Marxism...contd.

Clearly all four readings, as well as last week's 'Marxism and Literature', relate to Marxism in that they discuss social class, labels, and the economy.
In 'Rudolph's Shiny New Economy', a new perspective of looking at this story was brought to light (personally, at least). Learning from my mother at a young age that the only purpose of Christmas was to spoil children and boost the economy, I was able to read 'Rudolph' and concur with everything that was analyzed. Not only does this story depict the Christmas season as "Silver and Gold" (all about the economy profiting from gifts bought), but it also depicts the form of social class, per se, that Rudolph, his elf friend Herbie, and Yukon Cornelius fall into. Rudolph wasn't accepted by the other reindeer because he had a glowing red nose; Herbie wasn't accepted by his elf friends because not only did he lack the common elf features but he wanted to be a dentist; and Yukon was unsuccessfully attempting to be a capitalist. These three characters were the outcasts in Christmastown. Although Marxism discusses how in a communist society no classes may exist in favor of the economy, in the end, Rudolph and his colleagues were "the force which enables the Christmas economy to exist, which brings consumer and consumed together" (para. 16).
Analyzing Jamaica Kincaid's 'Girl', one can depict a mother teaching her probable adolescent daughter the characteristics of being prim and proper, yet at the same time, this mother is degrading her daughter by calling her a "slut". One can characterize the mother as being the greater power in this story, and the daughter as a lesser one; therefore, each character falls into two seperate social labels. Here is when Antonio Gramsci's essay titled 'The Intellectuals' comes into place. He discusses hegemony, which is the sort of dominance a particular social group in society takes upon another. Falling perfectly into Kincaid's brief story, the girl's mother treats her daughter in a hegemonical sort of way.
In the end, what can we take from all these readings in relation to a Marxist criticism? Although puzzling, we can conclude that social order, (Rudolph saving Christmas, the girls mother teaching her how to be a lady - or a slut), is a product of labor and work in a society.