StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Influences of communism in Amerian culture - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Influences of Communism in American culture: Critical Analysis of “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Waiting for Lefty” Introduction Though neither of the authors John Steinbeck and Clifford Odets was self-acclaimed communist, their works, “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Waiting for Lefty”, speak out the core of Communism and ultimately give birth to some characters that are essentially ideal communists…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.7% of users find it useful
Influences of communism in Amerian culture
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Influences of communism in Amerian culture"

Download file to see previous pages

But the question is whether these two authors were committed to uphold communist ideals. Also in a round-about way, the question can be asked whether they were aware of Marxist’s influence on their works, or they continued writing the texts to uphold life as it is, while being indifferent to communist ideals. Since commitment to a particular political ideology is the violation of an artist’s commitment to the artistic portrayal of life as it is, the presence of communist themes in Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and Odets’ appears to be a simple coincidence.

Therefore it does not necessarily mean that these pieces of literature would not have been possible without the work of Marx, “The Communist Manifesto”, but communist zeal happens to construct the major themes of the texts. Reflections of Communist Ideals: Coincidence or Commitment? Indeed “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Waiting for Lefty” are the fictional forms of Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto”. . Throughout the whole novel, Tom develops from an exploited and passive migrant proletarian to an active communist whose finalized decision is to “point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat” (Marx and Engels 68).

According to “the Communist Manifesto”, this goal is one of the two criteria that distinguish a communist from other proletarians. Transformation from Oppressed Proletariat to an Ideal Communist With the progress of the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”, the readers are provided with the scopes of being prepared to embrace the central character’s transformation towards communist ideals. In the beginning of the novel, the readers simply become introduced with miseries and distresses of a working class family that migrates from Oklahoma to California with a hope for better living.

The readers experience the struggles of a proletariat’s world through Joads family and Tom is still an outsider in the world of communism. Meanwhile the emotional plot for allowing the readers to experience the growth of the working class parties is prepared. Also at the same time, the readers experience the conflicts between the workers and the labor-exploiter Bourgeois class. At this point the workers -to some extent, the readers also- feel helpless and desperately the need of being organized in the face of mightier Bourgeoisies.

Thus at the death of Jim Casey, Tom fills up his position as a self-committed communist. Unlike Steinbeck’s attempt to uphold the individual transformation towards communism, Odets shows collective or class transformation. Through flat and simplistic characterizations he tries to say where there is class-oppression and class-exploitation in a

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Influences of communism in Amerian culture Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1412121-influences-of-communism-in-amerian-culture
(Influences of Communism in Amerian Culture Essay)
https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1412121-influences-of-communism-in-amerian-culture.
“Influences of Communism in Amerian Culture Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1412121-influences-of-communism-in-amerian-culture.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Influences of communism in Amerian culture

The impact of assimilation on immigrants in America

However since they were residing in the same environment, they had to adopt the American culture.... On one side, the immigrants appreciate the change in culture, environment and social setup.... On the other hand, the immigrants are adversely affected since they find it hard to reconnect with their culture....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

American Indian Community

They are distinct from the rest of the Americans because of their unique way of upholding their culture and applying it in their day-to-day lives.... This is because they have to interact with the rest of the Americans thus making them venerable to internal and external influences....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Music and Religion in Southeast Asia

hellip; It had major influences in the history and culture of the people who lived in Philippines.... This paper organizes into categories based on the influence of Payson on religion, music, church, Moreover, the relation of Payson to Southeast Asian music and culture entails in this paper.... The languages influence the culture, religion, and music of the Philippines Christianity in diverse and varied forms (Paul, 2002, p.... The languages tend to explain the cultures and religion of the natives in Southeast Asia in explaining Payson verses and it is influence to the music and culture of the Philippines....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Differences in economic and political culture between Western Europe and the United States

This paper talks about the distinctions between culture of the Western Europe and The United States, which is principally attributable to their different historical experiences.... The adopted economic system is the major cause of differences in the economic and political cultures of the two sides....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Chinese Politics and Culture

In the essay “Chinese Politics and culture” the author discusses the cultural heritage of China, which is really fascinating because it possesses the lineage of a rich and vivid culture.... The Chinese culture is complex because it can be divided and sub-divided into a number of sub-cultures.... hellip; The author states that within Chinese culture, one can see the difference in religious belief, rituals, the traditional way of life, customs etc....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Changes in the Political and Social Life of Europe and the United States

After World War II, many Americans felt the growing threat of communism.... The experiments of Soviet on nuclear bombing and so on led America to the fear of communism which is later called as Red Scare.... The paper is proposed to explore the above-mentioned facets in the light of the Second Red Scare during the 1940s and 1950s....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

The Kite Runner: Cultural Influence on Characters

The author examines the theme in "The Kite Runner "novel which is picturing the forms of love, peer ship, and recovery that exists within almost each one of us and that the culture of where we are residing are personality and characteristics which in future guides us to tackle different situations....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

American Culture and Americanization

The paper focuses on American culture, one of the strongest cultures in the whole world.... The high proportion of immigrants to the United States, who arrived as slaves, has largely influenced American culture.... American culture is considered superior all over the world.... The dominance of the American culture has been felt in almost every part of the earth, in what has been termed, Americanization.... Americanization is an ideology that dominated the 20th century where immigrants were forced to become Americans by embracing the American culture, dressing and also learning American English....
12 Pages (3000 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us