Deconstruction Literary Theory

Deconstruction Literary
Theory
Deconstruction Literary Theory
• It is an approach to literary analysis that involves analyzing a text in order to expose the internal
contradictions and underlying assumptions that shape its meaning.
• Deconstructive criticism is not concerned with discovering the author's intention or the "correct"
interpretation of a text, but rather with the process of interpretation itself.
• The main point of this theory is to show that the meaning of a work is unstable and could have
multiple or alternative meanings.
Deconstruction Literary Theory
• Deconstruction cannot be defined in particular terms.
• De + Construction
• Not destruction
• Breaking down the conventional obviousness of structures.
• Contradiction in meaning
• Readers’ psyche modifies the meaning.
• Does not have one meaning but has many opposite meaning.
• The idea of a unified, singular, final meaning is a myth.
PROPONENTS
Jacques Derrida Paul de Man Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Was a Belgian-born literary critic who An Indian scholar who has written
Founder of Deconstructive
became a leading proponent of extensively on deconstruction and
criticism. His work emphasizes
deconstructive criticism in the United postcolonialism. Her work
the instability of language and States. His work emphasizes the emphasizes the importance of
meaning, and challenges the importance of irony and the ways in marginalization and the ways in
idea that there is a fixed and which language can be used to which language can be used to
subvert dominant power structures. exclude and silence certain groups of
stable meaning to a text.
people.
PROPONENTS
J. Hillis Miller Barbara Johnson Ferdinand de Saussure
An American literary critic who His ideas influenced the development

An American literary critic who
specialized in deconstructive of deconstructionist movement in
has written extensively on
criticism. Her work emphasizes literary theory and philosophy. Much
deconstructive criticism. His work of his theory about the arbitrary
the importance of subversion and
emphasizes the importance of correlation between words and what
the ways in which language can
reader response and the ways in they represent served as a springboard
be used to challenge dominant
which readers can construct for deconstruction.
power structures.
meaning from a text.
FUNDAMENTALS OF DECONSTRUCTION
No true meaning due to ambiguity

01. of language
FUNDAMENTALS OF DECONSTRUCTION
No true meaning due to ambiguity

01. of language
• Meaning is based on a combination of intent and context.

FUNDAMENTALS
Deconstruction looks at the ambiguities in signifiers and states that there can be many
02. different signified meanings for a single signifier.
FUNDAMENTALS
A signifier is the word itself.
The signified is the idea (or thing) the

word refers to.
A sign is the link between the signifier

to what is signified.
FUNDAMENTALS
A signifier is the word itself. Example:
The signified is the idea (or thing) the

word refers to. Define the word RED
A sign is the link between the signifier

to what is signified.
Binary Oppositions
• The theory of Deconstruction also emphasizes literary oppositions or two concepts that are the antithesis of
each other. This is how we learn what exists or doesn't by looking at the exact opposite of that. We only know
what hot is because we have felt cold (vice versa).
Binary Oppositions
• The theory of Deconstruction also emphasizes literary oppositions or two concepts that are the antithesis of
each other. This is how we learn what exists or doesn't by looking at the exact opposite of that. We only know
what hot is because we have felt cold (vice versa).
Example:
presence = absence
life = death
white = black
man = woman
outside = inside
How to Deconstruct a text?
Select a poem or something to be deconstructed.
Example: Cinderella
E
01
Select a poem or something to be deconstructed.
Example: Cinderella
E
01
Determine what the text says.
Example:
Cinderella is the ultimate good girl.
She is sweet, kind, obedient, innocent.
02
She is under the rule of her stepmother who is evil.
Identify the binary opposites that exist in the text.
Example: Good/Evil
E
03
Identify the binary opposites that exist in the text.
Example: Good/Evil
E
03
Analyze why the text claims one opposite as superior to the other.
Example:
We value Cinderella over her stepmother because of her innocence. We value her kindness and innocence over
the qualities of her stepmother possesses.
04
Derive a new meaning by flipping the binaries around. Explore the new look.
Example: What if Cinderella was now considered Evil and her stepmom was viewed as
Good? Now, What kind of meaning does the text have? A woman who marries a man
with a daughter, now having to raise that daughter as her own due to his death and
realizing this daughter has no skill sets and thus no future.
05
By challenging what Western society deemns as "good” the reader has de-centered the
center and given new meaning to a timeless classic.
E
Relevance of Deconstruction in Literary Criticism
• Deconstruction, as applied in the criticism of literature, designates a
theory and practice of reading which questions and claims to "subvert” or
“undermine” the assumption that the system of language provides
grounds that are adequate to establish the boundaries, the coherence or
unity, and the determinate meanings of a literary text.
• Typically, a deconstructive reading sets out to show that conflicting

forces within the text itself serve to dissipate the seeming definiteness of
its structure and meanings into an indefinite array of incompatible and
undecidable possibilities.
Strengths of Deconstruction
01
Its ability to challenge dominant interpretations and reveal hidden
or suppressed meanings in texts.
• By carefully analyzing the language and structure of a text,

deconstruction can bring to light alternative perspectives and
meanings that may have been overlooked or marginalized.
02
Gives a very close reading to help the reader and critic better understand that
they make certain choices during reading which influence their opinions and
reactions to the text.
02
Gives a very close reading to help the reader and critic better understand that
they make certain choices during reading which influence their opinions and
reactions to the text.
03
Calls attention to the inherent instability of language. It helps people realize
that there is no “obvious” link between words and meaning.
04
Brings what is normally marginalized to the forefront.
Weaknesses of Deconstruction
01
Undermines the assumed ability of people to communicate and
understand each other effectively.
01
02
It can be difficult to understand and apply.
03
03
04
Though it does analyze language very closely, the results are rather
open-ended.
The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the under growth;
• A choice made by the speaker.

• A choice made by the speaker.

• The speaker encounters two roads and must choose one to take.

And be one traveler.

And be one traveler.
• The speaker seems to regret not being able to explore both roads, as if one
of them might have led to a better outcome.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
• Speaker suggests that the road not taken was "less traveled by."
And that has made all the difference

• Suggests that the road less traveled actually led to a better outcome.
• Suggests that the road less traveled actually led to a better outcome.
This contradiction reveals that the poem is not simply about the choice between
two roads, but also about the way in which we think about and interpret choices
and their outcomes.
To where it bent in the undergrowth.
• The speaker was unable to see where either road led, and that the choice
between them was ultimately uncertain.
• The speaker was unable to see where either road led, and that the choice
between them was ultimately uncertain.
• Undermines the assumption that the road not taken was somehow superior,
and highlights the uncertainty and contingency of all choices.
Conclusion
Deconstruction is a powerful tool for challenging traditional
interpretations and uncovering hidden meanings in texts, but it is
important to approach it with an open mind and to be aware of its
limitations.

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Deconstruction Literary

An American literary critic who His ideas influenced the development

No true meaning due to ambiguity

No true meaning due to ambiguity

• Meaning is based on a combination of intent and context.

A signifier is the word itself.

The signified is the idea (or thing) the

A sign is the link between the signifier

A signifier is the word itself. Example:

The signified is the idea (or thing) the

A sign is the link between the signifier

• Typically, a deconstructive reading sets out to show that conflicting

• By carefully analyzing the language and structure of a text,

• A choice made by the speaker.

• A choice made by the speaker.

And sorry I could not travel both

And sorry I could not travel both

I shall be telling this with a sigh

I shall be telling this with a sigh

And that has made all the difference

And that has made all the difference

And that has made all the difference

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