philosophy as “phantoms formed in the brains of men” which are the echoes of real life processes.

• Marxist believes that economic aspect of the society is the ultimate determinants of the other aspect.

• Greek tragedy is considered a peak of literary development and yet it coincides with a social system and a form of ideology.

• Marxist view that “canons of great literature are socially generated.

• The “greatness” of Greek tragedy is not universal and unchanging fact of existence, but a value which must be reproduced from generation to generation.

SOVIET SOCIALIST REALISM• Socialist Realism, is the official

communist “artistic method” seems to drab and blinkered to Western Readers.

• The theory addressed certain major questions about the evolution of literature, its reflection of class relations and its function in society.

PARTINOST

• Commitment to the working class is caused by the Party.

• This is derived almost exclusively from Lenin's essay “Party Organization and Party Literature” (1905)

• Lenin argues that while writers are free to write what they liked, they could not be expected to be published in the Party journal if they are not in line with the Party’s political line.

NARODNOST (Popularity)

• A work of art of any given period achieves this quality by expressing a high level of social awareness, revealing the a sense of the true social conditions and feelings of a particular epoch.

• It will also possess a “progressive outlook” glimpsing the developments of the future in the lineaments of the present, and giving a sense of ideal possibilities of social development

of social development from the point of view of the mass of working people.

KLASSOVOST

• The theory of the class nature of art.

• In this theory, there is a double emphasis on the writer’s commitment or class interest on the one hand, and the social realism of the writer’s work on the other.

GEORG LUKACS

• The first major Marxist critic• Lukacs’ use the term “reflection”

is characteristics of his work as a whole.

• He returns to the old realist view that the novel reflects reality, not be rendering its mere surface appearance, but by giving us a “truer” more complete and more vivid and more dynamic reflection of reality.

• To reflect is to frame a mental structure transposed into words.

• A novel may conduct the reader towards a more concrete insight into reality, which transcends a merely common-sense apprehension things.

• A literary work reflects not the individual phenomena in isolation, but “the full process of life”.

• The reader is always aware that the work is not in itself a reality but rather a special form of reflecting reality.

• A correct reflection of reality, therefore according to Lukacs, involves more than the rendering of external appearances.

• He describes the truly realistic work which gives us a sense of the “artistic necessity” of the images presented;

• They possess an “intensive totality” which corresponds to the “extensive totality” of the world itself.

• Reality is not a mere flux, a mechanical collision fragments, but possesses an order which the novelist renders in an intensive form.

• The writer does not impose an abstract order upon the world, but rather presents

• The reader with an image of the richness and complexity and subtlety of lived experience.

BERTOLT BRECHT

• Brecht’s early plays were radical, anarchistic and anti-bourgeois but not anti-capitalist.

• After reading Marx in about 1926, his iconoclasm was converted to conscious political commitment, although he remains to be a maverick, and not a party man.

• He opposed Socialist Realism and which offended the German authorities.

• His best known theatrical device, the alienation effect, recalls the Russian concept of defamiliarisation.

• Socialist Realism favored realistic illusion, formal unity and positive heroes.

• Brecht, called his theory of realism “anti-Aristotelian” a covert way of attacking his opponents.

• Aristotle emphasized the universality and unity of the tragic action and the identification of audience and hero in empathy which produces ‘catharsis’ of emotions.

• Brecht rejected the entire Aristotelian theatre.

• The dramatist should avoid a smoothly interconnected plot and any sense of

Inevitability or universality.• The facts of social injustice

needed to be presented as if they were shockingly unnatural and totally surprising.

• To avoid lulling the audience into a state of passive acceptance, the illusion of reality must be shattered by the use of alienation effect.

• The actors must not lose themselves in their roles or seek to promote a purely emphatic audience as both recognizable and familiar, so that the process of critical assessment can be set in motion.

Who started it?

Some of his most notable works are:

• The German Ideology (1846)

• The Communist Manifesto (1848)

• Das Kapital (1867)

He was a 19th century German philosopher that became a part of the Young Hegelians, and later, the Communist League. Marx is revered as one of the most influential socialist thinkers of the 19th century.

KARL MARX

But we can’t have Marx without...

Some of his major works were:

• The Condition of the Working Class in England (1844)

• Co-authored The Communist Manifesto (1848)

FRIEDRICH ENGELS

Engels was pretty much Marx’s best friend. He shared Marx’s socialist beliefs and provided support financially as well as intellectually while Marx developed his theories.

CRITICS OF KARL MARX

GEORG LUKACS: Reflectionism or Vulgar Marxism

-Believed that the text will reflect the society that has produced it. -Stressed that historical approach is different to reflectionism-Reflectionists attribute the separation that they discover to the ills of capitalism.  

Louis Althusser: Interpellation

Argued that literature and art affect the society

Believed that the working class is manipulated to accept the ideology of the

dominant one.  

Jameson and Eagleton : Theories are intertwined and not just one sided.

DEFINITION OF TERMS• Bourgeoisie : the name

given by Marx to the owners of the means of productions in a society.

• Ideology : A belief system

• Proletariat : The name given by Marx to the workers in the society.

• Capitalism is an economic system that is based on private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods or services for profit.

What does it mean to be a Marxist?

Engels and Marx founded the social and economic system of Marxism in the 19th century. Essentially, it is the opposite of capitalism. **

Capitalism is based on private ownership and motivation by profit. Marx criticizes capitalism for its tendency to abuse the working man, or “the proletariat,” by paying a wage that barely guarantees the workers’ survival.

Proletariat$ $$

Capitalist$$$$$

Instead, Marxism utilizes socialism’s concept of public ownership.

Marxism theorizes that in order to remove the proletariat from its poor economic situation, a socialist revolution must occur to remove the unconcerned ruling class from government.

Angry Mob Capitalist!

What does it mean to be a Marxist?

Following the revolution, a new, socialist government is created that subsequently becomes communist in nature.

$$ $$ $$ $$

What does it mean to be a Marxist?

What about Marxist literary criticism?

• Marxist Criticism is the belief that literature reflects this class struggle and materialism.

• It looks at how literature functions in relation to other aspects of the superstructure, particularly other articulations of ideology.

• Like feminist critics, it investigates how literature can work as a force for social change, or as a reaffirmation of existing conditions.

• Like New Historicism, it examines how history influences literature; the difference is that Marxism focuses on the lower classes.

Marxist Criticism begs these questions about the work:

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?

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MARXIST CRITICISM

• It promotes the idea that literature should be a tool in the revolutionary struggle.

• It attempts to clarify the relationship of literary work to social reality.

• It is political in nature. • It aims to arrive at an

interpretation of literary text in order to define the political dimensions of literary work.

• It believes that the literary work has ALWAYS a relationship to the society.

• It judges literature by how it represents the main struggles for power going on that time, how it may influence those struggles.

• It highlights and lauds solution from the critic [if ever s/he could come up with one].

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MARXIST CRITICISM

POINTS OF ANALYZING A TEXT USING

MARXIST THEORY

Remember : economic system is the moving force behind human history.

Thus, to explain any social context or genre, understand the historical circumstances.

E.g.: In the story, the society depicted an unequal distribution of goods.

1. ECONOMIC POWER

• Marx averred that reality is material not spiritual. We are not spiritual beings but socially constructed ones.

 • As critics, we are tasked to

examine the relationship among socioeconomic groups in order to achieve insight into ourselves and our society.

2. MATERIALISM VS. SPIRITUALITY

3. CLASS CONFLICT 

Conflict here principally means the friction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.  

According to Marx, the dominant class or higher class do

control art, literature, and ideologies.

Marxist critics should identify the ideology of the work and point

out its worth and deficiencies.

4. ART, LITERATURE, AND IDEOLOGIES

HOW TO ANALYZE LITERARY TEXT USING MARXIST

APPROACH?

1. Approach the text with an eye for how the characters interact. Marxist thought relies on relationships between individuals, and even those aspects of relationships that are 'social' can be part of a Marxist critique.

2.Evaluate the vocational roles of all characters. The Marxist critique includes a focus on a "class system" where the vocations of characters provide the most direct reference to their place within this system. Look at the level of luxury that each individual has and how much they have to work.

3. Look at how characters use their free time. Part of the Marxist critique is based on the argument that individuals can use free time productively. Examining the free choices of individuals is actually a large part of Marxist literary criticism.

4. Assess the role of government in the piece of literature. Is it draconian? Laissez-faire? Marxist thought relies on government as a model for liberty and also for communalism: look at the tools that government uses. Does the government, in soliciting citizenship, appeal to the capitalist tendencies of individuals or to their innate love of community?

5. Use Marxist writers as a guide. Pick ideas outlined by Marxist writers of past eras and apply them to your particular study.

• As a general guideline, "rules" shouldn't be over emphasized in literary criticism. It doesn't have to be overly technical, just go from a general "Marxist" viewpoint and tell something about the story.

WRITING A

M A R X I S T

ANALYSIS

1. PREWRITING 1.1. Clarify your understanding of the work.

1.2. Examine the introduction/setting/over-all status of the society as regards economic, social, and cultural aspects. At the beginning, try to seek and understand the apartheid or the inequality present in the society. What class does the character belong to?

2.1. The Introduction-Tell the ideology and how it is related to Marxist principles

2.2. The Body - It will depend on the style of the critic- Reveal, in detailed points, the proofs of having inequality, oppression, and control of wealth.

2.3. The Conclusion- Endorse that lower class be given chance to access equal wealth and power. - It may be a suggestion of social reform ASAP.- You may tell the impact of Marxist principles into your life as a critic.

2. DRAFTING AND REVISING

THIS TIME, LET US TRY TO ANALYZE

A POEM.

MANGGAGAWANi Jose Corazon de Jesus

Bawat palo ng martilyo sa bakal mong pinapandayalipatong nagtilamsik, alitaptap sa kadimlan; 

mga apoy ng pawis mong sa Bakal ay kumikinangtandang ikaw ang may gawa nitong buong Santinakpan.

Nang tipakin mo ang bato ay natayo ang katedralnang pukpukin mo ang tanso ay umugong ang batingaw,

nang lutuin mo ang pilak ang salapi a lumitaw,si Puhunan ay gawa mo, kaya ngayon'y nagyayabang.

kung may gusaling naangat, tandang ikaw ang pumasan

mula sa duyan ng bata ay kamao mo ang gumalawhanggang hukay ay gawa mo ang krus na

nakalagay.

Kaya ikaw ay marapat dakilain at itanghalpagkat ikaw ang yumari nitong buong

Kabihasnan.....Bawat patak ng pawis mo'y yumayari ka ng dangal,

dinadala mo ang lahi sa luklukan ng tagumpay.

Mabuhay ka ng buhay na walang wakas, walang hanggan,

at hihinto ang pag-ikot nitong mundo pag namatay.

Jose Corazon De Jesus’ poem entitled Manggagawa presents the reader an exaltation of the lower class vividly represented by the main subject, the worker (Manggagawa). Moreover, it shows a great disparity of the rich (the bourgeoisie) and the workers (the proletariat). The poem generally gives clear scenario of the contrast of the former and the latter, and towards the end, it provides a loud clamor for equality between these classes.

The apartheid is evidenced in many aspects through

the appropriate use of words or descriptions in the poem. Through the products that the latter made, the higher class is greatly benefitted. The cathedral during that time was a vital place for the elite. The silver/bronze (money) is vividly attributed to the rich, the capital (puhunan) to the businessmen. Flaunting members of the rich class became clear in the poem by the use of the word ostentatious (nagmamayabang).

On the third stanza, greater hardships of the lower class were pointed out through the use of more emphatic descriptions. The gigantic buildings are attributed to the affluent or elite only, since these are their typical workplace. Having erected such buildings, the members of the lower class gained a lucid position of being below the wealthy.

 The last two lines of the third stanza, on the other

hand, underscored the greatest evidences of oppressed lower class. The contrasting “from birth to death [of working]” prepositional phrases point to the perennial activities of the lower class that are primarily typical in the culture. That means that a particular member of the lower class has a very low percentage of elevating his status in the society. As regards the government, the poem reflects that it has a less control on the elitism, which firmly shows the strength and influence of the elite in the society. Therefore, a clear view of capitalism is embedded and reflected in the poem.

After presenting the evidences of having a capitalistic attitude in the society, the persona boisterously clamor that the lower class be given recognition and they be given due credit and due respect for what they do for the betterment of economy and the whole populace in general. Pointing the value of each oozing sweat, the persona acknowledges his great debt of gratitude to the proletariat or the workers in contributing to the progress of the nation. He gives closure to the poem by wishing them a long life and reiterating their value in the development of the world. Certainly, in this poem, the elite conduct themselves with no thought to the peasants beneath them. Because of their accumulation of mundane treasures, they falsely view themselves as having passed into the realm of divinity, which give them the right to destroy, starve, and maim with impunity the blighted workers whose fate lies in the palms of the ruling class.

“Manggagawa” by Jose Corazon de Jesus is a sharp lesson to materialistic societies of the rank evils of social systems that base their economy on an undervalued working class. By taking the reader from the affluent, who run the system to the poor, the lowly workers are giving the readers a broad picture of the methods used by an unchecked bourgeoisie to destroy families and rob individuals of their humanity.

This time it is your turn.

Listen to the instructions

of the lecturer.

My Father Goes to Court

Try to react using the key points in

analyzing a literary text

suggested by Karl Marx.