Pasig Catholic College
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
School Year 2020-2021
PCC@108: “Bringing the Good News to all Faiths in all Seasons amidst Life’s Challenges”
Subject: 21st Century Literature from the Date:
Philippines and the World
Subject Teacher: Miss Dia Sielo D. Carabaña
MODULE 14 – MARXISM APPROACH
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this module students will have completed the following objectives:
1. to know what is Marxism and its proponent
2. to learn how it is applied in literary criticism; and
3. to use the lens of Marxism in criticizing a literary piece.
LEARNING EXPERIENCES
o Marxism
o Marxism as Literary Approach
LECTURE NOTES
Who started it?
He was a 19th century German philosopher that became a part of the Young Hegelians, and later, the
Communist League. Marx is revered as one of the most influential socialist thinkers of the 19th century.
Some of his most notable works are:
• The German Ideology (1846)
• The Communist Manifesto (1848)
• Das Kapital (1867)
But we can’t have Marx without... Engels was pretty much Marx’s best friend. He shared Marx’s socialist
beliefs and provided support financially as well as intellectually while Marx developed his theories.
Some of his major works were:
• The Condition of the Working Class in England (1844)
• Co-authored the Communist Manifesto (1848)
Engels and Marx founded the social and economic system of Marxism in the 19th century. Essentially, it is
the opposite of capitalism. ** Proletariat Capitalist
Capitalism is based on private ownership and motivation by profit. Marx criticizes capitalism for its
tendency
to abuse the working man, or “the proletariat,” by paying a wage that barely guarantees the workers’ survival.
MARXISM
- It looks at the class struggles between the capitalist and proletariat.
Capitalists – owners of the resource producing companies
Proletariat – workers who work to produce and, thus, survive.
What is Marxism in literature?
It is the belief that literature reflects this class struggle and materialism.
It looks at how literature functions in relation to other aspects of the superstructure, particularly other
articulations of ideology.
Like feminist critics, it investigates how literature can work as a force for social change, or as a
reaffirmation of existing conditions
It promotes the idea that literature should be a tool in the revolutionary struggle.
It attempts to clarify the relationship of literary work to social reality. It is political in nature.
It aims to arrive at an interpretation of literary text in order to define the political dimensions of literary
work.
It believes that the literary work has ALWAYS a relationship to the society.
It judges literature by how it represents the main struggles for power going on that time, how it may
influence those struggles.
What to do?
• The Introduction-Tell the ideology and how it is related to Marxist principles.
• The Body - It will depend on the style of the critic - Reveal, in detailed points, the proofs of having
inequality, oppression, and control of wealth.
• The Conclusion - Endorse that lower class be given chance to access equal wealth and power. - It may
be a suggestion of social reform ASAP. - You may tell the impact of Marxist principles into your life as
a critic.
Example:
The World is an Apple by Alberto Florentino
The World is an Apple is a clear example of a Marxist literature. We can see different ideologies and
class systems that affect human behavior. Injustice is evident in the text, just by stealing a single apple, Mario
was fired out of his work. This points me to Economic Power. The company where Mario worked was just
waiting for him to make mistakes.
In this way they can throw men out without any reason and replace them with men whom they know or
whom they want. This shows how status and power works in our society. Mario can’t even complain because
whatever he does these people who have the authority will always win.
Poverty is the main reason why Mario considers stealing as an option to make money. Manipulation of
Pablo is also a factor that affects Mario’s decisions. The text somehow invites us to condemn and criticize
socio-economic forces. It tries to open our eyes in the reality that the poor have nothing to say because they are
forced to be submissive with those who are in power.
Key Questions:
● What conflict can be seen between the values the work champions and those it portrays?
● What social classes do the characters represent?
● How do characters from different classes interact or conflict?
REFERENCES
Bulusan, F. (2012, September 3). Marxist criticism presentation. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/ferdinandbulusan/marxist-criticism-
presentation#:~:text=Marxist%20Criticism%20is%20the%20belief,this%20class%20struggle%20and%
20materialism.&text=It%20looks%20at%20how%20literature,particularly%20other%20articulations%2
0of%20ideology
Chua, R. G. (2016). 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World (1st ed.). Makati City: DIWA
LEARNING SYSTEMS INC.
Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.). Marxist criticism // Purdue Writing Lab. Retrieved from
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_
of_criticism/marxist_criticism.html
