/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.3434406]

what is a good marxist thesis regarding gullivers travels?
im stuck doing a paper on this, and really dont know how to make a marxist criticism of the book.
pic unrelated

[Anonymous No.3434413]

This might sound dumb, but what exactly is a "marxist criticism"?

Isn't Marxism a political ideology? It makes no sense to me. It's like saying "libertarian criticism".

[Anonymous No.3434420]

>>3434413
I really am not sure what my teacher wants either.
Neither does the rest of the class.

I really don't know how to write a whole paper revolving around the application of marxism to a book, nor understand the concept :/

[Anonymous No.3434443]

something something proletariat, something something bourgeois, something something half-baked ideology

done

[Anonymous No.3434451]

>>3434443
Honestly my first thought. Can you help me apply that to novel?

[Anonymous No.3434455]

>>3434406
I had to write something like this, though not explicitly marxist.

You can make it about colonialism, go on sparknotes they give you all the answers.

[Anonymous No.3434460]

Didn't the Houhnymns or whatever they're called, have no concept of private land and they were basically the most pure morally in the book? Just write about them brah.

Write shit about how the removal of capitalism from society allowed for the fostering of good will towards all horses, but not those dirty Yahoos.

[Anonymous No.3434470]

>>3434460
do you have any on the lands before it?
I had to copy quotes from the book a while back, and didnt get that far, so i cant use them..

[Anonymous No.3434489]

OP here.
Teacher makes no sense, paper makes no sense.
Currently fucked, dont know what to do.

[Anonymous No.3434524]

>>3434470
Maybe talk about how Gulliver being used as a freak show by the Bognangugs is analagous to like the exploitation of the proletariat by the upper class or some stupid shit.

Marxism is dumb.

[Anonymous No.3434531]

>>3434524
are you referring to the giants?

[Anonymous No.3434539]

>>3434489
This is a slow board, don't worry if it takes a while to get replies.

'fraid I haven't read the book but from my vague understanding of it from having watched the film when I was about six, say something about the exploitation of Gulliver by whoever being analogous to the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. Remember the number one tip to writing in a Marxist sphere is not to make salient and well-explained points, it is to make your work as incomprehensible as possible. The less sense it makes (as long as that lack of sense is reinforced by enough big words and maybe even one or two you make up yourself, the closer to genius it is).

Also if you can try and work in some angle to do with misogyny and/or racism, it doesn't matter how anachronistic it is as long as it's retarded.

Welcome to academia, enjoy your stay

[Anonymous No.3434575]

>>3434539
any other advice?
so far, your idea is really helpful in regards to the overall retarded project.
Had I not been limited by the quote system, I'd have a really good paper with the rest of the advice.
fuk u skool

[Anonymous No.3434592]

You all seem like really smart people.

[Anonymous No.3434608]

http://rileycardwell.com/2010/06/0the-%E2%80%98materialist-view%E2%%99-of-marx-and-his-followers/

Probably what your teacher wants, sans the stuff about The Wire.

[Anonymous No.3434630]

what exactly is marxism

[Anonymous No.3434632]

holy shit OP i went to see a play of gullivers travels when in a shitty local theatre and it was all anti-socialist themed

I have no idea how they pulled it off

[Anonymous No.3434641]

Just bullshit your way through it.

[Anonymous No.3434725]

>>3434641
how?

[Anonymous No.3434737]

>>3434725
Read the Wiki article on what Marxist thought is, read the sparknotes of Gulliver's Travels. Mix and match until you have something coherent.