Historical materialism

1940s. The play’s tragic hero Willy Loman, a Jewish man, is a representation of the negative outcomes of capitalistic reliance. His tragic death stirred the minds of anti-communist Americans at the play’s release and continues to provide excellent historical outlooks to this day. In his claim to fame work Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller uses his tragic hero Willy Loman to display the effects of post-World War II ideals…

In the book by Peter Watson, “The German Genius” reflects greatly on the importance of German influence as well as the impact of historical individuals had on sculpting what Germany is now. Chapter twenty-one and chapter twenty-two act as the turning point historically German in the sense of being a positive influence for the rest of the world to a negative influence. In chapter twenty-one “The Abuses of History”, the author elaborates on the blossoming of aggressive nationalism, militarism,…

both towards finance and sexuality. He describes David driving an “ugly, fat American motor car” , a critique of overwhelming American materialism, when he visits his Italian village, and having “no idea of the life there, dripping and bursting and beautiful and terrible” , accusing David that, after all his time there, he is still ignorant of how vibrant and historical Europe is, a highly significant comment from Giovanni that supports the argument of this novel criticising the uninformed…

symbolizes Nora’s desires to obtain a matriarchal family with her at the center. In the 19th century setting of A Doll’s House, men control society and the flow of money through positions of superiority and dominance. The Helmers benefit from the historical economic boom that occurred in the 1940s, which provides for more income and allows Nora and Torvald to climb closer to the top of the social ladder. Nora’s desire to obtain high social status accompanied with her willingness to go to extreme…

the effect of capitalism on labor, productivity, and economic development” (Marxism, n.d.). The theory originated from the works of Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx. Initially, Marxism applied sociopolitical and economic inquiry well-known as historical materialism to critique and analyze the development of capitalism and class struggle role in organized economic revolution. In the realm of reality, the theory birthed many puzzles among theorists,…

Earlier in this paper, DM was mentioned transiently; however, DM is crucial in understanding Marx's abandonment of the EI. DM is the Marxist theory that political and historical events stem from social conflicts and forces; this belief is best explained in the opening of the Communist Manifesto, where Marx claims that "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles" (Marx, 158). According…

As Florence Stratton says, Life of Pi is “organized around a philosophical debate about the modern world’s privileging of reason over imagination, science over religion, materialism over idealism, fact over fiction or story” (6). At every point in Pi’s journey, he needs both knowledge and hope to survive, and Pi acquires them mostly from stories, literature, and reading. In the first part of the book, Pi talks about his childhood…

her disloyal and dishonest attributes. He daily lifestyle is philandering with other men and pretty much doing nothing. She betrays her daughter and also her Husband Tom. She’s lowkey, sneaky, and a liar. Daisy centers her world on social status, materialism and possessions. “Money over everything” would be the motto in her world. Wealth is very important to Daisy. Daisy originally chooses Tom over Gatsby because of his prosperity, and even when Gatsby gets the wealth he lacked during their…

economy lead to the expansion of the middle class and changed the way Americans used money. Though this new advancement in society was seen as step back for humanity for Salinger. His opinions on the change of society were that they were consumed by materialism and no longer knew how to socially interact. People just cared for what can be paid for. This shown as people in the book are attracted to things of wealth like movie stars and prestigious schools. Holden is the only one who sees this as…

morning and light are near. It is human nature to look toward the future to relieve fear and anxiety; but what if that future seems uncertain? What if the new day coming looks grim, foreboding, not hopeful at all? The 1980s were a time of excess and materialism. Fashion became more vibrant and eccentric. Movie plots were absurd. The music of the decade expressed a new need for material goods and the theatre was excessive and expensive. One might say that the American decade that was the 1980s…