MARXIST LITERARY CRITICISM

KARL MARX
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was
primarily a theorist and
historian. After examining
social organization in a
scientific way perceived human
history to have consisted of a
series of struggles between
classes- -between the oppressed
and the oppressing.
"HISTORICAL MATERIALISM"
Whereas Freud saw "sexual energy" to be the
motivating factor behind human endeavor
and Nabokov seemed to feel artistic impulse
was the real factor,
"natural" political evolution
"feudalism"
"bourgeois capitalism"
"socialism" and finally to
"utopian communism."
"RELIGION IS THE OPIATE OF THE PEOPLE,"
MARXIST CRITICISM
According to Marxists, and to other
scholars in fact, literature reflects those
social institutions out of which it
emerges and is itself a social institution
with a particular ideological function.
 Q: WHAT ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL ISSUES
APPEAR IN THE COURSE OF THE WORK, AND
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF THESE ISSUES ON
THE CHARACTERS?
A: Les Miserables highlights the fact that some do not have
enough to eat while others do not know what to do with all
their money. Most of the main characters recognize this
fact and try to change it, in their own way. The Bishop went
about this by giving away almost everything he had. He
even moved to a smaller house so that a hospital could use
the larger church building. Young Gavroche dealt with his
unfair poverty by mocking those richer than himself and
helping those poorer.
THESE RICH MEN, HOW FAT THEY ARE! THEY
STUFF THEMSELVES. THEY WALLOW IN
GOOD DINNERS. ASK THEM WHAT THEY DO
WITH THEIR MONEY. THEY HAVE NO IDEA.
THEY EAT IT, THAT'S ALL!
GAVROCHE, PG 1071 LES MISERABLES
Q: TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THE CHARACTER'S
LIVES DETERMINED BY SOCIAL, POLITICAL,
AND ECONOMIC FORCES? TO WHAT EXTENT
ARE THEY AWARE OF THESE FORCES?
A: In Les Miserables, each character was aware of the forces that
surrounded them, but none were as aware as Jean Val Jean. His
life began in poverty. When he was a young man, he stole a piece
of bread to feed his sister's child (economic ).
He was arrested and spent 19 years in prison as a slave to the
law (political).

When he was finally released, he was an outcast of society and

could find no place to eat or sleep (social). Even when he became
a good person, these forces pursued him relentlessly. He became
rich and gave to others, but he went back to poverty. He became
powerful and protected the powerless, but he was still considered
a criminal by the law. He was accepted by all and he accepted
all, but he remained an outcast.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS
What role does class play in the work; what is
the author's analysis of class relations?
How do characters overcome oppression?
In what ways does the work serve as
propaganda for the status quo; or does it try
to undermine it?
What does the work say about oppression; or
are social conflicts ignored or blamed
elsewhere?

Does the work propose some form of utopian

vision as a solution to the problems encountered
in the work?
REFERENCES
Fish, Tom. Marxist Criticism. The Literary Criticism Web.
Cumberland College. 23 June 1999. 15 Apr. 2004
<http://cc.cumberland college.edu/acad/english/
litcritweb/theory/marxism.htm>.
Giannetti, Louis. Understanding the Movies. 11th ed. New Jersey:
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.
Henderson, Greig and Christopher Brown. “Marxist Criticism.”
Glossary of Literary Theory. U of Toronto. 31 Mar. 1997. 15 Apr.
2004. <http://
www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/glossary/Marxist_criticism.html>.
Lynn, Steven. Texts and Contexts. New York: HaperCollins, 1994.
Prince, Stephen. Movies and Meaning. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, 2001.