Marxist Critique of How Dare The Sun Rise

In this blog post I will provide a Marxist critique of Sandra Uwiringiyimana’s How Dare The Sun Rise. Within this Marxist critique I will explore the way different economic classes are represented in the novel, determine the ideological stance of the book, link the novel to the social class of its author, and show how the book is a commodity that reproduces certain beliefs and behaviours. I will also answer the question what is the effect of the work as a means of control?

In How Dare The Sun Rise, economic class is represented as being largely tied to race and to a lesser extent citizenship. While Sandra and her family are living in Rwanda, based on the descriptions that she provides, appear to be of a low economic class. This is due to the fact that her family are refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and do not have Rwandan citizenship, as such her parents are unable to gain employment and earn an income to provide for her and her siblings. Culture does not appear to be a determining factor in the economic class of Sandra’s family while they are living in Uvira as everyone in the neighbourhood that she describes is of the same class, regardless of the culture they belong to. Another way economic class is represented while the author is in Africa is through her description of refugees as they are all described as being poor. When Sandra and her family moved to America, economic class is represented as being tied to race, this is prominently displayed in the author’s descriptions of the neighbourhoods she lives in and the schools that she attends. The neighbourhoods that she describes living in while in Rochester are lower class and run down and populated mainly by black and Hispanic people, this shows that in the novel low economic standing is associated with being a racial minority. Likewise, in the schools that she attends in these low-class neighbourhoods, the student body is described as consisting mainly of black and Hispanic students. However, when she begins attending a private catholic school in a higher-class neighbourhood, the student body of that school is described as being mainly white, displaying that Caucasian people are associated with being of a higher economic class than people of other races in the novel. Through the author’s advocacy later on in the novel (after she finishes high school), it is again represented in the novel that black people in America are more often than not of a lower economic class than white people.

Based on my interpretation of the novel’s content I would describe it as having a left-wing ideologic stance. This is most prominently shown while the author and her family are living in America, with the author even stating that she became more liberal the longer she lived in the country at one point. The author’s involvement in numerous activist organizations, which supported refugee and minority (mainly black) rights and her description of how passionate she was about supporting these causes validates the author’s claim to being a liberal and reinforces the books left-wing ideological stance overall. As supporting these causes is generally considered a left-wing thing to do. The author’s description of her life in Africa as a refuge and cultural minority also displays the books association to left-wing ideologies, as being a refuge and/or a cultural minority is often associated with supporting or having liberal viewpoints (mainly equality and other legal protective rights).

Since the novel is an autobiography of Sandra Uwiringiyimana it clearly shows through its content the social class of its author. When Sandra and her family lived in Africa, they were average or middle class while living in Uvira, but low class while living in Rwanda. When they move to America, they appear to be low class for a very long period of time, based on the descriptions that Sandra provides. However, towards the end of the novel her family seem to be middle class or at the very least extremely close to it. Sandra herself also experiences social mobility as the novel progresses and by the end of it appears to be middle class or close to being middle class like her parents. The stories that Sandra tells throughout the book are reflective of her parents and by extension her own fluctuations in social class. As when they are in Rwanda and America for the first little bit, there are many stories of how they struggled financially, while when they are in Uvira and America for the last part of the novel, there are many stories of them being more financially secure.

The text itself is a commodity that reproduces a lot of belief and behaviours. One belief that it reproduces is that culture conflict and violence in general is problem that plagues certain nations in Africa, this is shown in the discrimination and violence that Sandra and her family experienced while living in Africa due to being a cultural minority. Another belief that it reproduces is that life as a refugee is incredibly difficult and full of terrifying and traumatic experiences, this is shown when Sandra and her family are refugees. Yet another belief that the novel reproduces is that life in America can be extremely hard for immigrants, especially if they belong to a racial or cultural minority group. Along these same lines, the novel also reproduces the belief that racism (especially against black people) occurs a lot in America and is a very prominent problem. This is shown through the racial discrimination that Sandra describes her and her family experiencing due to being black. The novel reproduces the behaviour that people commit acts of discrimination against those that they see as being different from themselves, either through words or violence (this is displayed when Sandra and her family live in Africa and America). Another behaviour that the novel reproduces is that people must always be persistent in life if they want to survive and carve out a decent life for themselves and their loved ones. This is displayed in the novel whenever Sandra and/or her family are in difficult situations and have to work really hard to get out of them. Finally, the novel reproduces the behaviour that people must always stand up for what they believe in and support the causes they care about (this is displayed through Sandra’s activist actions throughout the book).

The work has a few effects as a means of control for those who read it. One effect that the novel has is that it will make people who read it feel more sympathetic to refugees. This in turn will make them more supportive and accepting of refugees coming to live in their country (helps to eliminate discrimination). Another effect that the novel has is it will make people feel more sympathy for racial minorities and the struggles they face (especially black people in America). This helps to eliminate racial discrimination. Yet another effect that the book has is it will make people more supportive of human rights for cultural minorities in Africa and the organizations that fight for these rights due to reading about the discrimination that Sandra and her people experienced while living in Africa.