MARXIST CRITICISM

CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Origin of Marxist Theory and Criticism
3.2 Contributions of Karl Marx to Marxist Criticism
3.3 The Fundamental Premises of Marxist Criticism
3.4 Criticisms against Marxist Criticism
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Marxist criticism is based on the social and economic theories of Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels. Their beliefs include the following: value is based on labour;
and the working class will eventually overthrow the capitalist middle class. In
the meantime, the middle class exploits the working class. Most institutions
religious, legal, educational and governmentalare corrupted by middle-class
capitalists. Marxist critics apply these economic and social theories to literature
by analysing first, ideologies that support the elite and place the working class at
a disadvantage, and secondly, class conflict. Marxist criticism is often interested
in unravelling how a literary work reflects (intentionally or not) the socioeconomic conditions of the time in which it was written and/or the time in which
it is set, and what those conditions reveal about the history of class struggle?
According to Kelly Griffith (2002), fully developed Marxist criticism appeared
early in the 20th century, especially in the 1930s during the Great Depression.
This "socialist" criticism applauded literature that depicted the difficulties of the
poor and downtrodden, especially when they struggled against oppressive
capitalist bosses. Examples of literature with such strong "proletarian" ENG 415
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elements are works by Emile Zola, Maxim Gorky, Charles Dickens, Richard
Wright, John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, Ngugi wa Thiongo and Femi
Osofisan. Early Marxist critics approved of a socialist solution to the problems of
the oppressed and judged the quality of works on the basis of their Marxist
orientation. The strong proletarian elements in the works of African writers
like Ngugi assume combative dimensions in the late 1970s and 1980s with street
theatre enactments of Marxist- oriented plays that shook the establishment
earning him the tag of literary guerilla of the masses in his country, Kenya.
Begining from World War II, however, a new generation of critics infused
Marxist criticism with renewed vigour. A good example is the Hungarian critic
Georg Lukacs, who argues that literature should reflect the real world. By this,
Lukacs does not mean that literature should be a mirror image of society by, for
example, giving detailed descriptions of its physical contents or its patterns of
behaviour. Rather, literature should represent the economic tensions in society as
described in Marx's writings. Ironically, for Lukacs, works that accurately
represent the real world may be less "real" than works that emphasise themes
(ideas) over description. Lukacs believes that literature might even have to
distort reality in order to represent the "truth" about society. To show the
economic struggles caused by capitalism, for example, an author might have to
create character types one would never meet in real life. This unit examines the
theoretical postulations of Marxism as well as its shortcomings.

2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
discuss the theoretical postulations of Marxism
explain its shortcomings as a theoretical construct
explain Karl Marxs influence on Marxism.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The Origin of Marxist Theory and Criticism
As mentioned earlier, Marxist criticism evolved from the philosophies of Karl
Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels. Marxism views a literary text as the
product of an ideology particular to a specific historical period, not the product
of an individual consciousness. The text, for Marxist critics, is judged on the
basis of its portrayal of social actions. They insist that literature must be
understood in relation to historical and social reality. The central Marxist
position is that the economic base of a society determines the nature and ENG 415
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structure of the ideology, institutions and practices, including literature, that form
the superstructure of that society. In Lukacs book, The Historical Novel, he
argues that literature must evoke a revolutionary consciousness in the common
people. In his view, a good artist is one who can effectively represent the totality
of human life. The most effective mode for this representation is literary realism,
which for Lukacs reflects reality in the Marxist sense. Lukacs sees realism as the
only literary mode capable of representing the totality of society by revealing
through its narrative form the underlying movement of history. Marxism situates
literature in its historical contexts and in its socio-economic development.
Marxism describes history as the history of the conflict between classes.
Foremost Marxist critics, such as Christopher Claudwell, Georg Lukacs and
Walter Benjamin, see literature as refracting socio-economic reality.
Importantly too, Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) is also revered as one of the key
contributors to the Marxist tradition in the 20th century, along with thinkers such
as Louis Althusser and Vladimir Lenin. His contribution entailed a revision of
predominant interpretations of Marxs writings during his time, in order to
address the flurry of criticisms levelled at Marxist theory (both from within and
outside the Marxist tradition). More specifically, Gramscis ideas can be
described as political and revolutionary. He sought to formulate a variant of
Marxism that would make sense of existing power relations and the political
currents within Italian society; at the same time, he advocated a distinct (and
extensive) course of action for his countrys socialist movements. Two main
trends could be identified in Gramscis postulations. Firstly, Gramsci
fundamentally rejects interpretations of Marx which trade on a crude materialism
(and economism). To this end, he accords a greater role to the superstructure
and emphasises the importance of culture, civil society, political practice, and
social action. Secondly, Gramsci consistently resists mechanistic (or
deterministic) readings of Marxs theory of history; instead he stresses the logic
of contingency in place of logic of necessity with regards to social change-this is
evidenced in his prescriptions for political (and revolutionary) practice.
In fact, Gramsci sought to develop a coherent account to explicate and explain
structure-superstructure dialectic, departing from the dominant underpinnings of
materialism and economism present in accounts of classical Marxism. It is
evident that he could not envision a simple one-way causal relationship which
proceeded directly from structure to superstructure. In line with questioning
crudely materialist accounts of Marxism, Gramsci was also clearly interested in
emphasising the role of ideas and social practice. ENG 415 LITERARY THEORY AND
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SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Discuss the importance of ideology to Marxist criticism.

3.2 Contributions of Karl Marx to Marxist Criticism

As we noted earlier, Marxist criticism evolves from the philosophies of Karl
Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels. Marx made a number of important
statements on the nature of human society one of which is that consciousness
determines life. A change in material conditions does lead to changes in the way
humans think. He was also persuaded that the economic system is the most
fundamental aspect of any society. Other aspects of society, culture, literature,
politics and religion, are parts of a "superstructure" whose characteristics are, at
least, to some extent dependent on the nature of the base. Marx's Philosophy
though focusing on history, philosophy, and economics, has proved to be of
special interest to critics of literature and culture.
The concepts of "alienation" and "commoditisation" have proved useful to
Marxist critics of literature. With division of labour in society, a separation
occurs between individuals who become distanced from each other because of
their different skills and engagements. Individuals also become estranged from
society as a whole because they participate only in small portions of what is
going on in society. As far as Marx is concerned, a "commodity" is an article
produced not for use but for sale. A "commodity" is valued not for its use but for
its price. The individual may become emotionally attached to the commodity in a
way that causes his estrangement from material reality. The individual is
alienated from the fruit of his labour. Marx regards literature as a form of
ideology just like the parliament, judiciary, education, religion, philosophy,
politics and law which can be used for the needs of the capitalists or the
proletariat. Necessarily, literature, the Marxists contend, reflects the reality
outside it. This is quite the opposite of what the formalists believe. The message
is more important in Marxist criticism than the form or the device. Almost all
leading Marxists, like Lenin, have made significant pronouncements on literature
and society. Lenin, for instance, calls for an openly class-partisan literature. He
argues that neutrality in writing is impossible; rather literature should be linked
with the working-class movement.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Discuss why the message is more important than the form or the device in
Marxist criticism in the light of commoditisation. ENG 415 LITERARY THEORY AND
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3.3 The Fundamental Premises of Marxist Criticism

The function of Marxist literary criticism is to expose how works of literature
represent dominant ideologies. Some Marxist critics, like Louis Althusser,
believe that literature helps readers see the contradic-tions and fault lines in
ideology. Others, like Terry Eagleton, hold that literature furthers ideology by
making it seem attractive and "natural." Eagleton's work, Marxism and Literary
Criticism (1976), provides an overview of recent Marxist criticism, while his
Literary Theory: An Introduction (1983) surveys modern critical theory from a
Marxist point of view. In Marxism and Literary Criticism, Eagleton rightly
defines Marxist criticism as part of a larger body of theoretical analysis which
aims to understand ideologies the ideas, values and feelings by which men
experience their societies at various times. Certain numbers of those ideas,
values and feelings are available to us only in literature. He finally summarises
its value, maintaining that to understand ideologies is to understand both the
past and the present more deeply; and such understanding contributes to our
liberation.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Attempt a Marxist analysis of Ngugi wa Thiongo Petals of Blood.
For Marxist critics, politics and economics cannot be separated from art.
Marxists hold that any theory which treats literature in isolation as pure
aesthetics or the product of a writer's ingenuity, divorcing it from society and
history, will be seriously deficient in its ability to explain what literature really is.
For Marxist critics, social background is important in the consideration of any
particular work.
Furthermore, Marxists see history as a series of struggles between antagonistic
social classes and the type of economic production they engage in. The structure
of history and the structure of society are referred to as dialectical- the dynamic
and opposed forces at work within them. Dialectic refers to a method by which
history and society can be analysed in order to reveal the true relationship
between their component parts.
Marxism has very many different approaches. A critic might, for instance, start
by looking at the structure of history and society to see how literature reflects or
distorts this structure. He could also start from a general concept of literature and
then move to writers and texts and out to society. He could also start from a
specific text and move to the author, the author's class and the role of this class in
society. In Marxist thinking, the socio-economic element in any ENG 415 LITERARY
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society is the ultimate determinant of that society's character. The basic economic
structure engenders a number of social institutions and beliefs which act to
regulate or dissipate the conflict and keep the mode of production in order.
Literature is one of the things situated in the base or superstructure of society.
This means that literature is a social element that can be used either to keep the
capitalist mode of economy and life-style in place or to expose and attack it.
Marxism has also given rise to the doctrine of socialist realism which sees
literature as social criticism and analysis. The artist is a social activist. The
writer, according to Marxist critics, translates social facts into literary facts, and
the critic's duty is to decode the facts and uncover its reality. It is the writer's duty
to provide a truthful, historico-concrete portrayal of reality. This makes the
notion of reflection of reality a deep-seated tendency in Marxist criticism. It is a
way of combating formalist theory which locks the literary work within its own
sealed world, divorced from history and social reality. The Marxist writer is a
socially or ideologically committed writer. In Marxist criticism, there is no room
for arts for art's sake'. The writer must be interested in his own time and be
socially responsible.

3.4 Criticisms against Marxist Criticism

As you have learnt so far, Karl Marx saw a capitalist society as basically a class
society where the oppression of a class by another is perpetrated. He was an
avowed adversary of oppression in whatever form and joined the proletariat
(working class) to advocate for the abolition of class oppression. Also the
philosophy of Marxism is rooted in what is known as dialectical materialism,
which stresses economic determinism (economic survival) as an index of social
struggles. Marxist ideologues believe that all social struggles are economy-based
whose resolution stirs conflicts among the different classes inhabiting a social
milieu. For the Marxists, human society is divided into two broad classes; the
oppressor and the oppressed (in Marx parlance the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat). By holding the means of production, the bourgeoisie becomes
dominant thereby oppressing the latter.
One of the allegations levelled against Marxism is that by the fact that the
Communist Bloc in Europe has failed, it is a proof that Marxism is not a viable
theory. Again, the overthrow of the upper class by the peasants, as advocated by
Marxism, remains a mirage in reality.
Despite its shortcomings, Marxist theory still provides us a meaningful way to
understand history and current events. ENG 415 LITERARY THEORY AND CRITICISM
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SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
i. The interest of Marxist literature is to defend the cause of the oppressed.
Discuss.
ii. Marxism is rooted in dialectic materialism; how does this relate to the literary
text?

4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, you have learnt in sufficient detail the theory of Marxist criticism.
According to Lois Tyson (2006), literature, for Marxist critics, does not exist in
some timeless, aesthetic realm as an object to be passively contemplated. Rather,
like all cultural manifestations, it is a product of the socio-economic and hence
ideological conditions of the time and place in which it was written, whether or
not the author intended it to be so. Because human beings are themselves
products of their socio-economic and ideological environment, it is assumed that
authors cannot help but create works that embody ideology in some form. For
Marxists, the fact that literature grows out of and reflects real material/historical
conditions creates at least two possibilities of interest to Marxist critics:
(1) The literary work might tend to reinforce in the reader the ideologies it
embodies, or
(2) It might invite the reader to criticise the ideologies it represents.
Many texts do both, and it is not merely the content of a literary workthe
action or the themethat carries ideology, but the form as most Marxists
would argue. They contend that if content is the what of literature, then form is
the how. Realism, for example, gives us characters and plot as if we were
looking through a window onto an actual scene taking place before our eyes. Our
attention is drawn not to the nature of the words on the page but to the action
those words convey. For some Marxists, realism is the best form for Marxist
purposes because it clearly and accurately represents the real world, with all its
socio-economic inequities and ideological contradictions. It also encourages
readers to see the unhappy truths about material/historical reality, for whether or
not authors intend it they are bound to represent socio-economic inequities and
ideological contradictions if they accurately represent the real world. ENG 415
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5.0 SUMMARY
Marxist criticism is fundamentally anchored on the work of Karl Marx. It is a
dominant critical theory propounded in the middle of the 19th century and
flourished tremendously throughout the 20th century. It is concerned with
historical and cultural issues. Marxism identifies social and economic factors as
crucial denominators of relationship in society. Karl Marx saw a capitalist
society as basically a class society where the oppression of a class by another is
perpetrated. He was an avowed adversary of oppression in whatever form. Thus,
he joined the proletariat (working class) to advocate for the abolition of class
oppression. The philosophy of Marxism is rooted in what is known as dialectical
materialism, which stresses economic determinism (economic survival) as an
index of social struggles. The Marxist ideologues believe that all social struggles
are economy-based whose resolution stirs conflicts among the different classes
inhabiting a social milieu. Society is divided into two broad classes; the
oppressor and the oppressed, who in Marxist parlance are the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat respectively. Because the former holds the means of production, it
becomes dominant and hence oppresses the latter.
It is the duty of Marxist writers to expose the oppressors class and its
mechanism of oppression. This is the reason Marxist critics see the history of
society as the history of class struggles and also explain the class struggles and
antagonism predominant in a capitalist society. The interest of Marxist literature
is to defend the course of the oppressed. The Marxist critics believe that the
achievement of this goal is by evolving an egalitarian society where the ideal is
stressed. To achieve this, they explore society and situate sources of oppression.
They identify and critique elements of exploitation, alienation and other indices
of oppression. They go beyond critiquing to also proffer panacea to the crises
engendered by social parity (Jide Balogun, 2011).

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the fundamental premises on which Marxist criticism revolves.
2. Explain the role of Karl Marx in the development and spread of Marxist
critical theory.