Karl Marx was initially inspired by Hegel's philosophy but later rejected theology in favor of materialism. Marxism views society and history through the lens of economic classes and their conflicts. Marx and Engels believed capitalism would inevitably give way to socialism and then communism, with a stateless, classless society. George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four depicts a dystopian future that shows the negative outcomes Marx predicted could result from unchecked capitalism, such as a society divided into distinct social classes and total control by the ruling class. The novel is an example of how Marxism can be applied to literary analysis by viewing the work through the lens of class struggles and conflicts between the proletariat and bourgeoisie.

1. MARXISM
LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM, UNIT 3

2. KARL MARX, WHO?
• Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) was initially inspired by Hegel’s philosophical framework of absolute idealism,
which briefly infers that our sense of self and our comprehension of the world are both shaped up by
the interaction of opposites, though we do not position ourselves in opposition but rather as part of an
all-inclusive whole.
• Marx gradually rejected theology and turned to materialism as
a mind-set and worldview.
• Marxism therefore engages in social analysis in terms of
economic standards, focusing on class relations and socio-
economic disparities.

3. MARXISM: THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO
• Class disparity & class struggle.
• Economic system determines social
relations, ethics, morality & political
structures.
• Capitalism: the rich become richer,
the poor become poorer.
• From Capitalism to Socialism.
• Communism would be a classless, stateless,
humane society erected on common
ownership and the principle of "From each
according to his ability, to each according
to his needs".
• Social Revolution: the ultimate ideology.
• Socialists: a moneyless state.

4. MARXISM IN BRIEF

5. QUOTES FROM KARL MARX
• Society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of interrelations, the
relations within which these individuals stand.
• Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have
nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all
countries, unite!
• The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private
property.
• The history of all previous societies has been the history of class struggles.
• Religion is the opium of the masses.

6. FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820 – 1895)
• Also developed atheistic beliefs since young age.
• Contributed to Marx’s writings, co-authored and edited even after
Marx’s demise.
• In his work The Origin of the Family, Private Property & the State
(1884), Engels used anthropological evidence to argue that family
structures changed over history and that the concept
of monogamous marriage came from the necessity within class
society for men to control women to ensure their own children
would inherit their property. He therefore predicted that a future
communist society would allow people to make decisions about
their relationships free of economic constraints.

7. QUOTES FROM ENGELS
• From the first day to this, sheer greed was the driving spirit of civilization.
• The state is nothing but an instrument of oppression of one class by another - no less
so in a democratic republic than in a monarchy.
• All history has been a history of class struggles between dominated classes at various
stages of social development.
• Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.

8. GEORGE ORWELL, NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR (1949)

9. HOW MARXISM APPLIES TO LITERATURE
History repeats itself. Humans often perform the same actions repeatedly, because they are habitual
beings. All humans have the same instincts, and their lives are based on how they control and
manipulate them. Nineteen Eighty-Four is about how humans live in an abstract setting. Orwell uses this
abstraction to show his prediction of a world allowed to continue its capitalistic trend. More specifically,
he points out the major class differences. In Orwell's story, the Party's victory is absolute and its
domination is unstoppable. Obviously, today's world has not reached this extreme like Nineteen Eighty-
Four's world, but through such an extreme case, Orwell displays the values socialism and an undesirable
outcome of capitalism. The main characters in Nineteen Eighty-Four are repressed and forced to work
for the benefit of the Inner Party members. Inevitably, the members of the Outer Party feel restless and
perform small acts of rebellion. Winston and Julia's acts are small and are quickly subdued. Their
rebellion fails because their actions only benefit themselves and do not to help those around them.

10. END OF UNIT 3