Q3 Lesson 3
Q3 Lesson 3
Q3 Lesson 3
Agenda Layout
01 Explain Marxist criticism;
04
05
“The Marxist analysis has nothing to do with what
happened in Stalin’s Russia; it’s like blaming Jesus
Christ for the Inquisition of Spain.” ~ Tony Benn,
British Labour Politician
Read the short narrative and answer the questions provided:
YOU ARE A WORKER IN OUR FACTORY
The factory makes chair. You get paid 300 pesos an hour and in an hour
you make an average 10 chairs. You work 8 hours a day and have an hour for
lunch (not paid). The chairs sell for 1,300 each. The cost of raw materials,
overheads (bills etc.) works out to be about 300 pesos per worker per hour.
The work just gives you just enough to support your family in the house you
are living. You love carpentry and spend much of your free time messing
around with wood in your shed. However, you don’t particularly enjoy your
job as you rarely see a finished chair or a satisfied customer.
1. How much do you earn in a day? ________________
2. How much do you in reality get paid for each chair you make?________________
3. How much does your boss get for each chair you make in an hour?__________________
4. Who owns all the buildings, machinery, tools and raw materials?__________________
5. How can you try and earn more money?_________________________________________
6. What would happen to you if the factory closed?__________________________________
7. You hear there a group of immigrant workers living near your factory willing to work for 200
pesos an hour. How does this makes you feel? _____________________
8. What job would you prefer to do? What kind of job would you feel more satisfying?
________________________________
What is Marxist criticism?
Marxism is a philosophical and ideological belief
which is derived from the philosophical standpoint of Karl
Marx, a Jewish-German philosopher and political scientist
who advocated that the events in history are nothing but a
record of struggle between two opposing classes in society,
the “proletariat” and the “bourgeoisie;” which will ulti-
mately lead to the fall of capitalism and an ushering of
communism where everyone is equal with another, being
one gets equal share of the society’s wealth according to his
needs and according.
Historical Background
Karl Marx
Friedrich Engels
Economic power. In analyzing a text using Marxist criticism, remember that eco-
nomic system is the moving force behind human history. Thus, to explain any so-
cial context or genre, take time to really understand the surrounding historical cir-
cumstances involved.
A. For instance: In the given story, the society depicted an unequal distribution
of goods and services, thus, gangster are common which rob the rich seem-
ingly due to limited opportunities given to them.
Keywords to look for using Marxist criticism
A. For example: The characters are shown eating a meal with meager amount
of food and certain emotions are involved showing their material needs and
wants not to be easily satisfied by spiritual acts or rituals.
Keywords to look for using Marxist criticism
A. For example: In the story “The Necklace,” Mathilde Loisel can’t even af-
ford to buy a nice piece of dress save for the jewelry to accentuate it due
to the poverty she is mired into. She has no choice but to borrow a neck-
lace from a friend, Madamme Forrestier
Writing your Marxist criticism
Clarify your understanding of the ideology of the work;
Identify the elements of the text that present the ideology;
Determine how those elements promote it – that is, convince the reader
to accept it; and
Assess how sympathetic or opposed it is to Marxist principles.
Examine the introduction/setting/over-all status of the society as re-
gards economic, social, and cultural aspects.
At the beginning, try to seek and understand the apartheid or
the inequality present in the society.
What class does the character belong to?
What struggles or conflicts are presented from the beginning? Does
any of these run towards the ending of the story?
Writing your Marxist criticism
Drafting and Revising
Introduction. Introduce your chosen Marxist scenario from the se-
lection and explain its relation to Marxist ideology at the outset.
After this introduction, the rest of your essay will be greatly con-
cerned with with where and how the ideology is worked out.
Alternatively, you may begin by narrating an incident in the se-
lection that illustrates the social relationships of the charac-
ters or some other socioeconomic aspect of the society as
preparation for your statement of the work’s over-all world-
view.
Writing your Marxist criticism
TAKE NOTE! In any cases, to wrap up your conclusion, you will need to con-
sider how the ideology in the text affirms or conflicts your own. You may find it in-
teresting to reflect on what the work has revealed to you about you own ideology.
Explaining your realization can provide a powerful ending to your analysis
SAMPLE LITERATURE
EXAMPLE:
THE NECKLACE
Guy Maupassant
THANK YOU!