Karl Marx, born in 1818, was a German philosopher and revolutionary whose works, including 'Das Kapital' and 'The Communist Manifesto,' established the foundations of Marxism, a political and economic theory aimed at creating a classless society. He emphasized that consciousness is shaped by material conditions, which leads to class divisions, and argued that literature reflects and influences social institutions and ideologies. Marxist criticism evaluates how literature reflects class conflict and socio-economic influences while serving a potential ideological purpose.

1. Marxism – Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Consciousness does not determine life, life determines consciousness.
Introduction of Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was his complete name. He was born in Trier, Germany,
on May 5, 1818. He was German and attended the Berlin University of
Economics and Philosophy. He was also a journalist and a revolutionary.
His most well-known writings include Das Kapital, which served as the
theoretical cornerstone of communist philosophy, economics, and politics,
and the Communist Manifesto, which he co-authored with his friend
Friedrich Engels in 1848 and which is one of the most significant political
works in history.
His contributions to economics provided the framework for comprehending
the relationship between labour and capital. Marx is regarded as the
founding figure of contemporary sociology.
Philosophers have only ever interpreted the universe in different ways,
according to Karl Marx. However, changing it is the point. He wrote three
different kinds of writing: a political polemic (controversial), journalism, and
analysis of society and culture.
Finally, he passed away on March 4th, 1883 in London, and eleven people
attended his funeral.

2. Marxism
A political and economic system in which there are no classes and everyone
contributes to the betterment of society. George Hegel was an influence on
him (his famous work is Dialectal Materialism).
Marx primarily addressed the issues of class conflict, rich/poor, owner and
worker.
Marx argues that every literary work mirrors the author's social institution
or place in society (the place of his or her birth). Our physical surroundings
shape our awareness, which in turn shapes man. Our identities,
subjectivities, and states of consciousness are shaped by material
circumstances. People in a similar material situation will likely have a similar
type of consciousness, which could lead to the formation of a class.
Therefore, he identified various social classes, including the Proletariat
(have not; according to them, the world is hell), The Working, the bourgeois:
(have; the world is paradise in their eyes), the middle class, and the wealthy
middle class.
Marx argues that there are prevailing ideologies and dominant groups in
every society, which are upheld by the police, by force, by the law, and even
by the arts or literature. Marxism as a literary theory contends that literature
and social science are closely related fields of study. A literary theory should
therefore be more than just a critique of literary themes, literary styles, plots,
or characters. We should consider how that literary work relates to society.
Additionally, he believed that writers should have some sort of ideological
purpose or ideals to change society. Consequently, base/infrastructure
creates the superstructure (society, culture, world of ideas). Marx argued
that the foundation determines the superstructure.
Marxist Critic has three points
1. How the characters, setting, and society of a novel reflect the author's
ideas.

3. 2. A critic might start an inquiry into the author's socioeconomic class and
how it affected the author's society.
3. A critic may look at how the history and culture of the time are depicted
in the book, as well as how accurately or inaccurately the author portrays his
historical era.
Marxist Criticism
Marxists and other academics contend that literature both reflects the social
institutions from which it develops and simultaneously functions as a social
institution with a specific ideological purpose. Literature thus depicts
materialism and class conflict.
Marxists typically see literature as "products" of the economic and
ideological causes unique to that period, rather than as works produced in
line with timeless artistic requirements."
Literature, no matter how incisive or superficial, reflects an author's own
class or perception of class connections.
Simply put, a Marxist critic is a vigilant reader or spectator who considers
questions of authority, wealth, and any of the following:
• What part does class play in the story; what analysis of class connections
does the author offer?
• How are oppressions overcome by characters?
• In what ways does the work attempt to challenge the status quo or act as
propaganda for it?
• What does the piece of writing say about oppression? Are social conflicts
downplayed or attributed to other factors?
• Does the work offer a utopian vision of sorts as a solution to the issues it
raises?

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