Marxist Analysis of Of Mice and Men: Key Concepts and Questions - Prof. Alonso Recarte, Ejercicios de Literatura inglesa

¡Descarga Marxist Analysis of Of Mice and Men: Key Concepts and Questions - Prof. Alonso Recarte y más Ejercicios en PDF de Literatura inglesa solo en Docsity! Of Mice and Men MARXISM WARM-UP: • Define Marxism • What sort of questions should the Marxist theorist ask the text? • What do you think are the keywords of Marxism? Some well-known quotes by Marx • “The bourgeoisie […] has centralized means of production, and has concentrated property in a few hands.” (Qtd. Habib 2005, 528) • “In proportion as the bourgeoisie, i.e., capital, is developed, in the same proportion is the proletariat, the modern working class, developed; a class of laborers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labor increases capital. These laborers, who must sell themselves piecemeal, are a commodity.” (Marx and Engels 2005/1848, 49) • “The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production […] The need of a constantly expanding market […] chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe.” (Marx and Engels 2005/1848, 44) • “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world […] It is the opium of the people.” (Marx 2005/1844, 131) Inferring theory and key words: • What kind of social commentary does Of Mice and Men make about the situation in America? • How do the characters in Of Mice and Men represent different social classes in accordance to Marxism? • How do certain characters express their power? • What does the ‘dream of the farm’ represent in accordance to a Marxist framework? Do other characters have other ‘dreams’? • Infrastructure = base: the economic structure of society, based on capitalist ‘forces’ and ‘relations’ of production • Superstructure: certain forms of law and politics, a certain kind of state determined by the infrastructure, whose essential function is to legitimate the power of the social class which owns the means of economic production. It also consists of certain ‘definite forms of social consciousness’ (political, religious, ethical, aesthetic, etc.)  that is, IDEOLOGY CLOSE READING – CHAPTER 1 EXCERPT Marxist understanding of IDEOLOGY: • Should not be conceived as a set of doctrines • it signifies the way men live out their roles in class society • it signifies the values, ideas and images which tie men to their social functions and so prevent them from a true knowledge of society as a whole • in a way, it shows a man making sense of his experience in ways that prohibit a true understanding of his society, ways that are consequently false  (American Dream?) FORM AND CONTENT (1): GEORG LUKÀCS • Importance of the sense of ‘totality’ in the literary piece • Support of REALISM and its adherence to the TYPICALITY of character • TYPICALITY: - Also supported by Engels - A ‘typical’ or ‘representative’ character represents historical forces without ceasing to be individualized - Combination of typicality & individuality in character development • PROGRESSIVE ART: whatever the writer’s political allegiance, it realizes the vital ‘world-historical’ forces of an epoch which make for change and growth, revealing their unfolding potential in the fullest complexity.