Literature Is The Site Where Ideology Is `staged`, Exposed As Something That Can Be Questioned.

The term ideology can be defined as 'a set of political ideas derived from a theory'. Critics such as philosopher Hegel have argued that ideologies determine social existence and that life represents our ideas, rather than ideas reflecting life. This shows the importance and social force of any ideology. Once extrapolated from a theory, ideologies must be transmitted to populations and 'bought into existence'. This is achieved through literature and from this perspective literature can be viewed as an ideological tool. On the other hand, it can also be argued that literature is a site where ideologies are 'staged' allowing criticism to take place and potential discrepancies to be discovered. Karl Marx claimed 'ideology is representative of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence' and subsequent Marxist critics view literature as mere products of history that can be analysed by investigating the social and material conditions in which they were produced. From this point of view, literature is not necessarily a site useful for considering ideologies; it is just an extension of the ideology of the author. Depending on her social background the piece of literature will either enforce or protest against the ideology of the ruling class. Marx argued that 'a social formation which did not reproduce the conditions of production at the same time as it produced would not last a year. The ultimate condition of production is therefore the reproduction of the conditions of production' (Norton 1335) Reproducing the conditions of reproduction includes reproducing labourers who are instilled with the correct ideology to work under the ruling class. Marx claimed that ISA's (Ideological State Appatuses) play a large part in enforcing ideology. Schools and other educational institutions are ISA's and Marx argued that educational ideology is the ruling ideology. By 'ruling ideology', Marx means that the ideology implanted in the minds of youths in educational institutions, is the ideology that will hold the most sway in their minds. This includes the study of literature. Clearly then, in Marxist criticism literature is not viewed as a phenomenon which facilitates the questioning of ideology, but rather as a part of the ideology being enforced, or a tool used by the ruling class. However, this account is inconsistent to some extent, if we consider the fact that Marxist ideology was also communicated to the masses through literature, in books such as 'The German Ideology'. This suggests that literature can also be used to critique the prevailing ideology of a society and argue for an alternative, as Marx did himself. Marxist's could understand literature as being an effective space to interrogate ideology undercover from RSA's (Repressive State apparatuses, such as the police and army). Louis Althusser argues that contrary to Marx's claim, ideology is not simply forced upon us through ISAs and RSAs but that readers of literature are interpolated. This means that readers are 'hailed' by a text deliberately, the readers then actively engage and identify with a particular ideology and accept it as part of their identity. For example, a leaflet as part of a political campaign may interpolate a citizen to vote for a particular party. Thus the citizen becomes an active part of that ideology and has played a role in creating it, it was not forced upon him. However, this does not take into account the illusion that Marx claims ideology represents. The political party may have been captured by a corporation, any by helping to elect a particular leader; the individual may be helping to facilitate any number of wider consequences he was unaware of. Therefore, according such an example, it can't be said that ideology is always staged in a way that leaves it open to criticism in literature, as the full implications of an ideology can often be concealed. This implies that literature is a tool. An example of a piece of literature which stages an ideology is Robinson Crusoe. Commonly depicted as a hero, the story of Robinson Cruesoe could also be seen as the staging of imperialistic ideology. James Joyce wrote 'Robinson Crusoe is the true prototype of the British colonist, as Friday (the trusty savage who arrives on an unlucky day) is the symbol of the subject races'. On one hand it could be said that this proves that literature controls ideology and is a tool of propaganda. Such an immensely popular tale hails those who can identify with the hero to ideologically take part in his conquests and identify with his morals. On the other hand, if it were not for Robinson Crusoe perhaps it would be more difficult for critics such as Joyce to attack the imperialist ideology present in it. When staged in a piece of literature it is easy to pick out elements which the reader is uncomfortable with or does not fully identify with. For example although the text interpolates the reader to agree that Friday should be converted to Christianity, the story allows the reader to take on Friday's perspective and potentially reject imperialism. This may not be the case when ideology is staged in other formats. Furthermore when the reader sees Crusoes fear of cannibalism even though there is lack of evidence, it allows her to step out of the realms of ideology and view a scenario from a space free from influence within the story.