Theory T1 112009117 Full text
run. As a result, every part of society - from its social, political, and ideological standpoint - exists or remains standing only because of money.
Moreover, Marxism classifies two kinds of social classes: “the
bourgeoisie
—those who control the world’s natural, economic, and human resources—and the
proletariat,
the majority of the global population who live in substandard conditions and who have always
performed the manual labor” Tyson 54. The bourgeoisie are the rich and powerful, the controllers of a society. In contrast, the proletariats are the subordinate - poor citizens who
live in oppressed situations under the ruling of their powerful government. Because of the presence of two differing socioeconomic classes, there are bound to be conflicts between the
rich and the poor as class struggle becomes visible. Barry states that “Marxism sees progress
as coming about through the struggle for power between different social classes” 156. Class struggle is a big part of history because it is driven by the competition for the social,
economic, and political advantage – the superstructure of every society.
The system in which a society works is heavily influenced by a notion of ideas called ideologies. Within Marxism, there are certain ideologies, which according to Althusser,
“represent the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence” 18. People in capitalistic societies may see that their way of seeing themselves and the world they
live in as something natural, when in fact it is not. According to Bertens, ideology blurs the line between whether or not society acts on their own will or their actions are caused by the
system 86. Furthermore, ideology also deems what the society thinks is the norm or valuable. It is imperative to not overlook the ideologies within a tex
t that show the “absences – the ‘
not-said
’ of the work and certain ‘definite forms of social consciousness’” Eagleton 555. For this reason, in this analysis, I will focus on three interconnected ideologies of
Marxism- false consciousness, hegemony, and reification- to further explain how the lower Rimun 7
class, or people in the districts, are exploited by the government of Panem in
The Hunger Games
. The first ideology, which shows that a society whose dominant ruler takes advantage
of its power, is false consc iousness. Dobie stated that false consciousness is “responsible for
making people aware of how they have unconsciously accepted the subservient, powerless roles in their society that have been prescribed for them by others” 86. It will not matter
whether the poor can be more productive than the rich people, because they are not entitled to the same lifestyle and daily comforts that rich people enjoy. This ideology serves the purpose
to show how those in power take advantage of their position to promote their own interest Tyson 58. Because of the
bourgeoisie’s high status in society, they are allowed to be who they are without being scrutinized for their actions. In addition, false consciousness shapes
the thoughts of the rich to act superior. `
Secondly, hegemony describes a Capitalistic society that has its own set way of running its society because it seems to be what is natural. In particular,
“hegemony is like an internalized form of social control which makes certain views seem natural or invisible so
that they hardly seem like views at all, just the way things are” Barry 165. Hegemonic ideology shows that
society sees each person’s socioeconomic class as fine the way it is. So, even though the poor remain in poverty and the rich live with no worries about their wealth,
the society does not question the differing states of life. Even though the district workers are living under poor conditions and will not be able to rise in power, the government in charge
will condition the subordinates to believe that their lives will improve as long as they follow the “guidance” and see the government as the protector for their lives Tyson 63. Hegemony
is one way those in power will control the mindset of its citizens to believe that their current position in society and their state of life is where they are supposed to be, without realizing
they are being controlled by their government. Rimun 8
Lastly, another Marxist ideology which oppresses the lower class is reification. Egan describes that, in reification, peop
le are projected into their products and “relationships between people are mysteriously transformed into relationships between these inanimate
objects” 29. Therefore, reification is “an attitude of valuing things not for their use, but for their power to
impress others monetarily or for their exchange value” Dobie 83. Marxist criticism claims that each individual has a specific price tag to signify how much they are
worth based on what goods, whether tangible or not, they can produce that is beneficial for the society, especially if it’s useful for the higher class. In essence, people are no longer seen
as human beings, but how much they worth. People, in other words, become things. Marxist criticisms will help make known the parallelisms between the reality and the
hidden content within
The Hunger Games.
It will be more evident that the conflicts between the bourgeoisie in the Capitol and the proletariats in the twelve districts are proofs of class
struggle. This method of analysis will prove that there are numerous instances throughout the novel where the lower class is exploited for the benefit of the rich and the lower class has to
struggle to overcome these harsh treatments. As evident by the world around us, the class struggle in this fictitious fu
ture country is a mirror of today’s harsh reality.