Role of capitalism in forming the city in Jonathan Lethem's Chronic city

Abstract

The entitled research analyses Jonathan Lethems Chronic City,2009 as Marxist text that explores the issue of capitalism arguing the role of the city as the economical interpretation. It analyses Jonathan Lethems vision of shape of the city as economical construction. This research paper particularly focuses on the different problematic, social, political and cultural depiction of the city and its constructions. This novel revolves around the story of Chase Insteadman, former child television star. He has a new role in life permanent guest on the Upper East Side dinner party circuit, where he is consigned to talk about his astronaut fiancee, Janice Trumbull, who is trapped on a circling space station. A chance encounter collides Chase with Perkus Tooth, a wily pop culture guru with a vicious conspiratorial streak and the best marijuana in town. Together and separately they attempt to define the indefinable , and enter into a quest for the most elusive of things: truth and authencity in a city where everything has a price. The author through this novel offers the idea that how the form of the city is built differently in a different era and how city is economically constructed.The paper concludes that capital roles are universally used to justify development of the city but the fact is that each culture develops specific city formation and ideas of cities appearance; these are transmitted through cultural, social and political elements and then internalised by the individual of the city that is exactly how theprocess of the forming and shaping city never nexus to one another rather is more subjective and socio - cultural matter. Keywords: City Forming, Capitalism, Social Cultural Construction, Popular Culture, Rightto the City