ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the mainstream and radical literary movements in which James T. Farrell found his place, and trace his early Marxist criticism, a repudiation of literary Stalinism. It presents brief summary of early 1930s literary developments, early Marxist criticism, and critical responses to Farrell's argument by the Stalinist critics which helps to understand his argument. Good literary criticism, in order to avoid overemphasizing the ideological function of literature, had to employ a multiplicity of critical approaches to explain different artistic works. While Farrell felt that Marxism was a useful approach for critics, he did not believe that it should be used exclusively. Farrell's central theme, that literature should enable readers to experience the complex human condition, can be found in the numerous specific book reviews he produced between 1930 and 1933. Farrell felt that politics was only one part of the human experience and judged the fiction he reviewed by the standard of what he called authentic character development.
