What are Examples of Marxist Literary Criticism?
We can see examples of this criticism in two stories: “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, and “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Conner.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”
Connie’s ability to be in a high social class derives from her good appearance.
“Her name was Connie. She had a quick nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was alright.” P.318
“…she knew that she was pretty and that was everything.” P.318
Her mother and the rest of her family did not like that an individual of a higher class lived amongst them, so constantly they tried to put her down to try and lower her social class in their own minds.
“Her mother had been pretty once too…but now her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie.”
“Her sister June…was so plain and chunky and steady that Connie had to hear her praised all the time by her mother and her mother’s sisters.”
Power over other people is acquired as individuals of higher classes can oppress those of lower classes.
“…Right away someone leaned out of a car window and invited them over, but it was just a boy from high school they didn’t like. It made her feel good to be able to ignore him.”
We realize that Arnold Friend is pretending to be of a higher class than Connie, for her the epitome of what is popular, because he knows that this is how he can appeal to Connie, because all people want to associate with higher classes, hoping to raise into it.
“Then he began to smile again. She watched this smile come, awkward as if he was smiling from behind a mask, she thought wildly, tanned down onto his throat but then running out as if he had plastered make up on his face but had forgotten about his throat.”
“..The boots must have been stuffed with something so that he would seem taller.”
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” : Compare the economic classes of central characters Granny and Misfit, in the following excerpts.