Introduction to

the Marxist Lens

ENG4U0
 Religion
Government

CEOs Factory Workers Culture

Investors Social Media
Stock Market
Schools
Commodities (water,
Politics
diamonds, gold, etc.)
Marxism

Marxism is a cultural theory that embodies a set of social, economic, and political ideas
that its followers believe will enable them to interpret and change their world.
Basic Tenets of Marxism

—One’s value is based on labor exerted (or potential labor)

—Economics determines all social actions and institutions

—Class struggle is the basic pattern in history

—Power will inevitably be seized through the revolution of the proletariat

—Ultimately there will be an establishment of a classless society

History

- The beginning of Marxist thought came about through Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels’ The Communist Manifesto during the late 19th century.
- In the 20th century, the “Russian Revolution Architects” headed by Leon Trotsky
applied Marx’s ideas to literary texts. Trotsky was exiled by Stalin, however, and
Theodor Adorno helped form the core of early Marxist critics.
Who was Karl Marx
• Born in Trier, Germany in 1818
• German philosopher who rejected the tenets of
Romanticism in favor of philosophy of
dialectical materialism.
• Criticized the injustice inherent in the European
class/capitalist system of economics operating in
the 19th Century.
• Believed that capitalism allowed the bourgeoisie
to benefit at the expense of the workers.
• The Communist Manifesto.
• Das Kapital, analyzes the capitalist form of
wealth production and its consequences for
culture.
 Marxist Literary Theory
A form of critique or
discourse for interrogating
all societies and their texts
in terms of certain specific
issues – including race,
class, and the attitudes
shared within a given
culture.
 Historical Development
• Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883)
• Friedrich Engles (1820-1895)
– German Writers, Philosophers, Social Critics
– Coauthored The Communist Manifesto
– Declared that the capitalists, or the bourgeoisie, had
successfully enslaved the working class, or the
proletariat, through economic policies and control of
the production of goods
 Basic Idea
Class conflicts and worker struggles are so deeply ingrained in
societies that they are reflected in literature, going back to the
stance that the superstructure mirrors the base.
Superstructure (law, politics, art, morality, religion) is a
reflection/outgrowth/ extension of base (means of
production: farming, industry, craft).
 Marx’s Theory of History
1. Feudalism – Aristocrats v. Peasants (large lower class).
—Emerging bourgeois demands change in ownership of capital.
 Marx’s Theory of History
2. Capitalism – Bourgeois (middle class) v. Proletariat (working class) —
Bourgeois controls mode of production.
—Proletariat consists of contract laborers.
—Bourgeois controls proletariat through product regulation and by imposed
ideologies. Eventually, the result is a revolt followed by the replacement of
power to the hands of government.
 Marx’s Theory of History
3. Socialism – State controls modes of distribution, given out on the
basis of need.
 Marx’s Theory of History
4. Communism – “Worker’s Paradise,” common pool of capital and
the reception of the full value of labor.
 REVIEW
FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a
barn with everyone else’s cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The
government gives you as much milk as you need.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of
them, and you all share the milk.
 Marx’s Materialism
The movement of history is determined by the accumulation, distribution, abundance,
and scarcity of material resources.
Think about it → your life is based around your BASIC desire for food and water.
On a larger scale, all history and historical change is determined by the materials upon
which communities sustain themselves. Change happens due to the movement of
material.
Human beings formulate ideas based on circumstances around them.
 Literature for Marx
Marxism implies that literature is ultimately a tool of the
upper class and possesses no independent value.

Later on, works of literature were judged on the basis of

where in society the perspectives within the text were
coming from.
Marx also said religion was the “opiate of the masses”.
 Assumptions
• In America, for example, the capitalists exploit
the working classes, determine their salaries
and working conditions, and other elements of
their lives. From this base, arises the
superstructure—a multitude of social and legal
institutions, political and education systems,
religious beliefs, values, and a body of art and
literature that one social class uses to keep
members of the working class in check.
 Marxist Criticism
A Marxist critic may begin such an analysis
by showing how an author’s text reflects
his or her ideology through an examination
of the fictional world’s characters, settings,
society, or any other aspect of the text.
The critic may then launch an investigation
into …
 Marxist Criticism
1. The author’s social class
2. Its effects upon the author’s society
3. Examining the history and the culture of
the times as reflected in the text
4. Investigate how the author either
correctly or incorrectly pictures this
historical period
 Marxist Literary Theory

• Focuses on the representation of

class distinctions and class conflict in
literature
• Focuses more on social and political
elements than artistic and visual
(aesthetic) elements of a text
?
Questions Raised By the Marxist
Literary Lens

?
• How does the author’s social and economic class
show through the work?

• Does the work support the economic and social

status quo, or does it advocate change?

• What roles does the class system play in the

work?
 Questions Raised By the Marxist
Literary Lens
• What role does class play in the work; what is
the author’s analysis of class relations?
• How do characters overcome oppression?
• What does the work say about oppression; or
are social conflicts ignored or blamed
elsewhere?
 Questions Raised By the Marxist
Literary Lens
• Does the work propose some form of utopian vision
as a solution to the problems encountered in the
work?

• In what ways does the work serve as propaganda for

the status quo; or does it try to undermine it?

• Does the literature reflect the author’s own class or

analysis of class relations?
 Key Terms
Proletariat
Bourgeoisie
Capitalism
Materialism
Classism
Commodification
 MORE KEY TERMS
Base: the methods of production (farming, factories, craftsmanship, etc.)

Superstructure: emerges from the factors of the base into such things as law, politics, jurisprudence, art, morality, and religion
(“control systems”)

Reflectionism: a theory that the superstructure of a society mirrors its economic base and, by extension, that a text reflects the
society that produced it

Bourgeoisie: those who own property and control the means of production

Proletariat: the majority of the global population who live in substandard conditions who have always performed the manual labor that
fills the coffers of the rich
• Production Theory: the ability of literature and art to change the base of society

Classism: an ideology that equates one’s values as a human being with the social class to which one belongs

Commodification: the attitude of valuing things not for their utility but for their power to impress others or for their resale
possibilities

Hegemony: the assumptions, values and meanings that shape meaning and define reality for the majority of people in a given culture

Ideology: a belief system or a product of cultural conditioning

False Consciousness: when a cultural conditioning leads the people to accept a system that is unfavorable for them without protest or
questioning; to accept the logical way for things to be
 Marxist Critics...
—focus on oppressive situations that exist in literature as a means of seeing historical and
economic forces at work.

—look for ideas literature might offer intended to spark a revolutionary moment within a
nation, specifically for the proletariat to overcome the bourgeoisie.

—identify operative ideologies by looking at the many factors that could be overcome to
help a dream government arise:

• the presence of oppression

• how/why/when the working class isn’t progressing
- to what degree the bourgeoisie’s ideology controls/oppresses workers

—highlight elements of society most affected by such oppression leading to action, revolution,
and social change.
—seek to uncover use of symbols, imagery, and metaphor in texts, and any lurking realities
associated with them.
 Ask Questions: Who Has Power
• Is there an objection to socialism?
• Does the text raise criticism about the emptiness of life in
bourgeois society?
• What does the author portray about society?
• What is emphasized, what is ignored?
• Are characters from all social levels equally sketched?
• Are the main problems individual or collective?
 How to Use
• Expose class conflict • Show how the working
• Who or what is the class is trapped
dominant class? • Show how the working
• What does the class is oppressed
dominant class • Show how the working
believe? class can end their
• How do they impose own oppression
their beliefs on others?
Applying Marxist Literary
Theory to Texts
• What should we expect to see through a
Marxist lens?
– the political context of the text itself (places
the study of literature in the context of
important social questions)
– that we as readers are socially constructed
subjects
– the idea that literature is a part of ideology
 Cinderella from the Marxist Lens
► “Cinderella” is propaganda from the Bourgeoisie, a rags to riches story, to get
the Proletariat hopeful that they too can be rich
► The King and the Prince represent the Bourgeoisie. Cinderella and her sisters
represent the proletariat. The rich oppress the Proles by forcing them to send
their daughters to the ball.
► The poor workers - Cinderella - are only valued by their labour and not by their
intelligence.
► Cinderella gains no class consciousness
► The real tragic figures of the story are the step-sisters, who are completely
indoctrinated by the Bourgeois. They exhibit all the habits of the rich - the
conniving and greediness (petit bourgeoisie) - and no class consciousness.
 NEW TEXT: THE MUSIC VIDEO
- Music videos are a popular form of entertainment.
- By coupling music with images, artists reinterpret the meanings of
their songs through visuals.
- When analyzing music videos, we look at a number of stylistic
elements.
- The lyrics
- The music
- The visuals - camera angles, etc.
- Actors
- Story, plot, character etc.
Music Video: Radiohead - “If You Say the Word”
[DISREGARD]
 For the Following Music Video…
Respond to the following prompt:
Examine the role of power between classes and/or the relationship between the rich
and the poor using the Marxist Lens. Refer to ONE stylistic technique used in the
video.

This one isn’t as obvious. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with...