Marxism and The Chalfen's

Charles Bressler explains that in Marxism "Consciously and unconsciously, the ruling class forces it ideology on the working class(Bressler p195)." This is demonstrated in the text through the Chalfen's. Through out the novel they are trying to spread their version of "Chalfenism." They are the upper class family out of the novel, both parents have college educations, which none of the other adults in the novel have. They "had no friends. They interacted mainly with other Chalfens (Smith p261)" and only because they are considered to have "good genes." They judge Irie's and Millat's families. They speak down to Irie calling her a "Brown Stranger (Smith p271) and speak about Millat's family as if they dont know how to raise their own children. The Chalfen's take the children and let them spend time at their house with their own children. Over time they try to make Millat and Irie understand and follow their own point of view. We see this even more when Magdi returns from Bangladesh. The two brothers do not want to speak but Joyce Chalfen is insistent that they do speak. She actually goes to the Iqbal's home and harasses Alsana into listening to her idea of the two children meeting because "Sometimes people don't know what they want. They don't know what they need (Smith p.358)." She states this as if she knows what is best for them and forces her ideas on the Iqbals until they decide to have Samad speak to Magdi. The Chalfens are the bourgeoisie of the novel.