MARXIST

LITERARY
CRITICISM
 Karl Marx
✣ German philosopher
✣ Became part of Hegelians, and later,
The Communist League
✣ Revered as one of the most
influential socialist thinkers in 19th
century

✣ Notable works:
⨳ The German Ideology (1846)
⨳ The Communist Manifesto (1848)
⨳ Das Kapital (1867)
 FRIEDRICH ENGELS
✣ German philosopher
✣ Closest collaborator of Karl Marx in
the foundation of modern
communism.

✣ Notable works:
⨳ The Condition of Working Class in
England (1846)
⨳ Co-authored The Communist
Manifesto (1848)
 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Proletariat Bourgeoisie Ideology

- - -
class of the class that, in A belief system of
industrial contrast to the ideas and ideals,
workers who lack proletariat or especially one
their own means wage-earning which forms the
of production class, is primarily basis of economic
and hence sell concerned with or political
their labor to live property values. theory and policy
CAPITALISM
- an economic
system where
private entities
own the factors
of production
 GEORGE LUKACS

✣ 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.
 LOIS ALTHUSSER

✣ 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.
What does it mean to be
a Marxist?
 Marx saw behind capitalism's law and order
appearance a struggle of two main classes:

CAPITALISTS PLORETARIAT

"Marxism" is essentially Marx's analysis of the

complex and developing relations between these
two classes:
SOCIALISM
CAPITALISM
-
-
populist economic and political
an economic system by
system based on public
private or corporate ownership
ownership of the means of
of capital goods
production aim to directly
satisfy human needs
 MARXIST
LITERARY
CRITICISM
 WHAT IS MARXIST
LITERARY CRITICISM?
✣ It interprets literary work as both a reflection
and a product of economic conflict between
the social classes.

Questions applying Marxist Criticism:

 What role does class play?
 Who has the power?
 How do characters overcome oppression?
 Are social conflicts ignored or addressed?
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES

✣ Promotes idea ✣ Attempts to ✣ It is political in

that literature clarify the nature.
should be a tool relationship of
in the literary work to
revolutionary social reality
struggle. ✣ Judges literature
by how it
✣ Aims to arrive at ✣ It highlights and represents the
an interpretation lauds solution main struggles for
of literary text in from the critic. power going on
order to define that time, how it
the political may influence
dimensions of those struggles.
literary work.
UPUAN BY GLOC 9 (FT. ZELLE)
WHERE IS THE LOVE BY BLACK EYED PEAS
POINTS OF ANALYZINIG TEXT USING
MARXIST THEORY :

1. Economic Power
2. Materialism VS Spirituality
3. Class Conflict
4. Art, Literature, and Ideologies
HOW TO ANALAYZE LITERARY TEXT
USING MARXIST APPROACH

✣ Approach the text for how the characters

interact.
✣ Evaluate the vocational roles of the
characters.
✣ Look at how characters use their free time.
✣ Assess the role of government in the piece of
literature.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE:
A MARXIST ANALYSIS
 Marxist ideas

✣ Marxism is basically the idea that

society is driven by money and the
economy
✣ Karl Marx believed in the idea that a
perfect society had no classes or no
distinctions between socioeconomic
groups.
✣ Pride and Prejudice contains examples
that both reinforce and challenge Marx’s
ideas.
 Reinforcement

✣ Darcy proposing to Elizabeth reinforces

Marxist ideas of no social classes because
Darcy’s character chooses to disregard
Elizabeth’s social status.
 challenges

✣ Pride and Prejudice also challenges

marxist theories because of a strong
sense of associating with the correct
people in the same social groups and
how different classes interact with one
another. Example: Lady Catherine and
Collins.
 Classist
Critique
✣ Pride and Prejudice can be seen as a
critique of classist values because it
describes the struggle of the middle
classes firsthand from the Bennet's
situation, with entailments versus the
upper class, who can inherit easily.
 Class Structure
in Plot

✣ Class structure is responsible for an

immense part in the plot. Pride &
Prejudice can be viewed almost entirely
as a critique for the class system.
 Socioeconomic
Condition Factors
✣ Socioeconomic conditions of the time
period involved heavy taxing on citizens
so only the elite upper class could afford
to keep an estate after a family member
died. This caused women in the middle
class to desperately marry up in society.
This desire for ease of financial burden
represents the struggle between classes
throughout history.
 Critique of
Organized Religion
✣ Mr. Collins' absolute faith could be
viewed as a critique to religion because
his gratitude towards Lady Catherine
and all she has bestowed him keep his
respect for her, despite her demeaning
behavior. Lady Catherine obviously
represents the oppressing upper class
and Collins represents the tolerant lower
class which relies on God's demand for
gratitude for the relationship to work.
"Rugged Individualism"

✣ Marx's idea of rugged individualism, or the

idea of pursuing an unlikely goal, is clearly
exemplified in Elizabeth's character after
realizing that she was wrong about Darcy's
character. He states early in the novel, "My
respect, once lost, is lost forever."

✣ After her outburst at Rosings, her goal to

get him back is a lovely example of an
unlikely goal, accompanied by her inferior
social standing and lack of inheritance
money.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE:
A MARXIST ANALYSIS
RECAP: