{"id":23182,"date":"2020-11-07T07:51:39","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T15:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/?post_type=section&#038;p=23182"},"modified":"2024-09-02T10:50:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T09:50:33","slug":"marxist-criticism","status":"publish","type":"section","link":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Marxist Criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tts_content_wrapper_2\" >\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_69_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#What_is_Marxist_Criticism\" title=\"What is Marxist Criticism?\">What is Marxist Criticism?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#Related_Concepts\" title=\"Related Concepts\">Related Concepts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#FAQs\" title=\"FAQs\">FAQs<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#Why_Does_Marxist_Criticism_Matter\" title=\"Why Does Marxist Criticism Matter?\">Why Does Marxist Criticism Matter?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#What_Are_the_Four_Primary_Perspectives_of_Marxism\" title=\"What Are the Four Primary Perspectives of Marxism?\">What Are the Four Primary Perspectives of Marxism?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#Did_Karl_Marx_Create_Marxist_Criticism\" title=\"Did Karl Marx Create Marxist Criticism?\">Did Karl Marx Create Marxist Criticism?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#Who_Are_the_Key_Figures_in_Marxist_Theory\" title=\"Who Are the Key Figures in Marxist Theory?\">Who Are the Key Figures in Marxist Theory?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#What_are_the_Foundational_Questions_of_Marxist_Criticism\" title=\"What are the Foundational Questions of Marxist Criticism?\">What are the Foundational Questions of Marxist Criticism?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#Example_of_Marxist_Criticism\" title=\"Example of Marxist Criticism\">Example of Marxist Criticism<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/marxist-criticism\/#Discussion_Questions_and_Activities_Marxist_Criticism\" title=\"Discussion Questions and Activities: Marxist Criticism\">Discussion Questions and Activities: Marxist Criticism<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Marxist_Criticism\"><\/span>What is Marxist Criticism?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Marxist Criticism refers to both <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/information-literacy\/interpretation\/\" title=\"Epistemology\">an interpretive framework<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/genre\/\" title=\"Genre\">a genre of discourse<\/a>. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Marxist Criticism as both a theoretical approach and <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/genre\/\" title=\"Genre\">a conversational genre<\/a> within <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/style\/writing-styles\/academic-writing-style-guide\/\" title=\"Academic Writing \u2013 How to Write for the Academic Community\">academic discourse<\/a>. Critics using this framework analyze literature and other cultural forms through the <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/rhetoric\/rhetorical-situation\/writer-speaker-author-rhetor-sender\/perspective\/\" title=\"Perspective\">lens<\/a> of Marxist theory, which includes an exploration of how economic and social structures influence ideology and culture. For example, a Marxist reading of a novel might explore how the narrative reinforces or challenges the existing social hierarchy and economic inequalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marxist Criticism prioritizes four foundational Marxist concepts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>class struggle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the alienation of the individual under capitalism<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the relationship between a society&#8217;s economic base and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>its cultural superstructure. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Concepts\"><\/span>Related Concepts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/rhetoric\/epistemology\/dialectic\/\">Dialectic<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/hermeneutics\/\">Hermeneutics<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/\" title=\"Literary Criticism\">Literary Criticism<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/writing-studies\/discourse-community-community-of-practice\/semiotics-sign-signifier-signified\/\">Semiotics<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/\" title=\"Textual Research Methods\">Textual Research Methods<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs\"><\/span>FAQs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Does_Marxist_Criticism_Matter\"><\/span>Why Does Marxist Criticism Matter?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Marxist criticism thus emphasizes class, socioeconomic status, power relations among various segments of society, and the representation of those segments. Marxist literary criticism is valuable because it enables readers to see the role that class plays in the plot of a text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Are_the_Four_Primary_Perspectives_of_Marxism\"><\/span>What Are the Four Primary Perspectives of Marxism?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Key Terms<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Definitions<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Class<\/td><td>a classification or grouping typically based on income and education<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Alienation<\/td><td>a condition Karl Heinrich Marx ascribed to individuals in a capitalist economy who lack a sense of identification with their labor and products. The estrangement individuals feel in capitalist societies, where they become disconnected from their work, the products they produce, and even themselves.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Base<\/td><td>the means (e.g., tools, machines, factories, natural resources) and relations (e.g., Proletariat, Bourgeoisie) or production that shape and are shaped by the superstructure (the dominant aspect in society). Marxist criticism theorizes that the economic means of production within society account for the base. <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Superstructure<\/td><td>the social institutions such as systems of law, morality, education, and their related ideologies, that shape and are shaped by the base. Human institutions and ideologies\u2014including those relevant to a patriarchy\u2014that produce art and literary texts comprise the superstructure. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Did_Karl_Marx_Create_Marxist_Criticism\"><\/span>Did Karl Marx Create Marxist Criticism?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Karl Marx himself did not create Marxist criticism as a <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methods\/textual-methods\/literary-criticism\/\" title=\"Literary Criticism\">literary<\/a> or cultural <a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/section\/research\/research-methodology\/\" title=\"Research Methodology\">methodology<\/a>. He was a philosopher, economist, and sociologist, and his works laid the foundation for Marxist theory in the context of social and economic analysis. The key concepts that Marx developed\u2014such as class struggle, the theory of surplus value, and historical materialism\u2014are central to understanding the mechanisms of capitalism and class relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marxist criticism as a distinct approach to literature and culture developed later, as thinkers in the 20th century began to apply Marx&#8217;s ideas to the arts and humanities. It is a product of various scholars and theorists who found Marx\u2019s social theories to be useful tools for analyzing and critiquing literature and culture. These include figures such as Gy\u00f6rgy Luk\u00e1cs, Walter Benjamin, Antonio Gramsci, and later the Frankfurt School, among others, who expanded Marxist theory into the realms of ideology, consciousness, and cultural production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, while Marx provided the ideological framework, it was later theorists who adapted his ideas into what is now known as Marxist criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_Are_the_Key_Figures_in_Marxist_Theory\"><\/span>Who Are the Key Figures in Marxist Theory?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Bressler notes that \u201cMarxist theory has its roots in the nineteenth-century writings of Karl Heinrich Marx, though his ideas did not fully develop until the twentieth century\u201d (183). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key figures in Marxist theory include Bertolt Brecht, Georg Luk\u00e1cs, and Louis Althusser. Although these figures have shaped the concepts and path of Marxist theory, Marxist literary criticism did not specifically develop from Marxism itself. One who approaches a literary text from a Marxist perspective may not necessarily support Marxist ideology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a Marxist approach to Langston Hughes\u2019s poem \u201cAdvertisement for the Waldorf-Astoria\u201d might examine how the socioeconomic status of the speaker and other citizens of New York City affect the speaker\u2019s perspective. The Waldorf Astoria opened during the midst of the Great Depression. Thus, the poem\u2019s speaker uses sarcasm to declare, \u201cFine living . . . a la carte? \/ Come to the Waldorf-Astoria! \/ LISTEN HUNGRY ONES! \/ Look! See what <em>Vanity Fair<\/em> says about the \/ new Waldorf-Astoria\u201d (lines 1-5). The speaker further expresses how class contributes to the conflict described in the poem by contrasting the targeted audience of the hotel with the citizens of its surrounding area: \u201cSo when you\u2019ve no place else to go, homeless and hungry \/ ones, choose the Waldorf as a background for your rags\u201d (lines 15-16). Hughes\u2019s poem invites readers to consider how class restricts particular segments of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_Foundational_Questions_of_Marxist_Criticism\"><\/span>What are the Foundational Questions of Marxist Criticism?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What classes, or socioeconomic statuses, are represented in the text?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are all the segments of society accounted for, or does the text exclude a particular class?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does class restrict or empower the characters in the text?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How does the text depict a struggle between classes, or how does class contribute to the conflict of the text?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How does the text depict the relationship between the individual and the state? Does the state view individuals as a means of production, or as ends in themselves?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Example_of_Marxist_Criticism\"><\/span>Example of Marxist Criticism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/studylib.net\/doc\/8852120\/the-working-class-beats--a-marxist-analysis-of-beat-writi...\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Working Class Beats: a Marxist analysis of Beat Writing and (studylib.net)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Discussion_Questions_and_Activities_Marxist_Criticism\"><\/span><strong>Discussion Questions and Activities:<\/strong> <strong>Marxist<\/strong> <strong>Criticism<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Define class, alienation, base, and superstructure in your own words.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Explain why a base determines its superstructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose the lines or stanzas that you think most markedly represent a struggle between classes in Langston Hughes\u2019s \u201cAdvertisement for the Waldorf-Astoria.\u201d Hughes\u2019s poem also addresses racial issues; consider referring to the relationship between race and class in your written response.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contrast the lines that appear in quotation marks and parentheses in Hughes\u2019s poem. How do these lines differ? Does it seem like the lines in parentheses respond to the lines in quotation marks, the latter of which represent excerpts from an advertisement for the Waldorf-Astoria published in Vanity Fair? How does this contrast illustrate a struggle between classes?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is Hughes\u2019s purpose for writing \u201cAdvertisement for the Waldorf-Astoria?\u201d Defend your interpretation with evidence from the poem.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":60373,"parent":1916,"menu_order":0,"template":"","tags":[],"chapters":[1827,1904],"class_list":["post-23182","section","type-section","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","chapters-literary-criticism","chapters-research"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/23182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/section"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/23182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67377,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/23182\/revisions\/67377"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section\/1916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23182"},{"taxonomy":"chapters","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapters?post=23182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}