ENGLISH 10-MARXIST

LITERARY APPROACH
M/9:45 am – 10:45 am – 2:40pm – 3:40 pm W/9:45 am – 10:45 am – 2:40 pm – 3:40 pm
 MARXIST LITERARY APPROACH

 Marxism borrows some concepts from the

nineteenth-century writings of Karl Heinrich
Marx, though many of Marx’s ideas gained
popularity in the twentieth century.
 Marxist criticism thus emphasizes class,
socioeconomic status, and power relations
among various segments of society.
 MARXIST LITERARY CRITICISM

 Marxist criticism places a literary work within the

context of class and assumptions about class.
 In literary theory, a Marxist interpretation reads the
text as an expression of contemporary class
struggle. Literature is not simply a matter of
personal expression or taste. It somehow relates to
the social and political conditions of the time.
 FOUNDATIONAL QUESTIONS OF
MARXIST CRITICISM
 What classes, or socioeconomic statuses, are represented in the text?
 Are all the segments of society accounted for, or does the text exclude a
particular class?
 Does class restrict or empower the characters in the text?
 How does the text depict a struggle between classes, or how does class
contribute to the conflict of the text?
 How does the text depict the relationship between the individual and the
state? Does the state view individuals as a means of production, or as ends
in themselves?
 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or as it is known in more
recent editions, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is a
novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first
published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in
the United States in February 1885.
 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by American author
Mark Twain, is a novel set in the pre-Civil War South that
examines institutionalized racism and explores themes
of freedom, civilization, and prejudice.
 The Hunger Games film series is composed
of science fiction dystopian adventure films,
based on The Hunger Games trilogy of
novels by the American author Suzanne
Collins. 
 Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her
younger sister's place in the Hunger Games:
a televised competition in which two
teenagers from each of the twelve Districts
of Panem are chosen at random to fight to
the death
 In 1960s Mississippi, Southern society girl
Skeeter (Emma Stone) returns from college
with dreams of being a writer. She turns her
small town on its ear by choosing to
interview the Black women who have spent
their lives taking care of prominent white
families. Only Aibileen (Viola Davis), the
housekeeper of Skeeter's best friend, will
talk at first. But as the pair continue the
collaboration, more women decide to come
forward, and as it turns out, they have quite a
lot to say.
Three brilliant African-American
women at NASA -- Katherine
Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary
Jackson -- serve as the brains
behind one of the greatest operations
in history: the launch of astronaut
John Glenn into orbit, a stunning
achievement that restored the
nation's confidence, turned around
the Space Race and galvanized the
world.
"There's no bathroom for me here. (What do you mean there's no
bathroom?). There is no bathroom. There are no colored
bathrooms in this building. Or any building outside the West
Campus, which is half a mile away. Did you know that? I have to
walk to Timbuktu just to relieve myself. And I can't use one of the
handy bikes. Picture that, Mr. Harrison. My uniform. Skirt below
my knees, my heels, and a simple string of pearls. Well, I don't
own pearls. Lord knows you don't pay coloreds enough to afford
pearls! And I work like a dog, day and night, living off of coffee
from a pot none of you wanna touch. So, excuse me if I have to go
to the restroom a few times a day."
In commemoration of Carlos
Palanca Awardee Alberto
Florentino's one-act play, Cadaver
is set at the dark, muddy, and the
pungent smell of cemetery slums—
revolving around the dead souls
living in poverty from the 1950s to
the present; a reflection of the
decayed human rights situation of
the poor.
The world is an apple tells
us how an apple changes
everything. Temptations
are the reasons why many
people especially the poor
get into a crime. It also
shows how a parents love
their children.
What are other literary pieces,
songs, and movies can you
think of that can be analyzed
using the Marxist Literary
Approach?