French and Multicultural Feminism

French feminist activism is more important than the American or British feminism. Most of the radical feminists like Simone de Beauvoir, Christine Delphy, Helene Cixous, Luce Irigary and Julia Kristiva are French. They developed many novel ideas and theories. They offered some ways to think beyond patriarchy. They initiated many activities in creating intellectual awareness. So, they have very important role in the field of feminism as a whole. The study of feminism is imperfect without knowing about the French feminists. The whole feminist activism of these women is known as French feminism. French feminism can be divided into two forms: materialist feminism and psychoanalytic feminism. Some talk about social and economic domination over them but others talk about their mental or psychological troubles. So, they are divided into materialist feminists and psychoanalytic feminists. Some of the important materialist feminists are Simone de Beauvoir, Christine Delphy and Colette Guillaumin and psychoanalytic feminists are Helene Cixous, Luce Irigary, and Julia Kristeva. 

Feminism attempts to create awareness in various fields of knowledge. But it has centered its attention on the experience of middle class white women. The mainstream feminism has ignored the experience of other marginal women such as the Asian women, African women, and the women of color in America, underclass women, undereducated women and many others. All these women are oppressed by patriarchy; and their experiences are ignored by mainstream feminism. So, the feminism initiated by these women is known as multicultural feminism. There is the need of multicultural feminism because the women from different backgrounds have different problems. If he experience of a black woman in patriarchy is associated with her experience of racism. The experience of an Asian woman in patriarchy is associated with her experience as a marginalization. Likewise, the experiences of lesbian and poor women are associated with their own troubles. So, there is the need of multicultural feminism. 

There are some basic relationship between French feminism and Multicultural feminism. First, both of these movements raise voice for the oppression over the women. Both of them try to defy the traditional patriarchal beliefs pose discrimination over them. Similarly, there are psychological French feminists and material French feminists. The psychological French feminists talk about the mental and psychological oppression over the women whether they are black or white, lesbian or straight. These psychological experiences are similar to the women of color and the lesbian identity which is related to Multicultural feminism. In the same way, material French feminists talk about the social status of the underclass women. They talk about how the lack of status affects the women. This is the subject of Multicultural feminism. Therefore, both French feminism and Multicultural feminism are closely related. 

Susanne K. Langer in "Expressiveness" uses analysis

Analysis is an effective tool to evaluate an issue. It is an intellectual process of reexamining the subject at hand. When we analyze an issue, we are involved in rethinking, reexamining, and rewriting the subject matter with necessary modification. Since analysis demands some intellectuality, we find that the philosophers and critical thinkers are more skillful in this job. Philosophical essays also use close analysis of the topic. Here, Susanne Langer has used close analysis because her subject matter is more philosophical. She talks about the inherent quality of art that can express human emotions. She says that both art and human emotions have similar form being formless. Art is congruent with human emotions. So, it is only art that can express human emotions. Her analysis of the form of art and human emotions is very effective. We find that most of the philosophical essays use close analysis. The use of analysis as a rhetorical strategy is very appropriate here. 

Langer analyzes the subjects one by one, point by point. She talks about one point at a time. In the beginning, she talks about different types of art such as designer’s art, painting, music, dance, poetry, fiction, drama, film, architecture, sculpture, etc. Then she talks about the common quality among them. So, she comes to talk about the expressiveness of art which is common among all. After that, she talks about the form of art and the form of human feeling. She says that both of them have same form. Both of them are congruent. She uses many examples and analogies to make us understand what form is. .Then, she again comes back to her point, expressiveness. Therefore, Langer has used point by point analysis of the subject. 

Some other rhetorical strategies of this essay are the topic of definition, analogy and some rhetorical questions. She has used some striking analogies here in this essay like the analogies of the lampshades, the analogies of hands and the analogies of the river. All of them clarify her concept of form of art and its congruency with human feelings. Finally, there are also some rhetorical questions on the second paragraph that draw our attention. She asks many questions here but they do not demand our answer.

Great Gatsby "Daisy internalize the patriarchal values".

Daisy has internalized many patriarchal values as her character is exposed in relation to her husband Tom and her lover Gatsby. Feminist reading of the novel explores the effect of patriarchal social system and the role of men and women in the novel. We know that the novel was written in 1920s when women had just got new freedom. They were not allowed to vote before 1920s. They were also oppressed by many other traditional social dogmas of the time. It was the time when they had to be careful for what they speak, what they do, or what they wear. They had limited freedom as they were dominated by male chauvinism. They were not allowed to smoke or drink. Though this novel refutes some of the patriarchal dogmas, it has still some traces of patriarchy. 

Feminism explores male domination and the effect of patriarchal ideology in the novel. The clearest example of male chauvinism is found on the conduct of Tom over Daisy. His domination over her can be viewed as chauvinism. Both Tom and Daisy are deeply influenced by patriarchal ideology. Daisy cannot refute him because she has internalized patriarchal values. Many critics believe that Tom is guided by manly power. His conscience does not regard women equitable to him. He also dominates Daisy as he wants her to be limited at home. He wants her take care of their daughter while he does not care her. He behaves as if Daisy is something in his use. He never regards her as equal partner in his affairs. He is deeply rooted by patriarchal ideology. We know that Tom buys her very expensive diamond necklace in her marriage and Daisy is easily led by it. Here, a critical feminist thinker can see the effect of patriarchy upon her thinking, her character and her conduct. We see how easily she is attracted by the jewels and the wealth of Tom! She is attracted by the jewels because she has internalized patriarchal values that women should wear expensive jewels to show their status. 

In the same way, we see that Daisy weeps so easily whenever she feels a bit troubled. She is not bold enough to cope with the challenges. Her dress-up is another clue to show her submission to patriarchal values. She believes that she should seem beautiful to attract men. She likes to be the nymph in her house to satisfy the needs of her husband. She can never go against the will of her husband. All these things show that she has become a victim of patriarchy from the unconscious level. 

A different look at the novel reveals that the author is also guided by patriarchal ideology. He is also a product of patriarchal ideology. Nick is the spokesperson of the author who describes the independent women as the ‘bad girls’. These evidences prove that the author is also deeply rooted by the ideology of male dominated society. 

Semiotics and Literature

Semiotics is the study of sign system. It is important in structuralism because it also functions in the surface and deeper levels like language. Every sign has two basic elements: Signifier and signified. Every sign is like a word in its function because it passes some message to somebody. Language usually uses words but it uses signs to convey the message. The sign itself is signifier and the message given by the sign is signified. So far, semioticians have recognized three types of signs. They are: index, icon and symbol. An index is a kind of sign that has concrete link with its meaning. In index, part represents the whole. For example, the smoke is the sign of fire, knocking on the door is the sign of somebody’s arrival, the crown is the sign of the king, and the wheel is the sign of the vehicle. Second, icon is a sign, mark or a picture that is similar to the real object in appearance. An icon physically resembles the signified. The traffic signs, the no-smoking sign, sign of male or female on the public toilets are all icons. They resemble the object by picture or some mark. Third, a symbol is a sign that is abstract or linguistic. Symbols are abstract signs because they do not show clear pictures of the things. All the words are symbols to give some messages that do not have any concrete pictures. 

The scope of semiotics is very large because it is applied in everything including literature and even our everyday life. In literature, semiotics helps us analyses the meaning of the text. The writers use different styles and figurative languages in their works. When one is familiar with semiotics, he can comprehend the text better. Semioticians believe that everything gives some messages; everything is sign. When we go to market, we see many hoarding boards, stylish houses, signs on doors, pictures on menus of the restaurants, on the bus, on the road, and so on. All of them are signs that impart some important messages. Sometimes, even the gap or a space is a sign because it gives some message. The whole world of human culture is a text, a sign waiting to be read. We need to understand their meanings. 

New critical Reading of the poem " There is a girl Inside".

A New Critical reading of this poem reveals that this poem is about the youth and sexuality hidden within an old woman. Though the speaker is old now, ' but she has very passionate desire inside. We analyses many formal elements of the poem in our close reading. There many images, symbols, similes and metaphors that gives meaning of the poem. Our analysis does not look for historical evidences of the author or the poem because New Criticism believes that the text itself 15 sufficient in the interpretation. So, we do not need to look for the author. ’ When we read the poem, we know that the speaker is an old woman. She says that there is a green girl inside her old body. The girl is randy as a wolf. She will not walk away or leave the old bones. Here, the first stanza makes it clear how the old woman' feels inside. We also know how passionate, uncontrolled and youthful she is. The girlhood inside her means that she has the very youthfulness hidden inside her apparently old body. Outwardly, she is old but inside, she feels the burning fire of her youthful hue. So, she says the girl inside her is randy as a wolf. This is very powerful simile that reveals her character inside. She is compared with the randy or sexually passionate woman. She is very lustful inside despite her old body. The speaker also says that the girl, inside her does not leave her or walk away. It means that her youthful self is not erased from her but it clings to her more firmly even in her senility. 

The speaker metaphorically says that the girl inside her is a green tree in the forest of kindling. It is also very meaningful because the metaphor ‘green tree’ also implies youthfulness. She is a green tree in the kindled forest. It means that her body is already ruined like a kindled forest but she is still young. , Not only that, she is a green girl in a used poet. Here, the speaker refers to her personality she is a poet who created this poem whoever she is. There is the feeling of a young girl in the overused old body. The used poet implies that she 18 old. . 

In the final stanza, she says that her lovers will harvest honey and thyme. It means that her lovers will get the taste of honey and thyme when they enjoy with her. The place of their celebration will be a wild wood. She likes to be Very wild in her celebration of the youth. It will fulfill all the wild wonders of her. So, the last stanza is about her celebration of the youthful love and the fulfillment of her desire. 

There are many images, symbols, similes and metaphors. Some of the words with special meanings are; ‘randy as a wolf’, bones, green tree, forest of kindling, green girl, used poet, patient as a nun, the second coming, gray hairs, blossom, harvesting, honey and thyme, wild woods, and the damn wonder. All these words have special meanings in our analysis. From the New Critical analysis, we come to conclusion that this poem shows the feeling of youthfulness within an old woman.

Reader Response Criticism

As the title suggests reader-response criticism focuses on reader's responses to the literary texts. This theory believes that the meaning of the text depends on. the readers. The text does not come into existence until the readers have read it. When the readers read the text, it becomes a real text. This theory believes that the meaning of the text depends on the readers. The text does not come into existence until the readers have read it. When the readers read the text, it becomes a real text. In the same way, readers are free to interpret the text in any way they like. They can form the meaning of their own. So, this theory believes that the meaning of the text is not fixed because the different readers will find different meanings in the same text. They are also free to use any other literary theory to interpret it. But most of the reader-response critics use their own style of interpretation which is unique in itself. Reader-response criticism became Catchier in 1970s. It believed that the role of the reader cannot be omitted from the texts' interpretation. It means that the readers have great role for the existence of the literature. This is one of the two great values of this theory. Second, it believes that the readers are not passive in reading the text. It suggests that readers actively make meaning. The meaning depends on the readers. In fact the same reader will also find different meanings from the same text because of the different life experiences. The knowledge we get through life makes difference in the understanding of a text. If we read a text now, we make some sense but if we read the same text after twenty years, we will find different sense. Our personal experiences and change in thinking make the reading different other texts. They try to show the evidence that how the text shows the meaning. This is the best interpretation.

 
New criticism gives the best interpretation for the short poems and stories because the shorter the text, the more of its formal elements are analyzed. But in the longer texts, the detail analysis of the formal elements is impossible. In that case, only few elements are analyses. They analyses imagery, the role of narrator, function of setting, pattern of light and dark and few other elements. The analysis of every word is not possible for the longer texts. So, new critical analysis is more effective for the shorter texts. Anyway, the whole process is devoted to find them embedded in the text. New criticism believes that it is the only method ‘to interpret the text, according to its formal elements. It is purely literary criticism. Therefore, it is the single best interpretation. 

Literary language and organic unity

New criticism differentiates the literary language from scientific language has two meanings: direct meaning and indirect, metaphorical meaning. The direct meaning of a word is called denotative meaning but the indirect, metaphorical and symbolic meaning is called connotative meaning. Scientific language uses denotative or direct meaning of the word but literary (the language of literature) language uses connotative metaphorical and symbolic meaning. Therefore, literary language is very different from the common language. Literary language has complex unity between form and content which is called organic unity. 

Literary language gives pleasure because of the organic unity. Here organic unity means the complex unity between form and content to make an inseparable whole. New critics believe that it is impossible to separate the 'how-ness’ of the text from its 'what-ness’. How a text gives the meaning is inseparable from what it gives. This inseparable unity that makes the literary language more pleasurable is called organic unity. There are four linguistic devices in the organic unity. They are paradox, irony, ambiguity and tension. Paradox is a statement that seems self-contradictory but represents the truth in depth. Paradoxes seem apparently meaningless and contradictory but we find the truth when we analyses it closely. Paradox gives aesthetic quality in the text; similarly, irony is another element of the organic unity. Irony means the mismatch between reality and appearance. It is a mismatch between what it tells and what it means. The writer says one thing but he wants to mean another. There is the opposition between what he says and what he means. In dramatic irony, the audience expects one thing but the action turns to be quite opposite. Therefore, irony also gives very great pleasure in literature. 

Ambiguity and tension are other elements of the organic unity. Ambiguity means generating two or more than two meanings. Sometimes literature creates ambiguity by giving multiple meaning and the undesirability in them. But new critics say that ambiguity is a richness, depth and complexity that make the text more valuable. Finally, tension is also necessary in the organic unity which means the association of concrete things to show the abstract concepts. It is creating an abstract sense by the concrete objects. In this way, organic unity involves the four elements.  Paradox, irony, ambiguity and tension in the form.  

New Criticism

New criticism is also a theory to interpret the text like other theories. But it has its basic concepts. It is purely a non-political theory because it does not talk about socio-political affairs. It is only centered on the depth of the text and its form or contents. New criticism was developed in the 1940s and it dominated the literary field until 1960s. However, it is still relevant today because it analyses the text itself. This theory believes in the 'close reading’ of the text that helps us understand the meaning. New criticism shows that the text is enough for the interpretation. We should not go beyond the text for its meaning. We can find the meaning in its organic unity between form and content. 

Therefore, new criticism believes in the idea of the text itself as autonomous entity, the organic unity of the text, the intrinsic criticism and the single best interpretation. The concept of 'the text itself believes that the text is autonomous or self-sufficient for the interpretation. It discards the authorial intention and his biography. It believes that the author's biography does not matter the text. We should analyses the text factually to find what is written in it. So, the text itself is all that matters. If we say that the author has some intention, it becomes intentional fallacy. There is also effective fallacy because the same text may not have same effect on the reader. Likewise, New Criticism also believes in the organic unity which means the unity between form and content. Form is the external style of writing but content is the main subject matter. Form is related with 'how' the author says something and content is related with 'what' the author says in the text. New critics believe that we should find the unity between the forms and content that helps us find the meaning. They also assume that this theory is an intrinsic criticism because it does not go beyond the text. Some other theories like Marxism and feminism interpret the text in relation to socio-economic and political situation but new criticism does not go outside the text. Therefore, it is an intrinsic criticism. They also believe that it is a single best interpretation. It is a purely literary criticism.

New criticism is an intrinsic and objective criticism because it does not go outside the text for the interpretation and it does not use subjective ideas. This theory gives only focus to the text itself but no other external socioeconomic contexts. There are some other criticisms like Marxism, Feminism, etc. which interpret the text in relation to the external contexts. So, they are extrinsic criticisms but New criticism claims that it is directed inside. So, they claim that it is an intrinsic criticism. They focus on the organic unity of the text to find the meaning. They say that it is not necessary to go beyond the text for finding meaning. Their methodologies are intrinsic and their criticism is purely literary. Therefore, it is an intrinsic criticism in the same way; new criticism is also an objective criticism. It is objective because it focuses only to the object, the text. It focuses on the formal elements of the text. It does not focus on the biography, psychology or socio-economic contexts. It only relies on the context created by the text itself. New critics claim that the text dictates the meaning. It is the job of the reader to find the formal elements, organic unity and the context created by the text. It gives the original meaning but not the authorial intention. The readers should not interpret it according to their own ideas but they should interpret it according to what the text shows. So, they say that the meaning is already there and the reader's job is to find out it logically. A skillful reader can find the meaning after getting the formal elements, organic unity and the context of the text. Therefore, they say that new criticism is an objective criticism.  

Heroes, Villains and Martin's Characters

Always in almost all movies we got characters that were either good or bad. Aside from game of thrones I didn’t meet any characters in any movies that couldn’t specifically described as either good or bad towards end. But Martin’s character doesn’t enjoy the privilege of being crystal clear. Many good characters in the books have taken questionable decisions. And many ‘evil’ characters have shown some kind of virtues, this or that.

Ned, the hero of many fans actually cut off an innocent man’s head in the very first season. Did the deserter from the Night’s watch deserve the fate he got? He was scared beyond his life with the things he saw in the wild. Any honorable man, if he is not brave enough, would have done the same thing. And the lack of courage is no crime for such fatal punishment in the world I leave. You can say that Ned was just following law right? Couldn’t he have changed the law that was so unjust? He was the Lord of Winterfell after all, and a close friend of the king Robert Baratheon. He had the right, and more so a responsibility to change any laws that were unjust. But he didn’t do it. He was so engrossed with some virtues that he was almost blind to others.

Tywin Lannister in the other hand might seem some evil lord. But he is just protecting his family right? And in a world like that if he prefers to massacre a few thousand people than to let his own die, can anyone really blame him? Even Daenerys Targaryen the favorite character of many people is not out of this grey area. She introduced dragons to the world. Does anybody even comprehend what that mean? She is ready to put anything and anybody in risk so long has she gains what is rightfully hers. Yes she does have an ethical standard and she lives by it but the rigidity and intolerance in her nature doesn’t quit amount up to heroic.

The only characters as far I’ve seen, who doesn’t belong to this grey area that Martin has created are Jon Snow, Bran Stark and the others themselves. Bran Stark is still a child and possesses the innocence of a child so he may not have done any evil deeds yet. And the Others’ intentions we have yet to know. But the famous character Jon Snow is the only true hero that Martin has created in this book named ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’. So far he is the only character who possess all such virtues that a hero should possess. And now he is dead. Most likely it seems like he will return. But the question remains. Will this one character be the exception of all Martin’s characters? Will he remain the white wolf, different from the litter? Will he remain a hero till the end? Or will he come back with a change in character, a loss of virtues. Will he the last remaining hero come back again, but a villain this time?

Dreams and dream symbols

According to psychoanalysis, our dreams have also some meanings. Our unconscious is free to express itself during our dreams. Our dreams give some message from the unconscious. There are some deep fears or desires to produce such dreams. They are called latent content. When these deep fears and desires take the forms of a visual dream, it is called manifest content. When the latent content is transformed into manifest content, it goes through two processes: dream displacement and dream condensation. Dreams displacement means to replace a safe person or event instead of unsafe person or event. For e.g. if you are attracted to your relative which is unsafe to have sex, you may replace-a safe person in your dream. On the other hand, dream condensation means to visualize the fearful scene for our unconscious troubles, wounds and mental conflicts. Sometimes we fight with tigers, bears and dogs in our dreams. The dream displacement and condensation are collectively called primary revision. But when we start to analyze the cause behind such dreams, it is called secondary revision.

Dreams have also symbolic meanings. Very often our dreams are guided by sexual psychology. So, there are male imagery and female imagery. Male imagery represents male genital organ and female imagery represents female genital organ. Male imagery is also called phallic symbols. The symbols for male organ are towers, rockets, guns, arrows, swords, stick and the like. These things stand upright or go off like male organ. But the symbols for female organ are different. The female symbols are the caves, rooms, walled gardens, cups, enclosures, containers and the like. The female imagery is also milk, fruit, other foods. The milk, fruit and food represent their breast while eaves, rooms and containers represent genital organ. Therefore, dreams and their symbols have important meaning in psychoanalysis.

(Mirror stage, Imaginary order and the symbolic stage)

One of the famous French psychoanalysts Jacques Lacan developed the concept of 'Mirror Stage‘ in his study of child psychology. He said that the infant, in the early months, cannot experience itself. The infant experiences itself and its environment as a random, fragmented and formless mass. The infant does not know its own body and organs. lts legs are also strange to it. But when the baby is between six to eight months, is goes through the 'Mirror stage'. The baby develops a sense of itself as whole rather than a fragmented or formless mass. The child develops its own image in whole like the image reflected by mirror. If you show the mirror, it can understand that it is its own body. This development of the infant's psychological stage is called the mirror stage. Lacan says that mirror stage is the beginning of the 'imaginary order’ which means the world of images. The child makes the images of the things, image of its own body and the image of its mother. But it still feels that it is closely related to mother. It has the sense of union with the mother. The attachment to the mother is very powerful for the child. This attachment continues until the child learns the language. The child's acquisition of language is very important stage. This stage is called ‘symbolic order. This stage is the process of learning symbolic meaning of the words in language. Now, the child learns the difference between "I' and 'you’. He thinks that he is different from mother and other people. He makes his own separate identity. He also learns that he is a boy or vice versa. This separation from the mother gives a sense of loss which haunts all over his life. This sense of loss is never fulfilled in his life. So, he is attracted with his mother for the hope of fulfilling this loss. He says that this lack or loss is like metaphor and metonymy. He also says that metaphor is condensation and metonymy is displacement.

Literary text and Psychoanalytic critics

There are some important questions that the psychoanalysts ask while interpreting a text. Though these questions are not all, they may be helpful in psychoanalytic interpretation. First of all they ask the issues related to the unconscious of the characters and the author. They ask what the unconscious motives are operating in the psychology of the characters. . What core issues they display? What repressed wounds, fears, unresolved conflicts and guilty desires affect them? And the like are very important in the psychological interpretation of the text. The unconscious is the storehouse of many unfulfilled desires, fears and psychological wounds that affect our daily activities. Similarly, they ask themselves whether there are any oedipal relationships between the characters. The relationship with the family is very important to see oedipal complex in them. Sometimes we find some attachment between the children and their opposite sexed parents. Likewise, there are still many other issues that a psychoanalytic critic asks while interpreting literary texts. The critic can find some regression, trauma, fear of death and sexuality in the closer analysis of the character. These psychological troubles also determine the conduct of the character.

Sometimes, the character might be suffering from some recurrent dreams. At that time, a psychoanalytic critic must be more insightful because dreams have always some remarkable meaning. A person does not suffer from recurrent dreams without any cause. The dreams show the character’s mental troubles. It is more important that the psychoanalytic criticism also reveals the psychology of the author. We need to delve into the author’s psychology in relation to the text he produces. According to the theory of psychoanalysis, literary text is one of the major outlets of the author’s traumas. There are mainly three outlets of their psychological troubles. They are dreams, tongue-slips and\literature. Both dreams and literature is the subject of psychoanalyst’s investigation. So, another issue of psychoanalytic criticism is the author’s psychology manifested in the text. Moreover, it will help the readers or the critics understand their own psychology. They compare the psychology of the characters and the author with their own which enables them to know their own psychology. On the other hand, some critics have also said that Lacanian psychoanalysis is equally important. Psychoanalytic criticism believes that the mirror stage, imaginary order and the symbolic stage are crucial for the formation of the subjectivity. It determines how subjectivity of a person is formed. The subjectivity is an inner core of a person’s identity. It is the combined sense of mental and psychological identity. These are some important issues that we should deal with as a psychoanalytic critic. We can also deal with only one of these issues .or all of them when using psychoanalytic criticism. We might come up with even new ideas related to psychoanalysis. The above issues summarize general psychoanalytic approach to literary texts.

Psychoanalytic Criticism

Psychoanalytic criticism is a method of interpretation based on psychological principles. Human behavior is always guided by their psychology. When we understand their psychology, we will know the deeper reality about them. The great 20th century psychologist, Sigmund Freud developed the theory of human psychology. He is the father of psychological theories. He talked about the conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious states of mind. He also developed the concepts of id, ego and super ego. He invented many other concepts such as oedipal complex, castration complex, sibling rivalry, dream displacement, dream condensation, repression and many other ideas. Psychoanalytic criticism tries to analyze all these elements found in the characters.

 Here, we mainly discuss the origin of the unconscious, defenses, anxiety and core issues, dreams and their symbols, meaning of death and sexuality and location psychoanalysis. According to psychoanalysis, unconscious is the storehouse of fears, needs, worries, guilty desires, troubles, wounds, and unsolved conflicts. We have many evil desires and fears. We try to control those guilty desires by our conscious mind but they are not erased. They are stored in the unconscious level. Therefore, unconscious is the storehouse of our mental wounds. Similarly, we try to control ourselves from these mental troubles and guilty desires in the conscious level. This effort is called the defenses. When we cannot control ourselves from these guilty desires, we enter into the stage of anxiety. They make us anxious. At that time, we have many hidden mental troubles which are called core issues. If the guilty desires are not fulfilled in our reality, they appear in our dreams. Our dreams are always guided by our psychology. Therefore, dreams have also important symbols. When we talk about dreams in psychoanalytic criticism, we should also know about dream displacement and dream condensation. Dream displacement means to replace the safe person in our sexual dream instead of unsafe person like close relatives. Dream condensation means to have the horrible dreams because of our mental troubles. All these ideas are the, subjects of psychoanalytic criticism. So, psychoanalysis is a method 0f interpretation that analyses all these elements.

            Sibling rivalry and Oedipus complex are related to family relationships while inferiority complex could be found in any relationships of hierarchy. Defense mechanism belongs to our psychological effort to defend ourselves from some difficult situation.

  Sibling rivalry is a kind of ego between brother and sisters in a family, Generally, We find sibling ego to get more love from their parents. If the parents love one child more than the other, the other becomes envious from the love one gets. Both of the children suffer from some kind of psychological trouble of the ego. The child who gets more love becomes afraid that he could lose love at any time. And the child, who gets less love from the parents, becomes envious to the other who has got more. As a result, they develop some kind of rivalry between them. This hidden psychological enmity between the siblings is called sibling rivalry in the theory of psychoanalysis. In the same way, Oedipus complex is another psychological trouble we find in family relations. Directly put, it is a kind of unconscious attraction between the children and their opposite sexed parents. According to classical psychoanalysis, human beings are sexual animals. Sigmund Freud says that there is some unconscious sexual attraction between the children and their opposite sexed parents. This unconscious sexual attraction between them is called Oedipus complex. Psychoanalysis contends that this unconscious attraction plays very important role even in the daily activities of them.

Next, inferiority complex is also a psychological trouble hidden in the mentality of some people who feel themselves inferior. It is the feeling of inferiority which causes detrimental humiliation in the person. It also causes the loss of self-esteem, and the unstable self. Inferiority complex is also as important as other psychological traumas. Finally, the defense mechanism is our psychological effort to save us from the unnecessary nervousness. Defense mechanism includes defense, anxiety and core issues. In other words, defenses are the processes to keep the troubles repressed. The process of defenses includes selective perception, selective memory, denial, avoidance, displacement, projection, and regression. If our defense mechanism became effective, we become normal and seem unaffected, but if the mechanism could not work, we enter into the stage of anxiety. At the time of anxiety, the defenses our defense mechanisms are broken as cannot work. We experience loneliness, frustration, depression, low self-esteem (loss of confidence), unsecure self, etc. In other words, anxiety manifests many core issues.

French feminism

Feminist movement that took place in France is referred as French feminism. French feminist movement has taken two different forms: materialist feminism and psychoanalytical feminism. Materialist feminism focuses on the social and economic oppression over the women and the psychoanalytical feminism centers on the psychological experience of the women.

The most important materialist feminist are Simone de Beauvoir and Christine Delphy. They criticized the social and economic discrimination for the women. Beauvoir said that the patriarchal ideology is basically false. She said woman is not born but made. It means the concept of is not born but this concept is made by society. There is great difference between gender and sex for her. The concept or the image of the woman is not biological but social and cultural. Patriarchy believes that men are essential and women are inessential. This concept is false for her. She said that marriage has also trapped and stunted women’s intellectual growth and freedom. Therefore, Simone de Beauvoir criticizes economic system of the patriarchal tradition. Another materialistic feminist is Christine Delphy. She said that marriage is a labor contract that ties women to unpaid domestic labor. The women become labors in the hand of the men for the housework and childbirth. Patriarchy defines them as the non-workers and they don’t have to pay anything. Men get the labor free of charge. This is the view of Delohy. Another materialist feminist is Colette Guillaumin who said that women are defined as sexual beings but men are defined as decision makers. Some of the important psychoanalyses feminist are Helene  Cixous, Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva. Helene Cixous said that patriarchy is false because they believe that women are guided by the mind. The patriarchal concept that women do not have logic and intellect is false for her. Patriarchal psychology says that reason lies above lies above the neck and women are guided by the heart which is under the neck. So ,Cixous criticized the psychological issues. Another woman Luce Irigaray suggests that the whole psychological theory is wrong because it is developed by the male, Sigmund Freud. He is guided by the patriarchal thinking. Finally Julia Kristeva said that whole cultural semiotics is false because the term semiotics is the sign system which is basically false. In this way, French feminist reject the patriarchal values. This movement of the women that took place in France is called French feminism     

Feminism and literature

Feminism feedback is a technique to decipher the content and comprehend the general public from the feminism points of view. Here, we ought to comprehend what a feminism viewpoint is. Feminism point of view basically intends to take a gander at the content from the eyes of the lady to recognize abuse of the patriarchal social framework. Woman's rights tries to discover the bad form over the ladies forced by the patriarchal philosophy. As indicated by the radical feminism, patriarchal social framework is fundamentally off-base. It doesn't treat men and ladies similarly. They say that patriarchal framework considers men unrivaled and ladies second rate. This social framework has expected sex as the sex. In any case, woman's rights sat that sexual orientation and sex are distinctive. Patriarchy is discriminating for them. Every one of these ideas is identified with the woman's rights. Thusly feminism feedback examines these issues in writing.

When we read feminism feedback, it is extremely important to think about patriarchal social framework, conventional sex parts feminism presumptions, premises and different feminism developments. Every one of these components is fundamental ideas of woman's rights.

Woman's rights trusts that patriarchal qualities are out of line. Feminism don't prefer to us the comprehensive pronoun "he" to allude both men and ladies. They say that this framework is made by patriarchy. Indeed, even the pharmaceutical is tried in the men and utilized as a part of the ladies. In this way, ladies experience the ill effects of symptoms. Patriarchal society gives low pay for the ladies laborers notwithstanding for the same work. Men are considered as more keen, intelligent, bold, solid, and courageous however ladies are considered as passionate, sensitive, feeble, outlandish, and dolly. Thus, patriarchal philosophy is exceptionally discriminating. In any case, Feminist trusts that patriarchy has abused the ladies monetarily, politically, socially and mentally. They trust that the patriarchy has regarded lady as the other. The entire western reasoning is established in the patriarchal belief system. They bring up the sex and sex is distinctive in light of the fact that sexual orientation is developed by the general public and sex is organic. The objective of woman's rights is to change the world and bring equity for the ladies. Feminism feedback implies a technique to translate the content utilizing this whole idea.

Woman's rights works writing for finding patriarchal and unfair worth. It examines how the female characters are abused in social, monetary and mental connections. Feminist is additionally an apparatus to translate writing as indicated by fundamental standards. Be that as it may, it centers goes to patriarchal philosophy. The greater part of the writing from old to cutting edge time is composed in the patriarchy yet Feminist makes an operation of it. The most ideal method for feminism perusing is 'perusing contrary to what would be expected'. It implies that the feminism peruses read the content against the authorial goal. The creator and his content attempt to venerate patriarchy yet feminism detest it. Patriarchal writing is oblivious about sexist belief system and segregation. It expected that everything is right in patriarchal framework. In any case, feminism says everything isn't right. Patriarchy is the harsh philosophy for the feminism. Feminism investigates how male's control works in writing. Feminist is a radical perspective to look the world. It has scrutinized all the patriarchal writings including the book of scriptures. They say book of scriptures is only a fiction made by guys. In book of scriptures the part of ladies is minor and shrewdness. As indicated by the book of scriptures, the primary lady eve was produced using the rib of man Adam and she had tempted him to eat illegal apple which brought on the fall of man. Along these lines, the part of ladies is depicted as the underhanded character by the book of scriptures. Feminism has censured the story due to the mediocre part of ladies. Similarly, woman's rights investigate all the scholarly messages in the radical perspective. It revamps the idea newly. The prior idea is broken and new idea is framed to comprehend the content.

The role of ideology

Ideology is the conviction framework delivered by social molding. The way of life produces belief systems in the psyche of individuals. There are diverse sorts of belief systems. Few of the well-known ideologies  are capitalism, socialism, Marxism, patriotism ,religion, humanism, sexism ,American dream, independence, consumerism, and so on every one of these ideologies are the conviction frameworks since every one of them have specific standards. As per Marxism we can partition every one of them into two classes

•             Repressive ideologies and

•             Non Repressive ideologies 

A large portion of the belief systems are severe in light of the fact that they subdue the general population. Capitalism quell the general population who don't have capital. Patriotism stifle the general population who are not devoted or who originate from outside. It subdues the nonnatives. Religion is severely harsh in light of the fact that it affronts the other religion. Similarly, every one of the belief systems are harsh with the exception of Marxism. Marxist say the Marxism is simply non harsh belief system since it doesn't quell the general population. Be that as it may, it tries the elevate the lower class individuals. Indeed, even the higher class individuals are not quelled. They are simply make equivalent to others. The various ideologies see their rival with the mediocre eyes yet Marxism does not see anyone by that discriminative eye. Thusly, Marxism is non-harsh belief system for them.

We can take some more illustrations of belief systems to see how they are harsh. How about we take the case of American dream. All the American puts stock in American dream. They trust that they ought to possess better house and better living. They need to have better life other individuals. This thought is essentially discriminative and severe on the grounds that the others are purposefully commanded. This belief system is not an inherent or common to see the world. Every one of the belief systems are man-made. The achievement of American dream is to have a well off way of life for the few individuals yet they couldn't care less that it gives wretchedness for some individuals. Thusly, the American dream is the oppressive ideologies.

Correspondingly, patriotism and religion are additionally harsh. Patriotism stifles remote specialists and religion curb for the sake of god. It tries to keep needy individuals fulfilled in destitution since it lets them know that paradise is secured for them. Consumerism is oppressive ideology since it say those individuals are great who can expend better merchandise. It curbs the other who can't purchase better products.

The concept of ‘base and superstructure’ and position of literature from Marxist paradigm.

Marxism trusts that history of human culture is the historical backdrop of class battles. The class battle is the aftereffect of dysfunctional relationship in the middle of base and superstructure of the society. As indicated by the Marxist, human culture is comprising of two sections: base and superstructure. In the Marxist hypothesis, base in the relations of generation. It is the connection between the business and the representative and their condition. It is identified with give and take of the business and specialists. It additionally incorporates the division of the work as indicated by their work. We see the work of the general population is dictated by the level of their property. In the event that the general population are rich, they are not included in lower humble work. They are included in better work. Once in a while there is no amicability between the work and the laborers. The businesses force them to work harder however they don't offer higher compensation. This brokenness relationship of the base authorizes class battle in the middle of manager and the specialist acquires class battle the society.

Similarly, superstructure is society, religion, custom, and philosophy, institutional and political structure of the society. Every one of these variables are superstructures of the society since they influence the base of the general public; they influence the relationship of the work, laborers, and the businesses. A superstructure is likewise mindful to support or demoralize class battle in the general public. As per Marxist, both base and superstructure are firmly identified with each other. Them two rely on each other. The base relies on superstructure in light of the fact that the concordance in relationship in the middle of bosses and laborers relies on upon the belief system or society of the  so society . Then again, superstructure likewise relies on upon the base in light of the fact that their brain is guided by the material state of their work.

The position of writing is on the superstructure since it is additionally a gem created by the mix of society, belief system and material condition. Marxist trusts that the writing is the generation of material state of the society . They take a gander at everything for its down to earth esteem. In this way, they require useful utilization of writing to enhance society. They additionally trust that the brain is guided by matter. It implies that human believed is guided by the material condition in which one is grown up. Abstract writings are likewise the results of human thought. Consequently, they are controlled by the material circumstance of the society .

Interpreting text with Marxism

There is essential supposition that we ought to arrangement deciphering an artistic content from a Marxist perspective. A section from this, we can likewise bring up some different issues identified with Marxism. We can utilize one or a greater amount of them in our translation. It is redundant that all the Marxist pundits will decipher the content same way. Now and again even the master specialists might oppose this idea. It is ideal to rehearse the general issues while translating the abstract content from Marxist insightful.

Since Marxism is essentially a political feedback, we have to see whether the content backings industrialist, settler or traditional qualities. A few writings bolster entrepreneur social values deliberately or accidentally. Marxist tries to uncover the impacts of entrepreneur on the general population. They like dive past the surface. A few writings are exploited by entrepreneur while some promoter it expressly. Along these lines, we have to investigate whether it is for or against the free enterprise. Similarly, Marxism likewise uncovers the impact of different belief systems the character. This hypothesis trusts that every one of the belief systems are harsh aside from Marxism. Belief systems are the false or sham idea to misinform the general population. Faultfinders say that philosophies is a conviction framework in religion, governmental issues and social puppies mass that are pervasive in the general public.

Additionally, Marxism likewise investigates the financial states of the general public in which the content is created. This hypothesis trusts that human personality is likewise framed by financial state of the general public where they live. Their brain is dictated by the matter. So we can locate the inalienable class battle between the lower class and the and higher class in the general public. The lower class or the low class and the higher class or bourgeoisie are dependably in the contention since they contrast in their temperament. This chronicled state of the class battle brings the social turmoil. Consequently, it is helpful to see whether the social the social distress is a result of the unequal financial circulation. The higher class dependably tries to purchase the lower class individuals with their cash. At the point when individuals are sold like products, it is commodification.

Regardless of what the procedures say, we ought to give more consideration regarding dissect class battle, their abuse, commodification of the individuals , the impact of philosophies, superstructures of the general public and the financial photo of the general public as it sister introduced in the content. These are our inviting method for elucidation.

Class in contemporary America

Major socioeconomic division in contemporary America

There are destitute, who have couple of material belonging and little any desire for development. There are poor, who have constrained instruction and the poor vocation opportunities. They continue attempting to bolster their families and living in the apprehension of getting to be destitute. There are fiscally settled, who own decent home and autos. They generally bear to send their kids to school. There are well-to-do, who can manage the cost of two or more costly homes. There are amazingly rich, who own substantial settled companies. For them (chateau, limousines, individual planes ) is no issue. These five gatherings of individuals can be viewed as America's underclass, lower class, working class , privileged and 'nobility'. 

Individual from underclass 

Individual from underclass and lower class are the financially mistreated. They endure the ills of monetary privation (a condition of amazing destitution). They are hardest hit by the monetary retreats. They have restricted method for enhancing their a great deal 

The individual from the privileged 

The individual from high society and "gentry" are monetarily special. They appreciate extravagant ways of life. They are minimum influenced by the financial retreats. They have a lot of finicial security. 

The white collar class 

The white collar class neither financially mistreated nor special. Their financial way of life is surely superior to that of the classes them. In any case, they will likely never have the capacity to claim a manor. They as a rule have motivation to stress over their money related future. They profit by systematized types of financial security like great therapeutic protection and annuity arranges. Yet, they additionally shoulder a colossal taxation rate in respect to their salary

Marxism

Marxism is the economic system that structures society.  A German philosopher and historian Karl Marx develop the concept of Marxism. He developed theory to interpret the human society. He said that the human history is the history of class struggle. According to him our society is divided into two.

The bourgeoisie: they are the class in society who control the world’s natural, economic, and the human resources.

The proletariat: they are class in society who perform the manual labor and live in the substandard condition.

There is regular conflict between these two classes. The theory of Karl Marx divided the society into two classes directly in conflict between each other.

                                Literature is a product of the society. So, inherent class struggle is embedded in the literature. Marxist criticism is the method like other critical theories to interpret the text.  It also interprets the society. There are some fundamental premises of Marxism. The fundamental premises mean the basic principles of Marxism. Marxist believes in the concept economic situation and historical situation of a society. Economic condition refers to the division between two classes and historical condition refers to the struggle between them. Ideology is another Jargon in Marxism. Ideology is a belief system developed by particular theory or religion. For e.g. capitalism, communism, humanism, sexism, Marxism and etc. Marxism divides them into repressive and non-repressive ideologies. It believes that all of them are repressive ideologies except Marxism itself. So, Marxism criticism also analyses the role of ideology. Marxism show that human beings as the commodity in the rule of bourgeoisies. It shows that human beings are compared with the commodities for their use value, exchange value or sign-exchange value. These are the processes of the commodification. All these concept are collectively called Marxism.  

What is critical theory ?

Critical theory is the technique to analysis the text.  Critical theories make us to understand the text in simple manner. With the help of it, we can understand the text in a meaning. Critical theories are like the lenses for the given text. There are some important critical theories like psychoanalysis, Reader response, New criticism, Marxism, Feminism blah blah blah. Let’s come to an example here. Psychoanylis critical theory analysis text in psychologically. It analysis psychology of the character. Likewise Marxism looks at literature from Marxism view.  From Marxism view, we will find class struggle and if we look at feminist we will find sexual discrimination. There are many terminologies in critical theory. One of the most popular is ‘death of the author’. It means there is no role of an author after writing his stuff. Author is dead because he has no effect on that text after writing the text. That’s why critics say that we should not think about author for the interpretation of the text.  And oppose to Dead of the author there is another concept which is called Author intention. In Author intention we should interpret the text according to author intention. There is other term like ’ reading with the grain and reading against the grain’. Reading with the grain means to interpret the text according to author’s view and reading against the grain means to interpret the text to avoid author’s view.