St. Cloud State University theRepository at St. Cloud State Culminating Projects in English Department of English 5-2018 “Root of All Social Ill”: A Marxist Analysis of Poverty and the Labor of Writing in George Gissing’s New Grub Street Hye Hyon Kim St. Cloud State University Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/engl_etds Recommended Citation Kim, Hye Hyon, "“Root of All Social Ill”: A Marxist Analysis of Poverty and the Labor of Writing in George Gissing’s New Grub Street" (2018). Culminating Projects in English. 129. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/engl_etds/129 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at theRepository at St. Cloud State. It has been accepted for inclusion in Culminating Projects in English by an authorized administrator of theRepository at St. Cloud State. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. “Root of All Social Ill”: A Marxist Analysis of Poverty and the Labor of Writing in George Gissing’s New Grub Street. by Hye Hyon Kim A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of St. Cloud State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Studies May 2018 Committee Members: Sharon Cogdill, Chairperson Judith Dorn Monica Pelaez Kim 2 Abstract This paper explores George Gissing’s New Grub Street (1891) and the four main characters: Alfred Yule, Edwin Reardon, Harold Biffen, and Jasper Milvain to bring light on the reality of writers’ labor in the publishing industry in 19th century Britain. The characters’ impoverished lives are analyzed to see what money symbolizes, and how it affects their relationships, career prospects and goals, success in class, and their engagement in society.