Old Man With Enormous Wings Marxism Essay

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In 1955 the year a very old man with enormous Wings was published the world was still recovering from the horrors of World War 2. However, in Columbia the home county of Marquez the author of this short story the terror of war was still killing hundreds of thousands of lives in the decade after 1948. This was a period of Columbian history know as La Violencia. Its characterized as a civil war waged between the Colombian liberal party. The Columbia conservative party. And the Columbia communist party. Some suggest that this conflict cost the lives of 2000000 people, mainly of the poor countryside peasantry. Marquez then served as a witness and a voice for the terrifying sufferings of his people. Marquez wasn’t planning to be remain silent and as a self-proclaimed committed leftist strongly supporting a Marxist world view found his social obligation in …show more content…

In his short story a very old man with enormous Wings capitalism and religion are portrayed as systems of corruption and social oppression. In such a system, according to Marquez, people are focused on selfish self-enrichment but become morally bankrupt in the process. A Marxist perspective of which Marquez was fond of perceived the world and all its history through a prism of class struggle. According to Marxism life can be viewed as a constant struggle between the two major socioeconomic classes, poor people who produce everything (proletariat ,workers) and the rich people(bourgeoise) who control the means of productions(resources). Such an unequal distribution of wealth was considered unfair so the bourgeoise were labeled as oppressors and the proletaries those who are being oppressed by the bourgeoise. Following this logic, a Marxist concludes that institutions like family, religion, culture and nationality are tool of the

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