Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide

The Fundamental Premises of Marxism

The chapter opens with a discussion of how Marxist critics would argue that psychoanalysis and other critical approaches fail to account for “the real forces that create human experience” (43): economic systems. It then summarizes and defines Marxist beliefs. 

First, economics are the “base” upon which the “superstructure,” culture, is built. Economic power is tied to social and political power across socioeconomic classes. Economic conditions are the material circumstances, and the culture created by that material is the historical situation. This system of theories about history is known as “historical materialism.” 

The central conflict in society is between the bourgeoisie, the owners of capitalist production, and the proletariat, wage workers, who are separated from one another by cultural differences like religion. Marx believed that, one day, the proletariat would unite, overthrow the bourgeoisie, and create a classless society.

The Class System in America

Tyson argues that in contemporary America, it is difficult to define a person’s class status, but people can broadly be sorted into five classes: “underclass, lower class, middle class, upper class, and ‘aristocracy’” (45). Those in the lower and underclasses are oppressed by the economic and political systems, as well as ideology.

The Role of Ideology

This section describes the role of ideology in Marxist criticism. Ideologies that are naturalized and internalized, like capitalism, are oppressive because they prevent people from understanding “material/historical conditions” (46), in contrast with Marxist ideology, which is explicit. 

Tyson describes how the ideology of capitalism is destructive in the United States. For instance, the capitalist ideal of the “American dream” masks how this dream is inaccessible to many poor people regardless of how hard they work. She analyzes how the American capitalist beliefs in competition, rugged individualism, consumerism, and commodification likewise generate injustices in American society that are “masked.” These beliefs benefit only the wealthy and powerful under the guise of a false ideal, creating a false consciousness in populations. 

Capitalist ideology is “adept” at manipulating personal beliefs about the world. Tyson notes that classism, patriotism, and religion are other forms of repressive ideologies seen by Marxism as destructive. These ideologies are promoted through entertaining cultural productions.

Human Behavior, the Commodity, and the Family

Tyson notes that Marx was particularly concerned with capitalism and the way it alienates laborers from the products they create and their own work. Marxists argue that under capitalism, a commodity’s value is assessed in relation to its dollar value (exchange value) or social value (sign-exchange value), rather than in relation to how useful it is (use value). Everything is then commodified according to this value system, even human beings, such as when “a woman is treated like a sex object” (53). Thus, capitalism is “destructive to our psychological wellbeing” (53), as people are alienated from one another and their work and then assessed (and assess others) as commodities.

Tyson describes how Marxism relates to psychoanalysis. Marxists argue that identity formation is shaped by a material/historical structure rather than a family dynamic. However, they see the family, which is likewise shaped by the material/historical structure, as an important source of ideological messaging and its naturalization.

Marxism and Literature

Tyson uses Death of a Salesman to illustrate both Marxist literary analysis and how it might use a psychoanalytic concept. For instance, Willy Loman’s “denial of reality” is a psychological response to alienation produced under capitalism (55). She notes that Marxist critics use many complementary critical approaches to literature, including psychoanalysis, structuralism, etc.

Tyson explains how literature is theorized in Marxist analysis. Marxist theorists argue that, like all cultural products, literature is a product of its material-historical circumstances and contains ideological messaging. Marxists assess whether the work promotes or criticizes these ideologies (or both). Both content and form have ideological significance. 

Some Marxists feel that realism is the best way to accurately represent socioeconomic conditions in a way that is accessible to the masses. Other Marxists feel that experimental, “post-modern” forms are preferable because they reflect fragmentation and alienation under capitalism. However, even works that “reinforce” negative ideologies can be useful in understanding how those ideologies are able to “seduce” populations. In this sense, they see Literary Analysis as a Form of Social Justice because it reveals how works promote harmful ideologies.

Some Questions Marxist Critics Ask About Literary Texts

Tyson provides a series of questions that summarize Marxist approaches to literature, highlighting how capitalist ideology and class often drive the narrative and influence the plot (57):

1. To what extent does the work perpetuate capitalist ideology and/or classism?

2. To what extent does the work critique capitalist ideology and/or classism?

3. Does the work have an ideological conflict between Marxist and capitalist “agendas”?

4. How does the work reflect “the socioeconomic conditions” of its production?

5. To what extent does the work critique organized religion for preventing characters from recognizing their oppression?

You Are What You Own: A Marxist Reading of The Great Gatsby

In her Marxist reading of The Great Gatsby, Tyson argues that the novel reveals the “dark underbelly” of American capitalism and its culture. Specifically, it shows how even those who are the most financially successful suffer from its ideological commodification of all things. She analyzes the character of Tom Buchanan as a clear example of this process, as he is very wealthy and therefore successful, yet he assesses the “value” of others through monetary worth, damaging his relationships and sense of self-esteem. 

Tyson claims that Daisy’s affair with Gatsby reflects a similar dynamic and uses close readings of textual quotes to justify this argument, noting, “Possession of Daisy, the ultimate commodity sign, would, in Gatsby’s eyes, ‘launder’ his ‘new money’ and make it ‘old,’ would make his ‘spanking new’ imitation Hôtel de Ville an ancestral seat” (62).

She notes that, despite critiquing capitalism, The Great Gatsby ultimately reinforces the repressive ideology through various means, particularly its “unsympathetic rendering of George and Myrtle Wilson, the novel’s representatives of the lower class” (63), and its linguistically lush depiction of upper-class lifestyles.

Questions for Further Practice: Marxist Approaches to Other Literary Works

Tyson provides model questions to guide Marxist literary analysis. These questions explore how Marxist concepts, such as class struggle and critiques of capitalism, can deepen a reader’s understanding of texts. Topics include the following (66-67):

1. The critique of capitalism in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, focusing on the novel’s realism

2. The critique of the American Dream in “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, particularly as it relates to the toys in F.A.O. Schwarz

3. Portrayals of commodification in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth and how commodification drives the plot

4. Depictions of class in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and its expression through the characters’ dialogue and actions

5. “On the Road” by Langston Hughes as a Marxist critique of organized religion

These topics serve as tools to interpret a variety of texts through a Marxist lens, encouraging readers to consider the class and ideological underpinnings of characters and plot.