The Long View: Essay 4
Essay 4: The Role of Ideology in Shaping Cultural Narratives
Literature is never created in a vacuum. It reflects, critiques, and engages with the ideological currents of its time, whether explicitly or implicitly. Some authors embrace ideology as a central theme, using their works to champion or critique specific worldviews. Others weave ideology into their stories more subtly, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions about the cultural and political forces at play. Either way, literature often becomes a battleground for competing ideas about how society should be organized and what it means to live a meaningful life.
This essay explores the intersection of ideology and literature, focusing on how authors like George Orwell, Ayn Rand, John Dos Passos, and John Steinbeck have used storytelling to grapple with the tensions and contradictions of their times. These writers didn’t just tell stories; they shaped the cultural narrative, offering visions of the world as it was, as it is, and as it could be.
George Orwell: The Universal Critic
George Orwell’s works were referenced in Essay 3 and are they often cited as the quintessential examples of ideological critique in literature. In Animal Farm (1945), Orwell uses allegory to critique the betrayal of revolutionary ideals, exposing how power corrupts even the noblest of intentions. 1984 (1949), on the other hand, is a broader indictment of totalitarianism, showing how authoritarian regimes manipulate truth, language, and thought to maintain control.
What makes Orwell so effective is his universality. While his critique was initially aimed at Stalinist Russia, his insights into propaganda, surveillance, and the erosion of individual freedoms resonate far beyond their original context. In the eighth decade since it was published, political commentators of all stripes use critiques by Orwell from 1984 to condemn those on the other side of their politics.
Orwell’s focus wasn’t on any one political system but on the mechanisms of power itself—a focus that ensures his continued relevance in a world where those mechanisms have only grown more sophisticated. Indeed, with the rise of a 24 hour cable news cycle and the often opaque interactions between news media, politicians, and those who control social media, there has been a renewed interest in what Orwell had to say.
Ayn Rand: The Ideological Crusader
If Orwell is the critic of all systems, Ayn Rand is the advocate of one. Through novels like The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957), Rand championed her philosophy of Objectivism, which emphasizes individualism, reason, and laissez-faire capitalism. Her protagonists—iconoclastic creators like Howard Roark and John Galt—stand in stark opposition to collectivist forces that Rand saw as antithetical to human flourishing.
Rand’s work is polarizing, to say the least. For her admirers, her novels are rallying cries for freedom and personal responsibility. For her detractors, they are overly didactic and simplistic, reducing complex social dynamics to binary oppositions. Opinions of Rand’s work have waxed and waned over the decades since her death as political ideologues have variously grasped onto or condemned her work. Regardless of one’s stance, it’s hard to deny the impact of Rand’s work, which has inspired both fervent devotion and sharp critique. Her ability to blend ideological exposition with compelling narrative makes her a unique figure in the literary landscape.
John Dos Passos: A Political Chameleon
John Dos Passos’s U.S.A. Trilogy (1930-1936) is one of the most ambitious attempts to capture the ideological currents of early 20th-century America. Using a kaleidoscopic narrative structure that includes fictional stories, biographies of historical figures, and "Newsreel" collages of headlines and popular songs, Dos Passos explores the economic and social forces shaping the United States during a time of profound change.
Initially sympathetic to leftist ideals, Dos Passos later grew disillusioned with communism, a shift that is reflected in his later works. This evolution makes him a fascinating case study in how personal and political ideologies can change over time. The U.S.A. Trilogy captures a moment of idealism and struggle, offering a vivid portrait of a nation wrestling with its identity during the Great Depression.
John Steinbeck: The Humanist Observer
While Dos Passos approached ideology with a journalist’s detachment, John Steinbeck infused his narratives with a deep empathy for the marginalized and oppressed. In The Grapes of Wrath (1939), Steinbeck chronicles the plight of Dust Bowl migrants with a mix of realism and advocacy, highlighting the systemic inequalities that force people into poverty. His characters, from the resilient Joad family to the self-sacrificing preacher Jim Casy, embody a quiet yet profound resistance to injustice.
Steinbeck’s ideological stance is less explicit than Rand’s or Orwell’s, but it’s no less powerful. His works reflect a belief in the dignity of the individual and the importance of community, values that often clash with the dehumanizing forces of capitalism and industrialization. By focusing on the personal rather than the polemical, Steinbeck’s stories resonate on an emotional level, making his critiques of inequality and exploitation all the more impactful.
Literature as a Battleground
These authors demonstrate that literature can be both a mirror and a weapon, reflecting societal values while challenging readers to rethink them. Orwell and Steinbeck expose the flaws in existing systems, while Rand and Dos Passos offer competing visions of what a better society might look like. Together, their works highlight the power of storytelling to influence not just how we see the world, but how we imagine it could be.
What makes their contributions so enduring is their willingness to grapple with complexity. Even Rand, whose ideological rigidity has drawn criticism, presents characters who are larger than life yet rooted in a profound belief in human potential. Steinbeck and Dos Passos, meanwhile, remind us that ideology is not an abstract force but something that shapes—and is shaped by—real people and their struggles.
Why This Matters
Understanding the role of ideology in literature helps us see these works not just as stories, but as arguments. They are debates in narrative form, inviting readers to engage with ideas that might otherwise feel distant or academic. At a time when ideological divisions seem sharper than ever, revisiting these authors can provide both perspective and inspiration. Their works remind us that while literature may not solve societal problems, it can illuminate them—and, in doing so, pave the way for change.