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Critical Analysis Of The Bicycle Thief

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Karl Heinrich Marx was one of the most influential philosopher and sociologist of the 19th century. This essay is a critical evaluation of Marx’s ideas of ‘class struggle’, ‘bourgeoisie’, ‘proletariat’ and ‘alienation’. To illustrate the concepts, Italian director Vittorio De Sica’s masterpiece ‘The Bicycle Thief’ is used. I’ll also be discussing the relevance of ‘class’ in the post industrialized society.
Although Karl Marx made many important contributions to sociology, much of his work was concentrated on how class societies operated. His primary focus was on the development of capitalism; a system of production that contrasts radically with all previous economic systems. Marx identified two main elements within capitalist enterprises - …show more content…

The story revolves around Antonio, an unemployed man. He’s extremely happy when he gets the job of pasting posters on the walls of the streets but the job requires a bicycle. Antonio’s wife Maria sells sells their commodities like bed sheets and tablecloths to redeem their bicycle from the pawnbroker. However on the first day of the job itself, his bike is stolen, and the thief escapes after a short chase. Antonio and his son, Bruno search the streets of Italy for the stolen bike and questions many on suspicion but to little avail. They track down the thief but are unable to prove their case due to lack of evidence. Feeling desperate and disheartened, Antonio asks his son to catch the next the bus and return back home as he plans to steal a bike himself. Bruno misses the bus and returns to see his father being chased down by a group of people after a failed attempt to steal a bicycle. He’s taken to the police but the owner of the bicycle in a moment of compassion doesn’t press charges against Antonio. In the final scene, the father and son are seen walking down the street. Antonio begins crying as they disappear into the crowd. A very powerful

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