Author(s): Ayoub Abdullah Saleh Bill, Dr. Anees Mohammed Ahmed AlNajjar

Abstract: This study explores the interplay between class, ideology and consciousness within the socio-political contexts of 19th-century England and 20th-century Egypt in Dickens' Great Expectations and Mahfouz's The Cairo Trilogy respectively from a Marxist perspective. It attempts to provide answers to these objectives: 1) analyze the socio-political and economic contexts of 19th-century England and 20th-century Egypt; 2) examine the ways in which class, ideology and consciousness are represented in the novels, particularly through the experiences of the protagonists; 3) explore the literary techniques used by Dickens and Mahfouz to critique the dominant power structures and social injustice; 4) assess the enduring relevance of the novels' social and political messages to contemporary society. Marxist literary theory is utilized to explore the themes of class, ideology and consciousness within the socio-political contexts of 19th-century England and 20th-century Egypt in the selected novels. The study concludes that both novels critique social hierarchies, capitalist and colonial ideologies and perpetuate the characters' consciousness and unconsciousness. The protagonists, Pip in Great Expectations and Kamal in The Cairo Trilogy, navigate between self-discovery, love and social expectations. They face moral dilemmas and highlight conflicts between personal values and societal norms, making the novels emblematic of the exploration of universal messages that remain relevant to contemporary society.

Keywords: bourgeoisie, class, consciousness, ideology, Marxism, mode of production, proletariat.

Article Info: Received: 27 Dec 2024; Received in revised form: 23 Jan 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2025; Available online: 05 Feb 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.101.15