Marxist Analysis On Junky

To write a Marxist analysis on William Burroughs’ Junk it would have to be written from a Neo-Marxist perspective. As Junk was set in the 1950s it’s fairly modern from a Marxist perspective. 

Drugs are not something Marx himself wrote a lot on. Some Neo Marxists have written on Deviance from a Marxist perspective and Junk certainly in fueled by deviance and evading the law. Marxists would say that it is the Proletariat that are susceptible to crime and in this case it is apparent. William Lee has little money, but this is because it all goes on Junk, infact if the Novel is taking Burroughs life into account (as it’s said to have been, as Lee is a pseudo of Burroughs and the book is an account of Burroughs past experiences, so it’s reasonable to assume that Lee has the same middle class background) then Lee’s background suggests that his use of Junk is what made him loose his class, therefore it wasn’t his initial class that lead him to crime, it was a personal curiosity. As Marxism is a conflict Macro theory, they don’t really deal with personal interest if it’s not the fault of the class system. The Marxist theorist Katz (Subcultural Theory) says that Crime is Seductive, through the media and your peers, crime is something that can excite a person, and therefore act as the catalyst to committing crimes. 

Also, is Lee actually deviant? Talking from a Marxist perspective it is the Bourgeois state that is controlling what it is to be deviant. Burroughs, or Lee, was also a heavy drinker when trying to come off junk, his replacement was 'the sauce.' Drinking alcohol does not make someone deviant as it's a perfectly legal pastime and a drug for everyone to enjoy (tax included). Because drugs derived from Opium are his particular drug choice, and are against the law to consume, the state has made him a criminal (by taking these drugs; he did commit plenty of other crimes, yet these crimes were committed due to his addiction to junk.). 

To conclude, I will make reference to a Marx quote, altering it for a a very literal meaning. 

The proletariat are exploited by the Bourgeoisie, this is because of money and status, and this is strange to believe as a greater number of society belongs to this lower class. William Lee is amongst many out there who are recreational users of Heroine, Morphine - Junk. The state doesn't want people to be using the substance and have made it illegal, to sell, use or be involved with in away way, it is a class A drug, yet what they are not taking into consideration, is the fact that junk is the 'Opiate of the masses.'