2. The Class Perspective
A. Multiple Choice Questions.
1) Which of the following theories analyzes a literary work from
the perspective of characters' socio-economic status?
a)
Gender Studies
b)
Ecocriticism
c)
Marxist criticism
d)
Cultural Studies
2) According to the class
perspective...................
a)
Literary work consists of a constant conflict between the characters belonging
to different classes.
b)
A literary work reflects a harmonious relationship between the characters
belonging to different classes.
c)
A literary work has nothing to do with the characters' socio-economic classes.
d)
A literary work solves the class conflict between different characters.
3) Capitalism is unethical because........................
a)
It exploits the majority of the working class for the benefit of the rich
minority.
b)
It expands trade and market.
c)
It encourages people to make more money.
d)
It promotes free trade.
4) The process of treating everything as a
product to be sold or bought is called............
a)
Objectification
b)
Commodification
c)
Reification.
d)
Unification.
5) According to Marxism, which of the following causes human
alienation?
a)
Separating workers from their work and product
b)
Separating workers from their family members
c)
Depriving workers of their right to freedom
d)
Keeping workers away from their homes.
6. The class perspective on literature is based on the
philosophy of......................, a German philosopher, economist, historian
and political theorist.
a)
T. Z. Lavin
b)
Lois Tyson
c)
Karl Marx
d)
Socrates
7. Marxism believes that any society is divided into two major
classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
a)
the slave and the servants
b)
the politician and the comrade
c)
the aristocratic and the prosperous
d)
the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
8. According to Marxist critics, there is a
constant..............of interests and goals between the capitalist class and
the working class.
a)
conflict
b)
friendship
c)
understanding
d)
mutual relation
9. A literary text is an expression of contemporary
class...................
a)
understanding
b)
friendship
c)
struggle
d)
mutual relation
10. Peter Childs and......................remark that literature
is a social practice and material practice, related to other social practices.
a)
T. Z. Lavin
b)
Roger Fowler
c)
Karl Marx
d)
Socrates
11. The Socio-economic system is the base of....................
a)
our goal
b)
our work
c)
our duty
d)
our life
12. The ultimate goal of...............society is to accumulate
wealth.
a)
socialist
b)
capitalist
c)
colonist
d)
altruist
13. .........................is also unethical because the rich
minority controls the world's wealth exploiting a working class majority.
a)
Capitalist
b)
Socialist
c)
Colonist
d)
Altruist
14. We can, for example, see the........................of
women's bodies in films, advertisements, fashion modeling, beauty pageant, and
so on. In fashion modeling, women's bodies are taken
as........................that can be exchanged for money.
a)
capitalism, capital
b)
socialist, societal
c)
commodification, commodities
d)
criticism, critic
15. workers are..........................from the product of
their work, from the act of producing, from their own social nature, and from
their fellow workers. First, workers feel separated from their work because
they are not the owners of what they have produced. The workers
thus..........................feel that they are being controlled and exploited
by their owners.
a)
capital
b)
societal
c)
commodities
d)
alienated
16. .........................society forces workers to focus on
the fulfillment of personal physical needs. As a result, they have no time for
creativity, entertainment, and knowledge.
a)
Socialist
b)
Capitalist
c)
Colonist
d)
Altruist
17. According to Karl Marx, two classes in the society
are...............
a.
bourgeois and proletariat
b.
male and female
c.
colonizer and colonized
d.
canon and margin
18. The credit of establishing Marxist philosophy goes
to...............
a.
Theodore Adorno
b.
Georg Lukacs
c.
Karl Marx
d.
Walter Benjamin
19. T. Z. Lavine in From.......................to Sartre (1984)
writes that workers are alienated from the product of their work, from the act
of producing, from their own social nature, and from their fellow workers.
a)
T. Z. Lavin
b)
Roger Fowler
c)
Karl Marx
d)
Socrates
20. ..........................defines "a commodity is
anything that has a price tag because capitalism defines everything in terms of
monetary worth, it encourages commodification".
a.
Theodore Adorno
b.
Luis Tyson
c.
Karl Marx
d.
Walter Benjamin
B. Answer the following questions.
1) What does class mean in society? Can it have any relation to
social development?
The
class perspective on literature is a socio-economic lens that focuses on the
socio economic status of people and the real or potential conflict between
them. It also aims to unmask the author's views on social classes, class
conflict, politics, and social transformation. In principle, Marxist critics
support the working class and advocate social transformation through
revolution.
Marxism believes that any society is divided into two major classes: the
bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the middle class that gives
priority to materialist life and holds conventional attitudes. The proletariat
is the working class people. They are the laborers who are exploited by the
capitalist class for the accumulation of wealth. This class of people lies at
the bottom of the social ladder. As a result, they are economically vulnerable
and politically oppressed.
We
all live in a class society or class-based society. Social class refers to a
group of people within society who share the same economic and social position.
In a class-based society, people belong to different classes such as upper
class, middle class, working class and poor on the basis of property and money
they own and the means of production they control. While reading a literary
text, we need to take into account the class(s) of the characters and the
conflictual relationships between them.
According to Marxist critics, there is a constant conflict of interests and
goals between the capitalist class and the working class. As mentioned above,
the capitalist class controls economic production. As al result, they have
decision-making power and authority in the socio-economic life of society. With
this power and authority, these people control and manipulate politics,
government, education, art, and media. They are economically privileged people
who dominate and exploit the wage-earning working class for their luxury.
From the class perspective, a literary text is an expression of contemporary
class struggle. It means a Marxist critical reader does not regard literature
simply as a matter of personal expression or taste. More than a mode of
expression of the author's personal feelings and emotions, literature is the
expression of social reality. It reflects or should reflect the social and
political conditions of society.
It
is said that literature is a social practice and material practice, related to
other social practices. As a social practice, a literary work, for example, drama
reflects social interactions and social conditions. According to the Marxist
critic, we should read the literary text in relation to the social conditions
with our prime focus on class struggle. As critical readers, we must show the
connections between the literary work and the economic structures of society in
which it is written.
2) According to Marxism, how is society structured and how has
the capitalist class exploited the working class?
The
class perspective on literature is a socio-economic lens that focuses on the
socio economic status of people and the real or potential conflict between
them. It also aims to unmask the author's views on social classes, class
conflict, politics, and social transformation. In principle, Marxist critics
support the working class and advocate social transformation through revolution.
Marxism believes that any society is divided into two major classes: the
bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the middle class that gives
priority to materialist life and holds conventional attitudes. The proletariat
is the working class people. They are the laborers who are exploited by the
capitalist class for the accumulation of wealth. This class of people lies at
the bottom of the social ladder. As a result, they are economically vulnerable
and politically oppressed.
We
all live in a class society or class-based society. Social class refers to a
group of people within society who share the same economic and social position.
In a class-based society, people belong to different classes such as upper
class, middle class, working class and poor on the basis of property and money
they own and the means of production they control. While reading a literary
text, we need to take into account the class(s) of the characters and the
conflictual relationships between them.
According to Marxist critics, there is a constant conflict of interests and
goals between the capitalist class and the working class. As mentioned above,
the capitalist class controls economic production. As al result, they have
decision-making power and authority in the socio-economic life of society. With
this power and authority, these people control and manipulate politics,
government, education, art, and media. They are economically privileged people
who dominate and exploit the wage-earning working class for their luxury.
3) What are the basic concepts of Marxist criticism? Discuss two
of them with examples.
Marxism
believes that any society is divided into two major classes: the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the middle class that gives priority to
materialist life and holds conventional attitudes. The proletariat is the
working class people. They are the laborers who are exploited by the capitalist
class for the accumulation of wealth. This class of people lies at the bottom
of the social ladder. As a result, they are economically vulnerable and
politically oppressed.
We
can identify certain key concepts in Marxist criticism in the light of which a
literary text can be interpreted. In other words, these concepts help us to
understand characters' class, behavior, and attitude, their relationship with
each other as well as the author's views on class and class struggle.
i)
The Socio-economic system is the base of our life.
It
determines not only who holds power and authority in society. It also determines
how we are educated, and how we perceive ourselves and the world. It directly
affects our access to medical care, security, housing, leisure, and
entertainment and ultimately how well we live. Even more importantly, a
person's socio-economic status shapes his/her ideology and identity. Ideology
means is a belief system held by a particular class of people. For example, a
person from the capitalist class does not see any problem in the unrestrained
accumulation of wealth. For him/her it is the only way to economic prosperity.
Conversely, a person from the working class might perceive it as a problem. A
person's belief system reflects his/her class.
ii) Capitalism is destructive and unethical.
The
Marxist lens sees faults in capitalism. Capitalism is an economic and political
system in which the private sector controls a country's trade and industry for
profit. In this system, everything- every object, every activity, every person-
is valued in terms of its worth in money.
It is characterized by the privatization of property, capital accumulation,
free markets, and competition. The ultimate goal of capitalist society is to
accumulate wealth. In this accumulative process what matters most is profit,
and social welfare and service are of secondary importance. Its result is that
society falls in the inescapable grip of profiteers. These are the people who
worship money like God and resort to every means to make an excessive or unfair
profit. Marxist critics criticize this unethical money-making practice of capitalism.
It makes people believe that money is the only virtue and ignites their greed
for unrestrained profits. Capitalism is also unethical because the rich
minority controls the world's wealth exploiting a working class majority.
4) How is capitalism destructive and unethical?
Capitalism
is also unethical because the rich minority controls the world's wealth
exploiting a working class majority. Globally, the gap between the richest and
poorest is growing at an alarming rate. According to one report, the richest 1%
in the world now have more wealth than the rest of humanity. This unequal
distribution of wealth has destroyed the quality of life of the working class.
The majority of the world populations suffer from the lack of adequate food, decent
housing, healthcare facilities, education, and transportation.
The
Marxist lens sees faults in capitalism. Capitalism is an economic and political
system in which the private sector controls a country's trade and industry for
profit. In this system, everything- every object, every activity, every person-
is valued in terms of its worth in money.
It is characterized by the privatization of property, capital accumulation,
free markets, and competition. The ultimate goal of capitalist society is to
accumulate wealth. In this accumulative process what matters most is profit,
and social welfare and service are of secondary importance. Its result is that
society falls in the inescapable grip of profiteers. These are the people who
worship money like God and resort to every means to make an excessive or unfair
profit. Marxist critics criticize this unethical money-making practice of
capitalism. It makes people believe that money is the only virtue and ignites
their greed for unrestrained profits.
Karl Marx quotes on 'The Power of Money' as: Money,
then, appears as this distorting power both against individual and against the
bonds of society, etc., which claim to be entities in themselves. Money
transforms fidelity into infidelity, love into hate, hate into love, virtue
into vice, vice into virtue, servant into master, master into servant, idiocy
into intelligence and intelligence into idiocy.
5) What is the central focus of the class perspective in
literature?
Class
struggle is the central focus of the class perspective in literature. From the
class perspective, a literary text is an expression of contemporary class
struggle. It means a Marxist critical reader does not regard literature simply
as a matter of personal expression or taste. More than a mode of expression of
the author's personal feelings and emotions, literature is the expression of
social reality. It reflects or should reflect the social and political
conditions of society.
Literature
is a social practice and material practice, related to other social practices.
As a social practice, a literary work, for example, drama reflects social
interactions and social conditions. According to the Marxist critic, we should
read the literary text in relation to the social conditions with our prime
focus on class struggle. As critical readers, we must show the connections
between the literary work and the economic structures of society in which it is
written.
Marxism
believes that any society is divided into two major classes: the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the middle class that gives priority to
materialist life and holds conventional attitudes. It is the capitalist or
money-oriented class that own most of society's wealth and means of production.
The proletariat is the working class people. They are the laborers who are
exploited by the capitalist class for the accumulation of wealth. They belong
to the social class of wage-earners whose only 'wealth' is their labor power,
i.e. their capacity to work. This class of people lies at the bottom of the
social ladder. As a result, they are economically vulnerable and politically
oppressed. According to Marxism, the members of the capitalist class have a
life of comfort and luxury by exploiting the labor power of working class
people.
We
all live in a class society or class-based society. Social class refers to a
group of people within society who share the same economic and social position.
In a class-based society, people belong to different classes such as upper
class, middle class, working class and poor on the basis of property and money
they own and the means of production they control. In other words, the capital,
i.e. money that one has determines to which class he/she belongs. For Marxist
critics, class is the only real social division. Other divisions of people
based on caste, race, gender, ethnicity and religion are secondary. While
reading a literary text, we need to take into account the class(s) of the
characters and the conflictual relationships between them.
According to Marxist critics, there is a constant conflict of interests and
goals between the capitalist class and the working class. As mentioned above,
the capitalist class controls economic production. The economic production
includes goods such as clothing, foods and jewellery and services such as
transportation, communication, health care and arts and entertainment. This
class also controls the means of production and wealth such as land, labor,
capital (money), raw materials, machinery, and tools. As al result, they have
decision-making power and authority in the socio-economic life of society. With
this power and authority, these people control and manipulate politics,
government, education, art, and media. They are economically privileged people
who dominate and exploit the wage-earning working class for their luxury.
6) How does class perspective criticism give consciousness to
the oppressed people to unite and fight?
The
class perspective on literature is a socio-economic lens that focuses on the
socio economic status of people and the real or potential conflict between
them. It also aims to unmask the author's views on social classes, class
conflict, politics, and social transformation. Marxism divided the society into
two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the middle
class that gives priority to materialist life and holds conventional attitudes.
The proletariat is the working class people. They are the laborers who are
exploited by the capitalist class for the accumulation of wealth. They are
economically vulnerable and politically oppressed.
There
is a constant conflict of interests and goals between the capitalist class and
the working class. The capitalist class controls economic production, with this
power and authority, these people control and manipulate politics, government,
education, art, and media. They are economically privileged people who dominate
and exploit the wage-earning working class for their luxury.
Basic
concepts of class perspective criticism
i)
The Socio-economic system is the base of our life.
ii)
Capitalism is destructive and unethical.
iii)
For capitalism everything is a commodity.
iv)
Capitalism causes human alienation
The
Socio-economic system determines not only who holds power and authority in
society but also determines how we are educated, and how we perceive ourselves
and the world. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which the
private sector controls a country's trade and industry for profit. Capitalism
is also unethical because the rich minority controls the world's wealth
exploiting a working class majority. When human beings are commodified, they
become objects to be controlled by others. A commodity is a product that can be
sold and bought. Workers are alienated from the product of their work, from the
act of producing, from their own social nature, and from their fellow workers.
Class
perspective criticism gives consciousness about the class and their usefulness
especially to the oppressed people, when they get such knowledge then they
unite and fight. So, there is class struggle everywhere, where there is
domination around the world. Working class people are aware nowadays due to
various sources and organizations as a result they no longer bear any
injustice.
7) While analyzing a text from the Marxist angle, what kind of
questions should a reader keep in mind?
Marxism
believes that any society is divided into two major classes: the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the middle class that gives priority to
materialist life and holds conventional attitudes. It is the capitalist or
money-oriented class that own most of society's wealth and means of production.
The proletariat is the working class people. They are the laborers who are
exploited by the capitalist class for the accumulation of wealth. They belong
to the social class of wage-earners whose only 'wealth' is their labor power,
i.e. their capacity to work. This class of people lies at the bottom of the
social ladder. As a result, they are economically vulnerable and politically
oppressed. According to Marxism, the members of the capitalist class have a
life of comfort and luxury by exploiting the labor power of working class
people.
While
analyzing a text from the Marxist angle, a reader should keep the following
questions in mind:
a) What
is the socio-economic background of the characters?
b) Which
class do they represent- capitalist or wage-earning?
c) Who
are the socio-economically dominant and powerful people in the text?
d) Who
are the socio-economically disadvantaged people in the text?
e) Is
there a class conflict and struggle?
f) Does
the author challenge or support the capitalist ideology? How?
g) How
do the characters belonging to different classes perceive each other and behave
with each other?
h) What
matters most to the characters- accumulation of wealth or collective welfare?
i) Is
any character being commodified? How?
j) Is
there anyone in the text who feels being objectified by others?
k) How
have commodification and objectification damaged the relationship between
characters?
l) Is
there any form of alienation experienced by the characters?
Posing the questions like these before and while reading the text helps us to
see how capitalism is at work in the text. However, it does not mean that a
single poem, story, drama, or novel contains the answers to these questions.
Raise these questions when you notice in the text class conflict,
commodification, evils of capitalism, the passion of greed for wealth, and
human alienation.
Best of Luck
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