changes and material alterations that take place in the society Selden and Widdowson, 1993: 99. Marxism is also a theory of revolution because it
scrutinizes the social conditions in order to transform them. It is stated by Hallas 2011: par.10-11 that:
Marxism is about freedom ... and it is about how these circumstances can be changed and how working men and women can create a truly free society in
which all contribute according to their ability and receive according to their needs-a society free from exploitation, free from oppression, free from
racism, from unemployment, from war, from poverty and inequality.
Marxism favors the development towards a classless society without discrimination or domination. Equal roles and positions in social relation of
production are the goal of Marxism.
a. Base and Superstructure
The social relation of production in a society is composed of the structure namely base and superstructure Marx, 1859: vi. In addition, Eagleton 1976b: 3
elaborates further the building-like metaphor stating that the base or infrastructure is the economic structure of society, which arises from the relation between the
means of production owned by the bourgeoisie and the productive forces of the proletariats. Within this economic structure, a form of state is built which
functions to maintain the power structure in the society. The state constructs definite forms of social consciousness widely known as superstructure. These
forms are manifested within all aspects of society, stretching from the state to the structure of social system.
The relation between the base and the superstructure in the power structure of a society is not strictly causal. Just as the base strongly determines the
superstructure, the superstructure also heavily influences the base Williams, 1977: 75. The base includes the mode of production, employer-employee work
relations, technical labor conditions and property relations. The superstructure of the society consists of cultural products, i.e. politics, laws, religions, ethics and
arts that, intentionally or not, carry with them a set of beliefs called ideology Eagleton, 1976b: 3.
b. Marxist Definition of Ideology
The term ideology is the main constituent in all Marxist thoughts and analysis. The conventional reference of ideology brings to mind words that end in
“-isms”, like feudalism, communism, fascism, liberalism and socialism. Nonetheless, ideology is one concept in social science that is difficult to be
understood. It can be approached from various angels with diverse senses of meaning and function Larrain, 1979: 1. Moreover, ideology is also employed
broadly in day-to-day routine activities with infinite definitions and connotation Gramsci, 1971: 328.
Furthermore, in Ideology: An Introduction, ideology is defined as a set of ideas, beliefs and values
people in a particular society adopt at a specific period of time Eagleton, 1991: 28. Ideology has a quality to provide orientations for
actions in which the ways individuals behave and interact in society are governed by the rules of conducts that the ideology regards to be normative and valuable. In
broader sense, it ties people to their own social class, so they give contributions to society.
By representing the relation of the social class, ideology has important parts in blurring the real conditions and interactions between the bourgeoisie and the
proletariats Larrain: 1979: 47. It gives the proletariats distorted perception of their society and its situations. The frames of seeing the world that ideology
provides are limited in order to prevent the proletariats from a true knowledge of how society works as a unity. It helps the bourgeoisie to ensure that the
proletariats feel like they share mutual beliefs and values under one roof of the same ideology Eagleton, 1991: 30.
In this sense, ideology acts as a false consciousness Engels, 1893: 4. It designates to the situation where the ideology set by the bourgeoisie as a tool to
legitimate their own interests and achieve their ultimate goals. Moreover, to maintain their domination over the proletariats, the bourgeoisie covertly manifest
their ideology to society in the forms of superstructure, such politics, laws, ethics and religions. For instance is the use of religions as a medium of ideologies. The
religious figures give dogmas told as creations of divine reasons, and for those who embrace, they are unquestioned guides to God alone Selden and
Widdowson, 1993: 71 .
On the other hand, such systems are lack the foundations of justice and equality, and the proletariats are aware of this condition. Therefore, the
proletariats also create their own ideology. Because of the dominance of the bourgeoisie in the social system, the proletariats can only voice their ideology in
the medium of arts. They share their feelings and opinions about the oppression that they have received like the exploitation of their labor and low salary through
music, movie and literature.
2. Marxist Literary Theory
