The Giving Tree

1. The Giving Tree • Watch the video and pay attention to the images. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCP6OqRlE • Jot down notes (annotate) on your text in response to the words, imagery, or images used in the reading. • Circle items you think could be symbolic. • Annotate the text as we go • What are your responses to this story? • Think-Pair-Share: • What is the message of the story? Now, keep this in mind as we look at our first critical lens!

2. Critical Theory Marxist Criticism

3. Critical Lens 1 - Marxist • Take notes on your graphic organizer as I give the presentation. • Be as thorough as possible. • After the presentation, note questions or confusions you have about the lens.

4. Economic Determinist/Marxist Criticism • Karl Marx (1818-1883) emphasized that the primary influence on life was economic, and he saw society as an opposition between the bourgeoisie (middle/upper classes) and the proletariat (lower, working class, blue collar). Interpellation – Theory explains how we are convinced by our oppressive systems to keep doing the misearable work we do for the system (what’s good for the system must be good for the individual….)

5. Economic Determinist/Marxist Criticism • The literature that emerged from this perspective focuses on individuals in the grips of a class struggle. • It emphasizes persons of the lower class and their constant oppression by the upper class. • The poor may try to escape their situation but ultimately fall back under the ruthless dominion of the capitalist oppressor.

6. Economic Determinist/Marxist Criticism • Marx’s political ideas were never widely accepted in the United States and have faded further since the downfall of the Soviet Union, but the idea of economic determinism is still considered credible.

7. Marxist Critical Lens: What To Do • Relate the context of a work to the social – class status of author • Relate the literary work to the social assumptions of the time in which it is “consumed” (read, viewed, etc) • Look for symbols that create or reveal an: • “individual versus exploitive system” theme • “oppressive culture” theme • “individual as dehumanized, mechanized, roboticized, zombiefied – only serving the larger cause; only producing for ‘the greater good’” theme

8. Economic Determinist/Marxist Critical Questions • What is the economic situation of the characters, and what happens to them as a result of this status? • To what extent are the lives of characters influenced or determined by social (i.e. how an individual is expected to behave in a given circumstance), political (i.e. the directives of the state), and economic (i.e. the interplay between production, supply, and demand) forces? • What social forces and institutions are represented in the work? • To what extent does the work overlook the economic, social, and political implications of its material?

9. Marxist Critical Lens – key terms • Base • Class • Ideology • Superstructure • Interpellation • Proletariat • Class mobility • Meritocracy • Bourgeoisie • oppression • Money = power, influence, freedom, happiness, opportunity Exhibits that fit under a Marxist lens nicely: Robots Monsters, Inc. Antz 1984 The Lion King Star Trek Star Wars Office Space The Matrix Trilogy Harry Potter Series Titanic To Kill a Mockingbird

10. Symbols – The Giving Tree Altruism and gentle nature (tree) vs. selfish, abusive middle-class male. Tree made subservient to boy’s desires; boy is dominant in power until he is old and weak, like the stump. • Apples • Leaves/crown • Hide and Go Seek • Hearts carved into the tree • Branches • Money • Aging • Trunk • Boat • Stump