Ma r x i sm Essays - Politics, Thought, Philosophy, Marxism

Ma r x i sm In my report I will be analysing the presence of Marxism in F.S.K Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby '. Whilst viewing this book through a critical lens, I discovered that many examples in the text work together to show the Marxist literary theory, of how everything relates back to wealth and financial status, reflecting on the economic experiences of the author. The particular aspects of this novel I will be focusing on are theme and characterisation . The Great Gatsby' is quite centred on the theme of money and how it will inevitably affect one's life. Money, wealth and class are central themes which fuel the plot, and the way in which characters act, think, interact with the other characters, and are portrayed. Power and money are intricately co-related, as having one typically - but not always means the other is present, whilst lacking one means the other is absent. In the Jazz age of the 20's, when this book is set, the amount of money you had defined what class you were in. Even within the category of rich' there were sub-categories, such as safer or old' money, which is when families have been wealthy for many generations. New' money is somewhat frowned upon, and looked on with suspicion and contempt by the aristocracy, who pride themselves on having been affluent for generations. The characters portray Marxist ideas, through Fitzgerald's representation of the different classes, and his interpretation of how their class defines their experience. The theory of Marxism was created by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 19th century, who perceived human history to have consisted of a series of struggles between classes - the oppressed and the oppressing.' The bourgeois and the proletariat are the two classes of people in society. According to Marxists, the proletariat are the peasants, the hard working low class with very little to show for their efforts and the bourgeois is the upper class, who according to Marx and Engels reap the benefits of the proletariats labour . Marx believed that for the uprising and rebellion of the proletariats to be successful, it must be swift and violent and many of the current ruling class will perish because the former presiding class will not give up without a fight and their death will be the only way to win the revolution. Marxism believed that the class system and the large gap between the rich and poor would be bridged by the removal of capitalism, and returning the means of production to the lower and middle class people. This would lead to a classless' society which governs itself, where everyone is equal. Marxism in literature relates to class differences ; economic and otherwise, as well as the implications and complications of the capitalist system. It attempts to reveal the ways in which our socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience.