Yet Maugham paints a somewhat negative image of the Europeans in the narrative. Maugham also paints the Europeans as self-righteous people because while they chastise the Malays and Chinese for being gamblers, the Cartwrights are gambling as well. The subtly negative characterization of Europeans in the narrative makes readers think twice about colonialism's images of the superiority of Westerners. Therefore, a reader who happens to be a subject of this ideology might be conscious of his or her status as a subject. One problem with Althusser's discussion, indeed, is that he seems to picture ideology as static and hence does not explain the process of change in ideology in the larger society.
Ideologies do change over time.
Also, while Althusser covers a wide array of points, he does not seem to consider the possibility of resistance to interpellation. However, Althusser paints individuals as always-already subjects, and hence, implies their inability to resist against being interpellated. On the whole, I generally agree with Althusser's views. However, I do wonder about the extent to which his views have been developed. Bibliography Althusser, Louis.