A Marxist Reading of Nikolai Ostrovsky’s How the Steel Was Tempered (Published)
The paper proves that How the Steel Was Tempered depicts the theory of Marxism. During the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, capitalism spread in various countries in Europe. As a result, the struggle of the common masses became more organized and conscious. As the conflicts between the upper and lower class became more profound, the philosophical thought of Marxism spread rapidly. The paper makes an analysis of Marxism in How the Steel Was Tempered. The paper discusses all the Marxist ideologies found in the novel, including: the inequality between classes, anti-Capitalism, class conflict, historical materialism, and alienation. So, this paper will add a piece of new information in the existing literature.
Keywords: Alienation, Capitalism, Class, Marxism, Materialism
Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day: A Study of Marxist Perspective (Published)
Marxist perspective has undergone a progressive dominance over time in the globe of literature. Marxist approach has always been an impressive implement in comprehending any literary sort of pieces in case of philosophy, economy, history and sociology. This aids learners to approach the text in a distinctive way that issues reader’s better sort of apprehension of literary works and serves to attain the purpose of communicative literary competence, appreciations and conventions. The research inclines to focus on one of the most appreciated and unparalleled novels of Saul Bellow, “Seize the Day (1956)”. The lens of Marxist point of view has been used in this study to bring out how all the characters affected by materialism hanker after worldly success, trying to survive with the critical circumstances, and at last gaining worldly success or failure in the complexity of modern American society. Here, most of the characters’ attitude and psychology are directed by longing for material wealth and financial stability. The paper critically demonstrates on how the quest for American dream, money and success triggers the actions of materialistic characters while specially concentrating on the actions of protagonist Tommy Wilhelm whose life is distorted in a capitalistic society due to the thirst for money and success.
Keywords: Alienation, American dream, Class Struggle, Marxism, Materialism