Communism and Classism Everywhere

Understanding that the assignment was to read and respond to two readings I couldn't help but notice that one of the Marx readings serves well when you’re looking for answers. I'm still very early into things but so far the concept of communism according to Marx and the story on Rudolph the red nosed reindeer seem to tie in with me, I say this because communism is ultimately about helping the economy while Marx's interpretation of the tale clearly shows that the only important thing here is yet again helping the economy.

This got me thinking about how commercialized the idea of Christmas has become. I remember watching most of the TV specials mentioned as a child I just thought they were there to help celebrate the season, as I grew older though I saw that it was all extra hoopla designed to hype people up over holidays and seeing certain commercials because it was a certain time of year. All the characters have there own obvious representation the rebel, the person who wants to be accepted and then finally the abominable snow man who didn’t really seem to me like a person at all but communism coming to town and though obviously "vicious" in some aspects because of its main goal of monetary value without regard for peoples individuality or welfare.

Though in the end he is "tamed" by having his teeth removed to me it felt like even if the issue had been resolved it was still there. Just because the abominable snow man no longer had his menacing teeth didn’t make him someone else, just like with the idea of countries that are ruled by governments who say they are not communist, socialist ect. Even if they may not identify themselves as such if they believe and follow certain ideas this doesn’t make them any different to a government that admits who they are and what they represent. In other words all variations of government are exactly the same, with core ideas in common. Though America is seen as a Capitalist Country besides the class system varying by three instead of two the principals are basically the same.

Which brings me to the concept of hegemony the basic idea behind this to me was that even if the concept was somehow different as far as the way governments are run or belief systems go they all stem from a particular idea. In example religion for instance. Though Catholics and Muslims may not believe the same ideas to a tee at the end of the argument there is a belief in one divine being.

Next we have the analysis of "Girl" I don’t know if this was done on purpose but the fact that the text had no sense of order and was just running into itself made me think of perhaps the idea of an uncivilized country or group of people. Also the ideas were scattered in the passage, though the mother has a set of rules she wants her daughter to go by they are contradictory in some cases. On one hand she wants to teach the girl how to be a proper lady but she is telling her that it is okay to have sex with a man outside of a relationship as long as she does not get pregnant. Classism ties in with both the stories because in each there are characters looking to advance themselves but in some cases cannot and will not be able to. In Rudolph’s case in the end he may be able to lead Santa's Sleigh but even with this he is still this freakish red nosed reindeer that represents the mass consumerism and consumption of Christmas. The daughter in "Girl" is always going to be in the lower class because of what her mother has taught her. Her domestic duties and her mothers direction will continue to perpetuate the way she behaves as Marx puts it

The girl will go nowhere, within or beyond the
narrative of what her work––her life––entails. She is without any means for social advancement;
she will always need to “make ends meet."

She will be doomed to repeat the same behaviors. Capitalism was doomed because according to Marx though it may temporarily satisfy the need to increase revenue among consumers the end result is something that is usually not discussed. Going back to the story of Rudolph, after Christmas is over no one is considering the after affects, such as debt due to over spending for the sake of a holiday. Capitalism has to do with social class as long as these man made classes exist some form of it will continue to flourish. As a whole it failed but the ideas and foundation are alive especially here in America. Gramsci states

All men are potentially intellectuals in the sense of having an intellect and using it, but not all are intellectuals by social function

Meaning that people are basically chosen based on their social class not their intelligence level and placed in certain classes. We are all capable of using our given talents and smarts but may be limited or convince ourselves that based on where we stand that we are some how disadvantaged and stuck in a sphere.

As far as how this all ties in with literature goes i felt that this all had to do with both social class and form, social class because in a way it is easy to tell who stories like "Girl" are directed towards, where as “Rudolph’s Shiny New Economy” and the Dickens do as well. Form because based on the voice of the narration you may be able to tell who is being portrayed speaking wise, authors may used certain types of language in order to come through as more authentic to their audiences