10.1.1

Introduction to Marxist Literary Criticism

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Introduction to Marxist Literary Criticism

Marxist criticism is based on the economic, political and philosophical writings of Karl Marx, a German thinker who criticised the political and economic systems of 19th-century capitalist societies.

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Marxist politics vs analysis

  • While Marxist political ideas have largely been discredited since the collapse of Russian and Eastern European communism in the late 1980s/1990s, Marxist analysis is still a highly relevant tool for examining the power relations within societies (and the representations of societies in literature).
  • The ideas are on the next slides are central tenets of Marxist thinking.
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Social conditioning

  • The way we think and behave is conditioned by society.
  • Although we like to think of ourselves as free and independent, Marxist analysis looks at how far we are controlled by factors such as government, money and social class.
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Capitalism relies on exploiting

  • Capitalism, the economic system upon which Western societies are built, relies on exploiting its workers.
  • Therefore, there is always a conflict between those who control capital (wealth) and those who are exploited.
  • The idea of a class struggle between oppressor and oppressed is central to Marxist thinking.
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Workers are treated as objects

  • In Western capitalist societies, workers are treated as objects rather than human beings. They are valued by the wealth they help to produce rather than as people.
  • This creates alienation: a lack of meaning in people’s lives. Workers are not in control of their destiny and cannot fulfil their hopes and dreams by their own efforts alone.
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Writers are conditioned

  • The writer of a text is also conditioned by their own socio-economic circumstances and so the text they produce will reflect these circumstances in its attitudes towards wealth, power, property etc.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction to Atonement

2Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part One

3Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Two

4Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Three

5Chapter Summaries & Analysis: Part Four

5.1Epilogue: London, 1999 - Pages 353-371

6Key Character Profiles

7Key Themes

8Writing Techniques

9Context

10Critical Debates

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