AQA A Level English Literature B Coursework

I need urgent help with my coursework ! I've chosen to base my coursework off The Grapes of Wrath, but I'm finding it difficult to structure my answer. My question is on poverty and how it's central to the narrative but how can I bring in Marxism? Will anyone be able to give any examples? It'll mean a lot! Thank you, kind stranger(s).

Hi, I am also doing my coursework and would love to try and help you.

Poverty is a great topic to discuss in relation to Marxism. What you could do, is explore the differences in class, such as inequalities and relate it to how it impacts society as a whole. Perhaps map out ideas related to poverty and then link the ideas to parts of the novel. For example, exploitation and low wages link in with poverty. You can then relate this to the point where they reach California in the novel and find that the wages are low and the workers are exploited to the point of starvation. The theme of exploitation reveals the concept of Marxism as a whole, because it's projecting the inequalities that people have to live with! You could also compare the life of richer characters in the novel with that of the poorer ones.

In terms of structure, make sure you are always linking back to your main theme, as that's the only way you are going to gain marks and answer your chosen question. Follow all the assessment objectives and include as many ideas as you can.

Hope this helps. Good luck!