Literary Criticism (Marxist Criticism)

Marxist criticism focuses on how literature reflects, reinforces, or challenges the social and economic conditions of its time. Rooted in the ideas of Karl Marx, this approach sees history as a struggle between different social classes, particularly between the bourgeoisie (the ruling class) and the proletariat (the working class). Literature is not just art but a product of its material conditions, meaning it's influenced by who has economic power and how that power affects culture and ideology. Marxist critics often examine how texts represent class conflict, capitalism, and the commodification of people and values. The chapter also touches on theorists like Georg Lukács, who emphasized literature’s ability to reveal social totality, and Louis Althusser, who believed that ideology is what keeps society functioning by shaping people’s beliefs in invisible ways. Ultimately, Marxist criticism is about uncovering how economic systems shape human lives and how literature either supports or questions those systems.

When viewed through a Marxist lens, The Great Gatsby is a sharp critique of capitalism and the illusion of the American Dream. The novel is filled with class distinctions: the wealthy elite of East Egg (like Tom Buchanan) represent old money and inherited privilege, while West Egg characters like Gatsby embody the self-made, new-money class that is still shut out of real power. Even though Gatsby is rich, he’s never fully accepted by the established upper class, showing that wealth alone doesn’t guarantee social mobility or acceptance. The novel exposes the emptiness of material success, Gatsby’s mansion, parties, and luxury are all attempts to buy back Daisy’s love, but in the end, he dies alone, rejected by the very society he tried to join. From a Marxist perspective, Gatsby is commodified, valued only for his wealth, not his character. The lower classes, like George and Myrtle Wilson, suffer the most. They are used and discarded by the upper class, symbolizing how the working class is exploited in a capitalist society. The Marxist theory explains how ideology, like the American Dream, keeps people chasing false hopes, while the ruling class stays in power. Just like the Blackwell chapter says, literature can expose how ideology masks inequality. Fitzgerald’s novel strips away the glamorous surface of wealth to show the deep-rooted divisions and injustices of a capitalist world.