Brewton, Vince. "Marxist Literary Theory." 27. June.2002. University of North Alabama. 29 June 2005. PDF/Adobe Acrobat file.
Marxist literary theories focus on class conflict and class distinctions in literature. It raises awareness of the social and political role in the text. Most often authors sympathize for the working classes and challenge economics equalities found in capitalist societies. Marxist literary theories focus on class conflict and class distinctions in literature. It raises awareness of the social and political role in the text. Most often authors sympathize for the working classes and challenge economics equalities found in capitalist societies. Marxist criticism clarifies ideological matters (such as culture, race, class, and power) and also tries to correct social injustices. Marxist critics argue that literature and literary criticism are essentially political because they either challenge or support economic oppression. Most Marxist criticism focuses more on the content and themes of literature as opposed to, since there’s usually a strong emphasis on political aspects in the texts.
The second half of the document list the steps needed to analyze text through a Marxist lens. First know how the characters interact, since Marxist thought relies on relationships between individuals (including social relationships). Next evaluate the occupational roles of all the characters which in other others is the class system. Also it’s important to note the each character’s finical status (the inherited and earned wealth). Third, look at how characters use their free time to see their level of productive on a personal (free choice) level. Fourth, understand the role of government in the piece of literature, because it serves as a model for liberty. Question whether or not the individual has an inborn liking for their government or has rebellious viewpoints that contradict the government system he lives in. Original these steps were used to analyze To...