2. Once upon a time there was a mother pig with three little pigs. When it
was time for the little pigs to live on their own, their mother told them,
“Whatever you do, do the best you can!”
The first little pig built a house out of straw. It wasn’t very strong, but
it was quick to build and the little pig could spend more time playing,
so he was happy. The second little pig built a house out of sticks. It
also wasn’t very strong, but it was quick to build and the little pig
could spend more time playing, so he was also happy. The third little
pig built his house out of bricks. He remembered his mother’s words
and worked hard to build the best house he could. The brick house
was strong and sturdy and the third little pig was very pleased.
The Three Littles Pigs
3. One day, a Big Bad Wolf came upon the first little pig’s house of straw. The wolf
knocked on the door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!" The little pig
replied, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin-chin.” So the Big Bad Wolf huffed and
puffed and blew the house in! The little pig ran all the way to his brother’s house
of sticks.
The next day, the Big Bad Wolf came upon the second little pig’s house of sticks.
The wolf knocked on the door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!" The
second little pig replied, "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.” The Big Bad
Wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house in! The two little pigs ran all the way
to their brother’s house of bricks.
The next day, the Big Bad Wolf came upon the third little pig’s house of bricks.
The wolf knocked on the door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in!" The
third little pig replied, "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.” The Big Bad Wolf
huffed and puffed, and he huffed and puffed again, and he huffed and puffed
AGAIN! But he couldn’t blow down the brick house.
4. The wolf saw the chimney and climbed up on the roof to try
and get in. The little pigs quickly lit a fire in the fireplace and
put a kettle of water on to boil. The wolf climbed down the
chimney and SPLASH, fell into the kettle! The wolf sprang out
of the hot water and ran away as fast as he could! That was
the end of the little pigs’ troubles with the Big Bad Wolf!
The next day the three little pigs invited their mother over for
dinner. She said "You see, it is just as I told you. The way to
get along in the world is to do things as well as you can."
Fortunately for the little pigs learned their lesson and they
lived happily ever after!
5. Moralist
Moralist Approach is a type of
literary critique that judges
the value of the literature
based on its moral lessons
or ethical teachings.
6. To study literature from the
moral/intellectual perspective is
therefore to determine a work
conveys a lesson or messages and
whether it can help readers lead
better lives and improve their
understanding of the world.
Moralist
7. Strengths Weaknesses
• Useful in evaluating
works which present
moral philosophy
• Useful when considering
themes
• It recognizes that
literature can affect
readers
• The approach can be
too “judgmental”
• Literature should be
judged primarily on its
artistic merits, not its
moral or philosophical
content.
8. Questions to ask:
• What ideas does the work contain?
• How strongly does the work bring forth its
ideas?
• What application do the ideas have to the
work’s characters and situations?
• How may the ideas be evaluated intellectually?
Morally?
10. Examines the relationship
of a literary product to the
actual economic and
social reality of its time
and place including:
• Class
stratification
• Class
relations
• Dominant
ideology
Marxist
11. It tries to understand how
power, politics and money
play a role in literary texts and
how these elements impact the
society and characters in the
text.
Marxist
12. Strengths Weaknesses
• Marxism helps explain
conflict and change.
• A strength of Marxism is that
this theory analyses power
and conflict in society. It
explains why there is such
an uneven distribution of
power and wealth between
social classes.
• Marxism overlooks alternative
ideas that might shape
behavior. With a focus on class
conflict, other issues affecting
behavior like gender, race and
individuals are not given
attention.
• Class struggle is not as
important as Marx suggested.
13. Questions to ask:
• What role does class play in the work; what is the author's
analysis of class relations?
• How do characters overcome oppression?
• In what ways does the work serve as propaganda for the
status quo; or does it try to undermine it?
• What does the work say about oppression; or are social
conflicts ignored or blamed elsewhere?
• Does the work propose some form of utopian vision as a
solution to the problems encountered in the work?
16. Main Features of Moralist and Marxist Approaches
Moralist
The moral/intellectual critical approach is
concerned with content and values. The
approach is as old as literature itself, for
literature is a traditional mode of imparting
morality, philosophy, and religion.
17. Main Features of Moralist and Marxist Approaches
Marxist
The main features of the Marxist theory of
literature are that literature, like all forms
of culture, is governed by specific
historical conditions, and that literature,
as a cultural product, is ultimately related
to the economic base of society.
