Bressler’s segment “Marxism” really conveyed an interesting depiction of what a Marxist critique of a work truly encompasses. Interestingly enough, the critique itself includes a smorgasbord (I’m very happy I could use this word effectively) of styles and ideas that appear to have evolved over time since Marx’s The German Ideology, and Marx’s and Engel’s more popularly recognized The Communist Manifesto. Most importantly in Bressler’s article is his basic summation of the underlying link between all of the schools of though from origin to present date. As he states, “Common to all these theoretical positions is the assumption that Marx, no matter how he is interpreted, believed that change for the good in society is possible if we simply stop and examine our culture through the eyes of its methods of economic production” (Bressler 201). Even further Bressler goes on to add “Marxism is not primarily a literary theory that can be used to interpret texts…it is a cultural theory that embodies a set of social, economic, and political ideas that its followers believe will enable them to interpret, and more importantly, change their world” (Bressler 201-202). In these few sentences, when related directly to Smith’s White Teeth, one could almost see Samad’s name written in parenthesis next to Bressler’s statements. Samad, a working class citizen, fully believes in the separation of his son’s on the grounds that by sending at the very least one of his children back to his native land he could invariably instill Eastern culture into their lives and establish a morally just individual and create that “change”. Though Samad obviously is not seeking to push a communist agenda, to what extent does anyone agree or disagree that such a demand for “change in their world” as Bressler defines it, applies to the character Smith created in Samad?
Monday, April 28, 2008
Samad Manifesto
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2 comments:
I hope I am understanding your question correctly in the following response: Although I agree with you that Samad embodies those lines in the Bressler piece, I am not too sure if Samad's plan was the smartest in order to change Magid's "world". In my opinion, Millat would have been the smarter choice and the more susceptible to change. Magid was always thought of as the more intellectual one. This is why Millat, weaker in his defense of outside influence, seemed to be pulled in to anything interesting and exciting around him (drugs, women, KEVIN etc.).
I agree with what you’re saying that Bresseler points that there are many aspects to Marxism and it’s not to be viewed one-sidedly as only a literary theory but as an argument for change in society and culture. In regards to your question I would disagree. Samad’s idea of change doesn’t relate to Bressler’s in the sense that Samad was looking for self-fulfillment and unwillingness to loose his cultural identity. Samad was more afraid of change himself than helping to better society. like how Samad is willing to believe in and revere is great-great-grandfather as a hero than to believe in the facts provided that Mangal Pande was more of a coward.
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