Marxist Criticism in Literature

by Amelia Stafford

Marxist criticism is one important theory for the study of English Literature. Proposed by Theorist Karl Marx, the political perspective focuses on the struggles between varying social classes and how the power is divided between them. Karl Marx was an economist theorist who believed that Western Capitalist economic systems were designed to increase the wealth of the upper class and oppress the status of the poor. The importance of Marxist criticism is therefore heightened through the writers’ values and usually shown as personal experience in a piece of writing.

The radical intellectual and political movement of Marxism tells us something about the world and evaluates what side the author parts with. Marxist critics offer a total theory of history and society combined. The job of a Marxist critic is to analyse texts and depict material and the socioeconomic reality of the author and how the author's time shaped those texts in the first place. This offers an ideological reflection of the real world and Marxists argue that it’s a 'bourgeois' genre.

A Marxist interpretation may read the text as an expression of contemporary class struggle between varying social groups and suggest literature to not be a simple matter of personal expression. Texts produced by authors will relate to social and political conditions of the time and automatically offer a debate for the reader.

Karl Marx theorised that human beings are the product of their social and economic environment, which he referred to as the economic conditions of life: the base or the infrastructure. The base was known to include everything from technology and raw materials to the social organisation of the workplace. This economics base has a powerful effect on the superstructure, Marx's term for society, culture, and the world of ideas. He often regarded the superstructure as consciousness, the way we think and look at reality. He famously said, "it is not the consciousness of men that determines their being but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness".

The belief in Karl Marx's theory suggests that our ability to think for ourselves is limited, our ideas are shaped by material conditions of life. Literature, for Marx, belongs to the superstructure and the challenge for readers is to see how it is influenced by the economic base.

As a result, Marxist literature reveals the spirit of the times, the issues of economic injustice, the social imbalance between groups within our capitalist society. Literature is about much more than enjoyment or escapism. It is a manifestation of class struggle.

Is Cathy Ames’ external

‘locus of control’ her hamartia in the novel East of Eden?

‘Locus of control’ is a psychological concept developed by Julian B. Rotter in 1954. This refers to the degree to which an individual feels a sense of agency with regards to their life.

There are two different types of ‘locus of control’; internal and external. Someone with an internal ‘locus of control’ will believe that what happens to them is greatly influenced by their own abilities, actions, or mistakes. On the other hand, an individual with an external ‘locus of control’ will tend to feel that other forces —such as random chance, environmental factors, or the actions of others—are more responsible for events that occur throughout their life.

This concept forms a primary base for the construction of Cathy Ames in John Steinbeck’s novel ‘East of Eden’.

For those of you who are not familiar with the novel, the parasitic, manipulative Cathy is the embodiment of evil throughout the narrative and the most static of the main characters constructed by Steinbeck. Her evil seems to be innate and all-consuming, as she displays murderous and sexually perverse tendencies from an early age.

Steinbeck illustrates Cathy as a monstrous figure of evil and destruction who kills her parents and makes an attempt to kill her unborn children.

Cathy is a debased version of the biblical Eve, whom the Christian tradition sees as the mother of all humankind. Like Eve, she is associated with sin, but where Eve is deceived into committing sin, Cathy embraces it wholeheartedly

by Harriet Underhill

and commits evil simply for its own sake, with no obvious motive. She has an overwhelmingly pessimistic view of humankind: she believes that there is only evil in the world and therefore surrenders herself to it fully.

Steinbeck devises Cathy’s character as completely submissive to the powers of evil and she persistently denies any possibility that she is in control of her actions and has the choice to change. This leads her down a dark journey, refuting any glimpse of good, happiness or joy even after creating a life with partner Adam and giving birth to twin boys.

Her non-acceptance of control within her own life and declination that it is her choice to act maliciously implies to me that she possesses what one might describe as a strong external ‘locus of control’ meaning she is utterly submissive to the powers of evil that run through her characterisation.

One key moment that consolidates this argument in my eyes occurs after Cathy gives birth to twin boys. She is surrounded by help, love and support from those around her; the perfect opportunity to take control of her life and navigate her own destiny not only for herself but for her children. However, Cathy maintains the belief that she is evil to the core and makes no attempt to bond with her babies, who are clearly neglected in their early stages of development.

To conclude, being an individual with an external ‘locus of control’ I would describe to be Cathy’s hamartia as it prevents her from asserting authority over her own actions and in turn leads her into an inescapable cycle of evil.

Whattruly defines ‘home’? Why is a ‘home’ so important to humanity? We create ambitions and life goals to leave the family nest, once called ‘home’, to create our own place, own meaning, our own skin. Yet does this shape our identity? Does spreading our wings from the comfort of ‘home’ to the outside world change us? Is it the journey we take? Or is it the destination? The subjectivity upon the topic can expand the basis of ‘home’ to be settled by a place, a house, a person or even a memory. Even if the notion of ‘home’ is set by materialistic value or emotional connection, the importance of this insight creates stability, sanctuary, trust- thus, helping to explore the freedom of identity and the discovery of our true selves. However, these deep psychological analogies of home deeply contrast to the geographic concept of place. The geographical term for a ‘sense of place’ is defined as “the emotive bonds and attachment that people develop and experience in a particular location or environment, ranging from the home to the nation.” These emotions linked to a place can be based upon experience, disregarding any sense of time or space, or from one’s perception. However, due to the development of technology, perceptions of place can now evolve from media representations such as the news and social media platforms without even encountering the area in person. Yet, I feel that the most forgotten form of media representation is literature. Literature presents the most distinguishable sense of place due to the insider perspectives created by authors that captures the true element and feel for an area, excluding any social media alteration or any controlled news event. No geographical terms, no quantitative data, just words creating authentic and genuine meaning to a place. The Spanish author, Carlos Ruiz Zafón untangles the true meaning of home and a sense of place within his novels, elevating an insider perspective of the depth and rich stature that a ‘home’ can hold, not only in meaning, but from the value that a place can provoke within ourselves. Nevertheless, in this article I want to explore with you the representation of Spain’s second city with the assistance of Carlos Ruiz Zafón and his final book ‘The City of Mist’