Lectured by

FERDINAND BULUSAN

MARXIST LITERARY CRITICISM

Student, Master of Arts

in Education (English)

Cagayan State University

Andrews Campus

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.

 

Lectured by FERDINAND BULUSAN

MARXIST LITERARY CRITICISMStudent, Master of Arts

in Education (English)

Cagayan State University

Andrews Campus

Thank you for listening!