Appleman Chapter 4

This was an interesting chapter for me to encounter because I was previously unfamiliar with Marxist theory and what it entailed. Like some of the other historically and politically focused theories, Marxist theory tends to highlight the prevailing ideologies of the author's political and historical climate. Viewing a text through a Marxist lens means understanding the significance of socially constructed ideologies and beliefs found within the author, the texts, and the audience. I liked the example of the gravediggers in Hamlet being more culturally aware than the rest of the characters even though they were supposed to be the "lowest" members of society. I think that it is important for students to recognize the existence of class lines, however and wherever they may be drawn. Marxism is a theory that is "political... interrogate[s] textual features with considerations of power and oppression... invite[s] us to consider the kinds of prevailing ideologies that help construct the social realities in which we participate (or sometimes become unwitting participants)" (page 58). One thing in this chapter that I didn't particularly agree with was Appleman's reasons for using Marxism in the classroom today. Although I do believe that we should expose our students to this theory, especially in today's growing use of progressive classroom teaching strategies, I feel like I have to disagree that a reason why we should use it now is because of the changing nature of our students. Appleman argues on page 59 that the "increasing diversity of our students, even in primarily White suburban school districts, underscores our need to integrate cultural criticism into our literary study." The diversity of our student population is (hopefully) increasing, but Jonathan Kozol argues in his work Shame of the Nation that public schools today are more segregated than even post-apartheid America. If this is indeed true, it is a sad indication of the state of our public schooling climate, and something that needs to be earnestly addressed. At any rate, I still believe that Appleman is right in promoting an atmosphere that encourages the use of such theories such as Marxism in our secondary English classrooms.