THE HYPERBOLE OF CONSUMPTION AND EXPLOITATION IN TENDER IS THE FLESH: A GLIMPSE THROUGH MARXIST LENS

Asst.Lect Salam Fadhil Abed Altaee; Asst. Lect. Muhannad Salman Obaid  Al-Qaraghouli

doi:10.61856/nk4w6d88

Authors

Asst.Lect Salam Fadhil Abed Altaee جامعة بابل- العراق , University of Babylon - Iraq
Asst. Lect. Muhannad Salman Obaid Al-Qaraghouli University of Babylon, Iraq , جامعة بابل-العراق

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61856/nk4w6d88

Keywords:

Marxist analysis, science fiction, reification, dystopia, literature and ideology.

Abstract

This paper aims to study the novel "Tender Is the Flesh" by the Argentinian writer Agustina Bazterrica, attempting to extract and highlight its Marxist undertones. The novel is a dystopian work depicting one of the most horrific phenomena known to humankind: cannibalism. Not only is cannibalism widely accepted in the world, but astonishingly, it is normalized, regulated, and even supported by the government. This has led to the spread of a virus that renders all animal meat toxic to humans. Consequently, mass-produced industrial agriculture and meat industries have decided to fill this void with a new type of "specialty meat." Using Marxist analysis, this paper sheds light on how the consumption of human flesh, and all the processes involved in transforming it into inhuman meat to make it fit for consumption, can be interpreted as an exaggeration of the contemporary global situation in which the humanity and rights of workers are violated, and they are consumed by capitalism and the profit-driven economy.

Author Biography

Asst. Lect. Muhannad Salman Obaid Al-Qaraghouli, University of Babylon, Iraq, جامعة بابل-العراق

M.M. Muhannad Salman Obaid: He obtained his Master's degree in English Literature in 2021. He currently works as a lecturer at the University of Babylon - College of Education for Human Sciences - Department of English Language. He previously worked as an English language trainer. He has 4 research papers published in international and local journals.

References

Primary Sources

-Bazterrica, Agustina. Tender is the Flesh. Translated by Sarah Moses, Scribner, 2020.

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