Marxist Criticism Hearth by Maryanne Moll
Roland Raymond A. Roldan
In the story, Elmo,
Clarissa, and their sons Tommy and Jimmy are on their way from a middle-class
residence in Paranaque to an ill-maintained ancestral house in Tigaon,
Camarines Sur. Their family suffered a terrible misfortune: the house that they
thought was theirs is gone, and worse, Elmo is now on the run, evading arrest. The father finds himself a victim of the
capitalist ways he had embraced, losing material wealth, the “little man” who
has “bought into” capitalist values. The material circumstances or the economic
condition of the family have been severely altered, a reversal of sorts as the
historical situation that have befallen them takes a turn for the worst.
Elmo’s realization to
this reality gives him an idea, that of living the simpler life at the
countryside. His efforts to ensure acceptance to this idea led him to “sell” it
to Clarissa and the boys. He first presents it as a summer vacation, and all
seem fine, except that by not telling the truth, his agenda has become
repressive, giving the impression that they are going there for reasons other
than the actual real reason.
This denial of reality,
and the debilitating feeling that accompany it, would be viewed as evidence of
the capitalism’s debilitating ideological agenda: an environment where cash is
king is certainly good for capitalist economics, however it sacrifices the
well-being of the many individuals who don’t achieve it. Elmo, who is such an
individual, tries his best to further his agenda by lying.
After much ado, Elmo
decides to tell the truth to Clarissa: they will be living there, from then on.
Clarissa, very much angry by the deception, had this to say: “how can you do
this to me, Elmo?’ Clarissa's initial inability of understanding the situation,
as well as the fear of losing everything she held dear, opens the narration,
with his husband saying, "...you just have to start accepting that we'll
be living a different life out here." Her belief system, a product of
cultural conditioning—the constant use of electricity and electric gadgets--TV,
movies, electric fans and phones and will have to be changed as she faces the
challenges of their new life. Things become clearer when Elmo decides to tell
the whole truth regarding their predicament.
Such psychological problems of Elmo and
Clarissa listed above are produced by the material/historical realities within which
their family operates: the competitiveness of the business world that puts Elmo
into questionable transactions in the first place; the illegal practices of
Elmo’s boss, which caused great trouble; and Elmo’s inability to secure a
future for his family due to his presumption that all the “gifts” his boss gave
them are theirs. The ideology of “survival-of-the-fittest” in capitalism makes
things more difficult to cope, as the blatant contravening of laws protecting
employees are done unnoticed. All these pushed Elmo to a decision of changing
their lives.
Their problems, as they
finally come to terms regarding their legal, financial and economic status,
become more acceptable, as they realize that things are not that bad. The new
home certainly has its perks: a minimal probability of being arrested, good
food, natural habitat and carabao riding, among other things. The family
reaches an equilibrium of sorts, where the perks of capitalism are not as
pervasive, and they have made some sort of peace with it.
Elmo’s plan to turn
witness against his boss implies to the fact that the fight between the
oppressor and the oppressed will go on. The proletariat will always try to find
justice against the oppression of the bourgeoisie, to counter the spread of abuse
caused by the ones in power, who are reaping capitalistic gains with no regard
for the dominated.
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