Sociological Criticism Karl Marx argued that the way people think and behave in any society is determined by basic economic factors. He believed those groups of people who owned and controlled major industries could exploit the rest Marxist critics examine literature for its refection of how dominant elites exploit subordinate groups, how people become “alienated” from each other, and how middle-class/bourgeois values lead to the control and suppression of the working class See literature’s value in promoting social and economic revolution Such changes would include the overthrow of the dominant capitalist ideology and the loss of power by those with money and privilege

Sociological Criticism Concerned with understanding the role of politics, money, and power in literary works, and with redefining and reforming the way society distributes its resources among the classes Marxist critics generally approach literary works as products of their era, especially as influenced, even determined by the economic and political ideologies that prevail at the time of their composition The literary work is a “product” in relation to the actual economic and social conditions that exist at either the time of the work’s composition or the time and place of the action it describes.

Sociological Criticism Advantages Frequently evaluative and judges some literary work better than others on an ideological basis Can illuminate political and economic dimensions of literature that other approaches overlook Disadvantages May impose critic’s personal politics on the work in question and then evaluating it according to how closely it endorses that ideology There is a tendency that can lead to reductive judgment because an author may illustrate the principles of class struggle more clearly and will be judge superior because of this

Sociological Criticism Strategies and questions Explore the way different groups of people are represented in texts. Evaluate the level of social realism in the text and how society is portrayed Consider how the text itself is a commodity that reproduces certain social beliefs and practices. Analyze the social effect of the literary work Look at the effects of power drawn from economic or social class What social forces and institutions are represented in the work? How are these forces portrayed? What is the author’s attitude toward them?

Sociological Criticism Strategies and questions cont. What political economic elements appear in the work? How important are they in determining or influencing the lives of the characters? What economic issues appear in the course of the work? How important are economic facts in influencing the motivation and behavior of the characters? To what extent are the lives of the characters influenced or determined by social, political, and economic forces? To what extent are the characters aware of these forces? Best way to look at it – who has the power/money? Who does not? What happens as a result?