Appleman

Appleman
Chapter Four
Of Grave Diggers and Kings: Reading Literature Through the Marxist Lens, or, What's Class Got to Do with it?

After reading this chapter, and just now typing out the title of it, I have to agree with Todd, when he says, that the chapter is a somewhat disappointment. Michael makes an attempt to teach Marxist theory through Hamlet; however, it didn't work so well, and therefor, "What's Class Got to Do with it" wasn't really explained.
I feel that literary criticism is important to integrate in the classroom. It is a resent phenomonon that I wish I was inroduced to more while in high school. “At many colleges and universities, the inclusion of cultural and political lenses such as Marxism and feminism has become the rule rather than the exeption” (57), and I agree. This chapter made me consider reader response on a different level, because how can one truly understand Marxism if they can’t put themselves into the text?
So why teach Marxist theory? Well, I think that it presents a more richness and fulfillment to reading. Students now will have to consider “…political content of the text, the author, and the historical and sociocultural context of the work. … Where students as readers are situated culturally, politically, and personally in relation to the content of the text” (59).
The statement that “no book is genuinely free from political bias” is true, and it’s important for students to understand this pull of capitalism. As whole how your culture is socially constructed? A student considering this may gain a different perspective on the text, and consider things that they may never have before. It’s very modern. I’m excited to integrate new criticism in my classroom, and feel that they are important to understand and always consider.