MARXIST PERSPECTIVE OF CLASS CONFLICT IN MOHSIN HAMID’S MOTH SMOKE & HOW TO GET FILTHY RICH IN RISING ASIA

Abstract

Marxism is one of the most important literary theories that studies the social historic factors in a literary work. It is very vast theory with many dimensions to cover. The current study is based on novels analyzed through textual evidence. The aim of study is to reveal the socioeconomic issues of time in which both novels, Moth Smoke and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, were set under Marxist perspective of Class conflict. The analysis is done by applying the two methods of Peter Barry Model (1995) in the texts of the both selected novels, firstly, deals with overt and covert themes of novels and secondly, to know the nature of literary genre in term of its social time period, in order to find out various class issues which include the supremacy of elite class over the people of lower class, and unequal opportunities of job for the people of lower class, moreover, to answer the question of other social issues of Pakistan in the shape of corruption, unemployment, poverty, drugs usages, lack of quality education etc. Marxist criticism explores the writer’s consciousness about the social-historic facts and appreciates how writers make these factors the part of literature. There are many overt incidents in the novels that relate to covert situations. Marxist critics dig out these overt situations and then connect them with covert happenings of the time. For example, the economic suffering of the characters of the novels was connected with the economic downfall of Pakistan such as in the case of Moth Smoke’s Protagonist Daru and unnamed boy who struggles to be wealthy person of society in How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. Barry (1995) suggests this method of study for Marxist analysis and same is applied in this study.