Beasts Of The Southern Wild Capitalism Analysis

Us Against Them: Classism and Capitalism Beasts of the Southern Wild, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and Gun Hill Road have an emphasis on the combative mindset between two opposing forces as distinguished by class or by capitalism, and by the structure of capitalism. In Beasts of the Southern Wild, these subjects present in duality when the inhabitants of the Bathtub are forcibly removed from their land by a “more advanced” society, and in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, it is seen when the angry mob of villagers destroy the Blackwoods’ house, as they seemingly resented them for their wealth, for in the eyes of the villagers, their riches were undeserved. In Gun Hill Road, the low-class Rodriguez family, whose child had to transition …show more content…
Hushpuppy, the main character, witnesses the collapse of the home she once knew; neighbors evacuate, her house is burned and flooded alongside her father’s, who admits to having a terminal illness. Hushpuppy is also troubled with visions of aurochs being released from melting icecaps. Despite these already distressing circumstances, Hushpuppy and her clan of pariahs attempt survival on lands deemed “unsafe” by the government, who are forcibly removing those who would defy their standards and laws. This establishes an antagonistic relationship between the people of the Bathtub and the government agencies who aim to take them from their home. The government seems to believe that the inhabitants of the Bathtub would be better off in hospitals than in the ramshackle houses that they found so comfortable. This notion is classist and based on a naïve capitalistic ideology which holds wealth and comfort in a permanent homeostasis. Unbound this principle, the residents of the Bathtub escape from the hands of the government, back towards the bayou they call home. In the midst of the destruction of all the characters within have known, Beasts of the Southern Wild holds a focus on …show more content…
In the case of this novel, it is the incident in which the “castle” is destroyed. The villagers, who discussed their bitter feelings towards the Blackwoods in the first chapter of the book, said in mocking tones “‘nice land to farm. Man could get rich, farming the Blackwood land. If he had a million years and three heads, and didn’t care what grew, a man could get rich. Keep their lands pretty well locked up, the Blackwoods do...Never can tell what’ll grow on Blackwood land’” (14 Jackson). This dialogue paints the villagers as jealous of the Blackwoods’ land, and perhaps even angry at the Blackwoods for not taking advantage of the land they occupy. This resentment builds, and finally, when the house is alight, the villagers take their revenge on the Blackwoods by vandalizing the “castle.” This anger may be due to the capitalistic standard of property and wealth equating to happiness. Because the Blackwoods defied this principle by not farming their land and reaping it’s wealth, their social status lessened further than it was before. This