Saturday 5 October 2013

modernist view of literature


The Modernist View of Literature



Modern era is unique in every sense it has the complexities at social, political and economical level. Therefore it has special notion to literature “Modern” or “modernism” can imply at least three similar meanings.  On the most general level, it can mean an innovation, novelty, that is something which is in contrast to the old and thus it expresses a certain belief in progress. The other, more specific meaning refers to the modern period understood, from the philosophical point of view, as connected to Enlightenment thinking, rationality and the period since the 18th century that started to emphasize reason as the means of “objective” exploration of reality that is closely connected with empiricism in philosophy (John Locke, Rene Descartes, and David Hume). Last, but not least, the term modern, or modernism, is associated with the particular tendency in arts starting in the late 19th century (Symbolism, Impressionism) that emphasizes subjective experience, psychology and non-mimetic, non-realistic representation of reality as manifested in the works of avant-garde and other poetic tendencies (Dadaism, Futurism, Imagism, Vorticism, Poeticism, Cubism).
Modern society has its own unique features therefore it is merely different from any other development of the society. As the changing aspects of human life the human changes their notions of living life the same way the literary flow also changes its parameter for the evaluation. Following are the some of the notions of Modern literature.
1)      First Person Narrator and Stream-of-Consciousness Narrative Method,
In their literary works, Modernist fiction writers of the early 20th century such as Virginia Woolf, Thomas Mann, & other  in keeping with these ideas subjectivized human experience and put the emphasis on inner subjective experience as mostly expressed by a first person narrator and stream-of-consciousness narrative method, a term overtaken from psychological theories of William James. Modernist writers thus subjectivized experience and, in their literary works, presented the idea that the world cannot be objectively known only subjectively perceived by human mind. This subjectivity manifested mostly itself, as it was mentioned above, in the first person narrative and the use of the stream-of-consciousness narrative method expressing the subjective perception of reality by human mind. In modernist literary works, chaotic reality manifested itself in authors’ use of non-chronological, fragmentary composition and in a depiction of the relationships between the characters. Fragmentary composition, the use of non-linear and non-chronological time expressed a new sensibility of the chaotic world and the alienation, as a product of modern era and life in the cities. Alienation manifests itself in the characters’ relationship to other characters, society, work, and the city that can finally lead to the feelings of nihilism. Alienation is also closely connected to skepticism which manifests itself in the characters’ attitudes to the society. Modernist literary work is often ironic and parodic, and irony and parody are used as a form critique both of realistic or romantic literary tradition and of the society. Modernist writers often use ancient myths that are transformed and re-contextualized in a modern context and thus they become modern myths related to modernist cultural experience as expressed, for example, in James Joyce’s Ulyssess (1922). The cities became cultural, educational, industrial and economic centers of technologically advanced societies and life in the cities and suburbs one of the major themes of the modernist literary works.
2)      The Harlem Renaissance: In the Harlem Renaissance in the USA (Langston Hughes) used the rhythms of traditional popular folk and oral cultures such as blues and jazz in their poetry.  It is important feature of modern era. Within a literary work, we can speak about the mixture of genres as manifested itself, for example, in the literary works of James Joyce whose Ulyssess (1922) used a genre of a diary, myth, essay and other forms of writing and genres to point out the modernist sensibility.
3)      Philosophically And Aesthetically:
         A skeptical vision of the world and a distrust in the possibility of reason to understand and explain the world
          by a growing impact of technology (cars, airplanes, telephones, media such as radio, telephone, telegraph, film) on the life style and the human perception of the world
          a skeptical view on the use (misuse of technology) and power (the World War I)
          seeing a man as irrational rather rational being influenced by her/his suppressed and unfulfilled desires and dreams
4)      Reflection in literature and arts: A depiction of characters that are mostly unbalanced, alienated and hesitating individuals searching for their identity and a sense of life.  In a depiction of urban setting as a site of new social experience and a producer of new relationships between people and between the individual and the society. The individual is mostly in opposition to the social structures and the society. In mostly unfinished, open ending through the authors leave a space for a reader to participate in a completion of a literary work. In the use of fragmentation, elimination of the chronology of plot, open ending, and a mixture of different literary and non-literary genres and techniques typical of other 25 media and arts within a single literary work (essay, diary, letter, popular literary genres such as thriller, fantasy, detective, love story etc., the use of camera-eye techniques and newsreels that represent cinematic methods, techniques, and vision of reality, emphasis on the imagery of color as in painting). The use of irony and parody as the means of critical approach to both reality and past literary forms and genres, in reference to myths, classical and other mythology, literary and artistic work and the consequent transformation and re-writing their original meaning to emphasize a critical distance from the past and contemporary life, in the emphasis on art as a way out of an alternative to the chaotic and uncertain world.
5)      Complexity and Variety
Twentieth century literary criticism in England offers a bewildering variety of critical theory and practice.  New discoveries in psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, etc, have brought about a revolution in critical methods with the result that modern criticism is quite different from criticism in the 19th century.  Critics like I.A. Richards, T.S. Eliot, F.R. Leavis, William Empson, have provided entirely new interpretations of old writers, and presented them in an entirely new light.  The full significance of their achievement is yet to be realized.
6)      The Older Traditions
However, at the turn of the century there were two traditions-the Matthew Arnold tradition of intellectual, abstract or scientific criticism, and the Aesthetic, Impressionistic tradition of Walter Pater that held the day While Arnold made ‘high seriousness’ and ‘criticism of life’ the test of poetry, Pater’s criticism was aesthetic or Impressionistic; while Arnold made art subservient to life, Pater advocated the theory of, ‘art for art’s sake’.  Arnold’s influence was an all-pervasive and continuing one.  That is why Eliot once remarked that we seem still to be living in the critical tradition or Arnold.  Writes Wilbur Scotts, “By and large the early critics were carrying on the tradition of Mathew Arnold although their lesser colleagues diluted Arnold’s “high seriousness” into gentle respectability.  In general, they were thoughtful, fair-minded upholders of an intelligent ideal; but they seemed unable to germinate seeds of the criticism of the immediate future.  Form the present point of view; they were spokesmen of forces that were in process of being rejected.
Pater, on the other hand, has been a source of inspiration for the ‘Bloomsbury group’ of critics, E.M.Forster, Virgnia Woolf, Lytton Strachery, and Clive Bell.  According to these critics, the enjoyment of art and the appreciation of Beauty is the greatest good of human life, and art, therefore must be freed from the shackles of morality.  Their criticism is impressionistic; they assess a work of literature on the basis of the pleasure that it affords them.
7)      Academic Criticism : Lack of Originality
These two traditions continue deep into the 20th century, and are a constant source of inspiration.  But in the opening years of the century, we do not find any original critic, with a definite and individual point of view.  Literary criticism is largely academic, the work of distinguished university professors.  They are eminent scholars, they painstakingly collect facts, biographical, historical and social, and evaluate a written on the basis of these facts, but they lack a precise of view, and do not originate any new theories or principles. 
T.E.Hulme
The only original critic- one who has had considerable influence on T.S. Eliot, as also on the whole course of criticism in the century-is T.E. Hulme.  His point of view is religious, classical, and tragic.  With the Existentialists, he believes that tragedy is the central fact of human life.  That is, and has always been, the human predicament.  Man has always suffered, and this suffering arises from his own imperfections.  Man is imperfect and finite, while God is perfect and infinite.  Two conclusions follow from man’s imperfection and finitude; since man is imperfect, inspiration alone is not a safe guide and Darwinian faith in unlimited progress.  Thus his point of view is anti-romantic and anti-humanistic.  He advocates the need of order and discipline, and thus becomes a champion of ‘classical revival’ in literature, which Eliot also advocates.  Eliot strengthened the reaction against romanticism and humanism and did much to bring about the classical revival.  Further Hulme pointed out that poetry should express the vague, fleeting impressions passing thorough the mind of poet, and this can only be done when the verse-form is made loose and flexible.  So, he became a powerful advocate of verse libre or ‘free verse’ libre or ‘free verse’.  He also advocated that the poet should express his concepts through the use of solid, concrete and clear images, and clear images, and in this way, he became a source of inspiration to Ezra Pound and other poets of the ‘Imagist School’.
8)      Foreign Influences – sociological Criticism:
Due to the industrialization  human is the center point of any philosophy , humanism is basic motto of the present scenario therefore in this era sociological approaches have been ripen and started to talk about the socialism. After World War I, people understand the meaning of the life, therefore most of writers of this era had written about the complexities of the life, therefore socialism is important parameter to evaluate the texts of this period.  First, there was the influence of Marx and his concept of class struggle.  Writers were analyzed and interpreted in terms of class conflict.  For example, David Daiches in his book, ‘Society and Literature’, shows how economic trends are reflected in literature, Cristopher Caudewll studies, Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Coleridge, and the other romantics, against the background of social and economic changes.  Aestheticism of Pater is thus rejected, and literature is viewed as a social activity reflecting the changing social and economic patterns.
9)       Expressionism: Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. It’s typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas. Expressionist artists sought to express meaning or emotional experience rather than physical reality.  Expressionism was developed as an avant-garde style before the First World War. It remained popular during the Weimar Republic, particularly in Berlin. The style extended to a wide range of the arts, including expressionist architecture, painting, literature, theatre, dance, film and music.

Secondly, there was the potent influence of the Italian critic, Benedetto Croce.  According to his view, art is expression, and criticism is the study of that expression.  Vivid pictures are constantly rising in the mind of the poet, and he must express them spontaneously and fully as they arise in his mind, without any attempt at organization.  This is known as Expressionism.  Expressionistic writing is bound to be broken and fragmentary in keeping with the fragmentary and chaotic nature of the vague sensations fleeting through the consciousness of the poet.  The teaching of Croce had a far-reaching impact on creative and literary activity in England.


10)  MARXISM
Marxism is the most important social philosophy of the Modern era. It address to the social conflict which seek egalitarian principle. Marxism is not a theory; it is a school of social, economic and political aspects. It is important ideology of the 20th century. Two German, writers, philosophers and critics – Karl Marx (1818-1883_) and Friedrich Engel (1820-1895) – co- authored a text in 1848 that proclaimed, Marxism‘s basic doctrines , ‘the Communist Manifesto’ Unlike other schools of literary criticism , Marxism did not begin as an alternative theoretical approach to literary analysis. Before 20th century, writers and critics embraced the principles of Marxism and formulated these ideas in the working classes of society an opportunity to change their world and their life styles. Marxism provides to working class to improve their socio- economic condition by giving them philosophical system and plan of action, to bring out change in the society. Marxism offers /gives humanitarian attitude for the social, political, economic and cultural understanding to the writers, philosophers, thinkers and downtrodden people of the society. These and similar ideas become the basis of socialism and communism.
In the philosophy of Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel says, ‘Capitalists and bourgeoisie (middle class/ upper class) had successful enslaved the working class or the proletariat (inferior class) through economic policies and control over the production of goods therefore this philosophy emphasis and provokes to working or proletariat class and they must organize against the capitalists and bourgeoisie economic and political power and agitate for their fundamental rights. It should be placed the ownership of all the government, which will easy to distribute among the people.

11)   Surrealism:  Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. The aim was to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality." Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision, created strange creatures from everyday objects and developed painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express itself. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur; however, many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being an artifact. Leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a revolutionary movement.

It is closely allied with Expressionism is the French theory, known as Surrealism.  It is mainly an art theory which has, however been applied to literary criticism and literary creation.  Surrealism attributes artistic creation to dreams, and the influence of spirits who inspire the artist with his forms and images.  Herbert Read is one of those English critics whose works reveal the influence of this creed.
12)  The Psychological Approach – Due to the technological impact on lifestyle human being, human become the self centered, Individualism is the main slogan of the world therefore libertine approach started to formulate among the people of the world. Man is the social animal has broken down in the new dimensions of human philosophy. With changing pattern of human behavior and complex portrayal of human characters in the various texts it is urgent need to understand the human psyche through the psychological approach therefore emerging various social and psychological approaches in this context.  I.A.Richards These influences were joined in and strengthened by the teachings of modern psychology, especially those of Freud, Jung and Bergson.  Freud believed that suppression of the sex-instinct results in frustration and neurosis, and art is but a sublimated expression of this neurosis.  Psychological theories were used for an analysis and interpretation of past writers and their works Thus Hamlet has been interpreted in the light of Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex.  The motives and processes that lead to a particular work of art were studied and thus new dimensions were added to literary criticism. Similarly, the impact of literature on the mind of the readers is sought to be explained in Psychological terms.  I.A. Richards is the most outstanding of the critics of the Psychological school.  According to him, the pleasure of literature arises from the fact that it brings about a healthy equilibrium between the instincts and impulses of the readers.  The Kathartic effect of tragedy implies that a balance is achieved between fear, the impulse to withdraw, and pity; the impulse to approach.
13)   Textual Criticism –. Textual criticism (or lower criticism) is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts. Ancient scribes made errors or alterations when copying manuscripts by hand. Given a manuscript copy, several or many copies, but not the original document, the textual critic seeks to reconstruct the original text (the archetype or autograph) as closely as possible. The same processes can be used to attempt to reconstruct intermediate editions of a document's transcription history. The ultimate objective of the textual critic's work is the production of a "critical edition" containing a text most closely approximating the original. Textual criticism is  very important literary flow which seeks the form ,syntax, morphology, phonology  etc
The New Critics As the century advanced, especially after the World |War II, the most potent single influence was that of the ‘New Critics’.  The term was first used by J.E. Spingarn, and though the New Criticism had its origin in the writings of T.E. Hulme, it is now mainly an American movement.  Its chief exponents in America are Kenneth Burke.John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Richard Blackmur, Cleanth Brooks, etc.  In England its leading representatives are I.A. Richards, T.S. Eliot, F.R.Leavis, William Empson, etc. The New Critics are opposed to the biographical, historical, sociological and comparative approach of conventional criticism.  Similarly, they reject the traditional division of literature into periods and groups, for the purpose of criticism.  All such considerations are regarded as extrinsic and irrelevant and a work of art is judged solely on its own merits.  Their criticism is Intrinsic or Ontological, and not Extrinsic.  A poem, a piece of literature, is the thing in itself, with a definite entity of its own, separate both from the poet and the socio-cultural milieu in which it is produced.  Thus emphasis is laid on the study of the text, and its word by word analysis and interpretation.  The music of a poem, its imagery and versification, its total structure must be taken into account to arrive at its meaning.  Words must be studied with reference to their sound, and their emotional and symbolic significance.  New criticism is predominantly textual, and the new critics have rendered valuable service to literature by their study and interpretation of literary classics. While Eliot has his affinity with the critics of the new school, he is against too close a scrutiny of a work of art.  The poem is the thing, and it must be studied in itself, but he is against the “lemon-squeezer” critics who press the words too closely.
14)   Symbolistic and Archetypal Approaches  Symbolistic approach and the Archetypal  approach are the two other approaches of recent criticism.  The symbolists try to discover hidden meaning and significances which may lie concealed beneath the surface.  The Archetypal approach is much in the air these days.  It tries to demonstrate the presence of some basic cultural pattern on myth, common heritage of mankind, in a work of art.  The critics of this school believe that civilized man preserves, though unconsciously, these pre-historical areas of knowledge which he articulated obliquely in myth.  If valid, the speculation explains the somewhat mysterious appeal of mythical stories long after the supernatural elements in them have ceased to command belief.

Conclusion:
Modernist views are different because of the mixed and complicated life style at the peak of human civilization. It laid the importance of humanism due to the nature and human made disaster people understood the meaning of life. Life is precious gift of human life bestowed by God therefore it extends argument optimum use of the resources is essential to bring out  meaning in the life. It is the combination of new and old tradition of life. Ultimate aim to live life for the life’s sake, that is the main motto of the world therefore we find satisfaction centered theories to enhance human life towards betterment…..















Tuesday 24 September 2013

Marxist approach to literature


MR VIJAYANAND BANSODE
MARXISM
Marxism is the important  philosophy of the world. Marxism is not a theory; it is a school of social, economic and political aspects. It is important ideology of the 20th century. Two German, writers, philosophers and critics – Karl Marx (1818-1883_) and Friedrich Engel (1820-1895) – co- authored a text in 1848 that proclaimed, Marxism‘s basic doctrines , ‘the Communist Manifesto’ Unlike other schools of literary criticism , Marxism did not begin as an alternative theoretical approach to literary analysis. Before 20th century, writers and critics embraced the principles of Marxism and formulated these ideas in the working classes of society an opportunity to change their world and their life styles. Marxism provides to working class to improve their socio- economic condition by giving them philosophical system and plan of action, to bring out change in the society. Marxism offers /gives humanitarian attitude for the social, political, economic and cultural understanding to the writers, philosophers, thinkers and downtrodden people of the society. These and similar ideas become the basis of socialism and communism.
In the philosophy of Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel says, ‘Capitalists and bourgeoisie (middle class/ upper class) had successful enslaved the working class or the proletariat (inferior class) through economic policies and control over the production of goods therefore this philosophy emphasis and provokes to working or proletariat class and they must organize against the capitalists and bourgeoisie economic and political power and agitate for their fundamental rights. It should be placed the ownership of all the government, which will easy to distribute among the people.
In addition to this work, Marx himself authored ‘Das Capital’. The text of Das Capital becomes foundation for the Marxism, Socialism and communism. According to Karl Marx, history is record of past, which is dominated by bourgeoisie (upper and middle class) people through the economic system and policies.  Marx maintains that and intricate web of social relationship emerges when any group of people engage in the production of goods. A few, for example will be the employers, but many more will be the employees. It is the employer (bourgeoisies) who have the economic power and who will readily gain social and political control of their society. Eventually this ‘upper class ‘will articulate their beliefs, their values, and even their art. Consciously and unconsciously they will force these ideas or what Marx calls their ideology, upon their working class. In such system, the rich become richer and poor becomes poorer and more and more oppressed. To get rid society from the situation, Marx believes that government must own all the industries and control the economic production of a country to protect the people from the oppression of the bourgeoisie.
Taken together,’ The Communist Manifesto and ‘Das Capital’, provide us with a theory of history, economics, politics, Sociology, and even metaphysics. In these writings Marx did not give direct connection to access the literary genres (literary kind) but indirectly based on the production of goods and the social relationships that develop from this situation, he necessarily assumed that the totality of a people’s experience –social interaction, employment, and other day today activities were directly responsible for the shaping and development of an individual’s personal consciousness. That our place in society and our social interactions determines our consciousness or existence.
Really Marx highlights various social aspects throughout his writings literary approach to evaluate text it was common during Marx’s time. Sociological assumptions was one of the factors of it but Marxism emphasizes on historical setting, authors’ life ,the time period in which the work was written , and the cultural milieu of the text and author, all of these being related to sociological issues. Marxism emphasis, critic should understand the literary text not only inner side but also outer side of the text. He must understand social relationship of text and author then critic could evaluate it successfully. Marxism expands the traditional historical approach to literary analysis by dealing with sociological issues that concentration only the characters in a work of fiction but also the authors and the readers. Marx believed links literature and society and how it reveals truths, concerning our social interaction.
Americans and European critics turn towards Marxism during the first decades of the 20th century especially at the end of the 1920s and throughout the 1930s the time of the Great Depression. Most of intellectuals of capitalistic countries turn towards Marxism and applied sociological approach to save their countries from Great Depression. Using Marxism’s emphasizes on economic production, social relationships, and the individual American critics such as ‘Verhon Louiz Parrington’, began reinterpreting their countries cultural past articulating its present conditions. Marxism provided perfect definition for the humankind to evaluate the system on the basis sociological approach.
After Marxism again faded away but the time of 1960s and early 1970s, American and European critics once again recognized that Marxism is important aspect to solve the social unrest and political turmoil like, Vietnam War, Algerian conflict, the Cubian Missile crisis and variety of social problems in America and Europe. Many famous academicians supported Marxism. These were academicians from American universities, such as Berkley, Columbia, and San Diego. This group is known as Frankkurt School.
Marxism challenged bourgeoisie approach towards literature. The renowned and famous critics Terry Eagleton  and ‘Frank Lentricchia’, supported by saying that, Marxist approach is base of all the sociological theories. Even the pioneers and supporters of structuralism, deconstruction, feminism, New Historicism agreed that Marxist philosophy is the basic foundation for the evaluation of literary text.
Marxism is not literary theory that can be used to interpret a text. Unlike other school of criticism, it is first a set of social, economic   and political ideas that its followers believe will enable them to interpret and more importantly change their world.
Ultimate reality declares Marxism is material not spiritual. What we know beyond any doubt is that human beings exist and live in social groups. All of our actions and responses to such activities as eating, working, even playing are related in some way to understand ourselves and our world; we must first acknowledge the interrelatedness of all our actions within society. For example , we want to know who we are? and how we should live?, we must stop trying to find answers by looking solely to religion or philosophy instead we must begin by examining all  aspects of our daily activities within our own culture. Upon examining our daily routines, including our beliefs and values, we will discover that it is our cultural and social circumstances that determine who we are? What we believe, what we think are direct result of our culture and our not our religion or our supposed philosophy of life.  
Marxism discovers two terms in literary arena ‘Base’ and ‘Superstructure’. Base relates with economic production the social relationship and economic structure of society. Other hand ‘Superstructure’ relates with and called it a multitude of social and legal institutions, political and educational systems religious beliefs, values and a body of art and literature. ‘Base’ and ‘superstructure’ of the society if it is under the control of the upper class(bourgeoisie )  then common people or poor people suppressed due to its effect on the system.
The exact relationship between ‘base’ and ‘superstructure’ however is not easily defined. Some Marxist critics argue that ‘base’ directly affect the ‘superstructure’, some critics says these two terms are interrelated and interdependent. Whatever position held by Marxist today, most would agree that the relationship between the base and the superstructure is a complex and will continue to remain a contentious point in Marxist theories.
The relationship between the ‘base’ and ‘superstructure’ becomes clearer when we consider capitalistic America. Marxism declares, capitalists hold economic power in the society in this way center of power in the society in this way they control the base (base means economic production and economic and social relationships). If they called controlled ‘base’ then they would formulate ‘superstructure’ relates with ideology, system, values, laws etc. as per their interest. In this way these people capitalistic/ bourgeoisies’ people exploit the working class people by providing false reflection of the society through literature. Therefore  Marxism says ‘base’ and ‘superstructure’ of the country are in the hands of upper class/ ruling class then it is very - very difficult  to get justice to common/economic class of the people of the society. Therefore critics must understand social and common value for the evaluation of the text. When the bourgeoisie establishes superstructure, it is called false consciousness.
The metaphor of "base" and "superstructure," is used by Marx in his argument that the economic relations of production in a society determine the forms of the state and social conciousness, or, more broadly, all social and ideological structures, such as law, politics, religion, education, art, etc. This is one of the most important parts of Marxist theory for literary and cultural studies, especially as it relates to the theory of ideology and the role of art in the production of ideology. Following 2nd International theorists Georgi Plekhanov and Karl Kautsky traditional Marxists interpreted "base" to mean "material reality" and "superstructure" to mean something like "social and intellectual phenomena" and interpreted Marx's argument to mean that there is a relationship of straightforward mechanical causality between the base and superstructure. According to this argument, a feudal economic order will inevitably produce the particular forms of government, law, art, religion, etc., characteristic of the middle ages, while a capitalist economic order will produce those of modernity. But this straightforwardly mechanistic understanding of the relationship between base and superstructure is seen as too simplistic by most contemporary Marxist critics, and Marx himself provides various more complex statements on the problem
Consciously and unconsciously this social elite inevitable forces its ideas upon the working classes. Almost without their knowing it, the working classes have become trapped in as economic system. Therefore their leisure time habits, entertainment are to be decided by the bourgeoisie people. Those things are in favour of their interest and it exploits the poor people.
Bourgeoisie  (middle and upper class) people dominates literature and they reflect elite ideology through it which is responsible for the exploitation. Therefore critics need to understand these things while evaluating any literary things. Marxism emphasis thinker and author should understand the reality of life because economic base directly determines the literature. Literature will mirror of the economic base.
Marxism’s methodology is dynamic process declaring that a proper critique. Marxist argues the study of literature and the study of society are intricately bound together. Such relationship demands that Marxist approach to a text must deal with more than the conventional literary themes, matters, of style, plot, characteristics, and the usual emphasis on figures of speech and other literary devices utilized by other approaches to literary analysis. Marxism must move beyond these literary elements and must uncover the author’s world and his or her worldview. It is the ideology expressed by the author’s as evidenced through his or her fictional world and how this ideology interacts with reader’s personal ideology.
Some extremist socialists, however, insist on the complete abolition of the capitalist system and of private profit. The ultimate goal of all socialists, however, is a classless cooperative commonwealth in every nation of the world.
Marxists believe in the abolition of property, and therefore of class mistreatment, would make it possible for individuals to contribute according to their abilities and take according to their needs. Karl Marx believes that there has always been a struggle between the working class and the ruling class and it is this conflict that brings people to ruin. According to his theories, the society will overcome this status driven ways through revolutions. Society will eventually become classless.
 Really, Marxism is outstanding philosophy which compels to think literature different way. Marxism is evergreen branch of criticism and will remain the same up to the doom’s day of the world.  


TERMINOLOGY
  • Base vs. Superstructure: Base in Marxism refers to economic base. Superstructure, according to Marx and Engels, emerges from this base and consists of law, politics, philosophy, religion, art.
  • Ideology: the shared beliefs and values held in an unquestioning manner by a culture. It governs what that culture deems to be normative and valuable. For Marxists, ideology is determined by economics. A rough approximation: "tell me how much money you have and I'll tell you how you think."
  • Hegemony: coined by the Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci, this "refers to the pervasive system of assumptions, meanings, and values -- the web of ideologies, in other words, that shapes the way things look, what they mean, and therefore what reality is for the majority of people within a given culture" (See glossary in case studies in contemporary criticism book).
  • Reification: often used to describe the way in which people are turned into commodities useful in market exchange. For example, some would argue that the media's obsession with tragedy (e.g.the deaths of Jon Benet Ramsay, Diana, JFK Jr., the murders at Columbine High School in Colorado) make commodities out of grieving people. The media expresses sympathy but economically thrives on these events through ratings boost.
·         Proletariat: "The proletariat is that class in society which lives entirely from the sale of its labour power and does not draw profit from any kind of capital; whose weal and woe, whose life and death, whose sole existence depends on the demand for labour...
·         Bourgeoisie :The class of people in bourgeois society who own the social means of production as their Private Property, i.e., as capital.