Essays on Interpellation

Individual vs. Society: Tracing Huck’s Educational Trajectory in Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

I Mark Twain described Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as “a book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers a defeat." The book enacts a struggle betwixt Huck’s conscience, a receptacle of societal ideology, norms, custom and law and his ‘innate goodness of nature,’ wherein the contending factions are equally strong and metamorphose Huck’s experiences from simply being ‘playful adventures,’ akin to that of his comrade Tom, into an understanding of ‘nature’s goodness.’ In delineating this transfiguration, Twain sets about the painstaking task of foregrounding the qualities of Huck, that undergo a refinement/education and mark ...

Sunglasses - False Consciousness

In this picture, a pair of sunglasses is placed on a tablecloth, folded and pointing toward the viewer. These sunglasses are indicative of the Marxist thesis of false consciousness, wherein the capitalist machine creates a false sense of happiness and harmony between social classes. In reality, the rich control the poor but the poor do not quite know it. This harsh reality is overshadowed by materials and institutions that place importance on consumerism and capitalism as a means to accrue happiness. With the potential for wealth dangled in front of a public that does not see the truth, people can actively vote or work ...