Gary Soto and Marxism

I just knew the opportunity to teach a very, very limited view of marxism would come up in the classroom, but I was just hoping to find a way to frame it so that the kids could understand it. That opportunity happened today when we began reading the story: “Born Worker” by Gary Soto.

I can’t find a link to the short story anywhere online, sorry.

The story centers around a young man named Jose, who has been working in fields, in gardens, and on roofs since the age of three. His parents have likely been working since they were the same age as Jose, and the entire family centers their lives around the idea of work as good; Soto even throws in a few hints that, for this family, work is a religion.

Early in the story we see Jose’s complete opposite — his cousin Arnie, who comes from a completely different background. Arnie’s parents work office jobs, and Arnie gets whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. He wants a new CD player? He gets it. he wants new clothes? They’re there. And even when the character is introduced, Soto mentions he’s wearing a brand new pair of shoes.

As we started reading the story, I decided we could try reading into the story a little more, and asked the kids if they knew anything about class hierarchies, and what they brought up in class was pretty astounding. they brought up the Hindu Caste system they studied in their history class, and they outlined the levels as they’re presented in the image at right. We tried to find a place to seat Jose and his family, and they chose the Sudras, or laborers. this family is not at the lowest level of society, but they sure don’t have all the trappings of the other levels.

When we looked at Arnie’s family, we decided that they lived up another level — at the Vaisyas, or merchant level. Arnie’s family does work for a living, but they’re not in charge, and they work for belongings.

We further discussed the idea that both boys view themselves at certain societal levels (each boy knowing what he does and what his parents do, and what opportunities that provides), but they also pointed out that Arnie sees himself as above even the Vaisyas caste — he sees himself as a Brahmin, who has the opportunity to lead, and to own people.

And then the kids brought up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. didn’t even ask them to do it. And then they outlined the levels one needs to fulfill in order to reach self-actualization, or self-fulfillment. And in the middle of the story we took a moment to ponder which character met which level.

After a bit of questioning, we realized that religious-work-ethic of Jose’s family took them right to the top — to self-actualization. They have shelter and safety, they have belongingness and esteem, and because they want nothing more than themselves, they shoot right to the top. Arnie’s family, onthe other hand, they’re stuck somewhere in the middle, because they always want more.

Interesting then, that Arnie leads Jose on a quick-money-scheme that brings more trouble than it’s worth, and which sets these two characters even farther apart.

Ok, so I know it’s not Marxism, but that isn’t the ultimate goal here — the ultimate goal is to get the kids to read a little deeper into a text. The goal is to let kids see that there’s a different way to look at a story than to just see it as a simple story. the goal is to give kids the tools to see a text from several different angles, and to use the knowledge they already have to take a text beyond it’s intended meaning.

In my class we’ll call Marxism “the Money Lens,” so that we can see how money affects these two characters and their families (and there is an opportunity, in this story, to see how money affects the way other characters see these two boys.

And if we really wanted to, we could read this story through the Hindu lens of reincarnation and Karma, because the phrases “born worker,” ‘born to work,” and “born to think,” come up over and over in the text. And the kids were quick to bring that up, as well. they started talking about hwat Jose and Arnie must have done in previous lives and how that predicts what they;ll do in the story.

It’s pretty intense, what my students did, and I don’t know if they’re even aware of it.