Deconstruction
STRUCTURALISM: A theory of society whose proponents
attempted to show systematically, even scientifically, that all elements of
human culture, including literature, may be understood as part of a system of
SIGNS. Structuralism also argues that
meaning exists primarily in the form or language of a discourse rather than in
the content or subject.
SIGN: In STRUCTURALISM, the basic unit of
signification composed of the signifier (which carries meaning) and the signified
(which is the concept or thing signified).
In written language, for example, the word “tree” is the signifier, the
idea of the tree (or the tree itself) is the signified; the whole sign is
comprised of both elements.
POSTSTRUCTURALISM: Intellectual movement arising from and
contesting STRUCTURALISM. Poststructuralism departs from structuralism primarily in
denying that social systems have static, underlying structures that determine
their meaning, and concentrates instead on the fragmented, multifaceted,
contradictory nature of things.
Frequently, but inaccurately, seen as synonymous with POSTMODERNISM, poststructuralism can nevertheless be viewed as a variety
of the postmodern attitude.
DECONSTRUCTION: A POSTSTRUCTURALIST approach to criticism
primarily identified with the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Deconstructing something means, literally,
“taking it apart”—on the one hand, drawing out all its threads to identify its
multitude of meanings, and, on the other, undoing the “constructs” of ideology
or convention that have imposed meaning on it.
The process of deconstruction inevitably, and intentionally, exposes
inconsistencies and contradictions. This
is often achieved through the systematic dismantling (or bursting) of BINARY
OPPOSITIONS.
BINARY OPPOSITIONS: Two concepts or terms in opposition to one
another, where one is always privileged over the other. According to STRUCTURALISM, our society is
held together by binary oppositions. For
example: man/woman, light/dark, heterosexual/homosexual, right/left, etc.—note
that in Western culture, the first term is usually privileged over the
second. DECONSTRUCTION wants to erase
the boundaries between oppositions, thus showing that the values and order
implied by the opposition are also not rigid.
QUEER THEORY is one example of deconstrcution,
in its dismantling of the binary man/woman by drawing attention to the
arbitrary (and performed) nature of those categories. By deconstructing the binary man/woman, queer
theory also deconstructs the Western system of values that would have man
privileged over woman.
PLAY: Derrida’s word for what happens as binary
oppositions are dismantled: play is introduced into the system. Here, think kids on a playground, where the
rules become inconsequential—one game is easily combined with another, new kids
are introduced into the game at any moment, lots of screaming and wild
nonsensical speech, all in the service of fun.
Now, compare that to what happens to gender after queer theory gets its
hands on the opposition man/woman.
6 STEPS TO A DECONSTRUCTIVE
1) First,
consider a binary opposition in the text you are examining. For example, you might choose the binary
opposition man/animal in The Island of
Dr. Moreau.
2) Then,
decide which half of the binary is generally privileged. In this case, our society tends to privilege
man over animal.
3) Find
moments in the text where the binary opposition seems to be firmly in
place. Here, I might look at the end
of Ch. 4, where Edward considers
4) Find moments in the text where the binary opposition is complicated (or
dismantled). In Ch. 9, where Edward
meets “the thing in the forest,” he describes it in such a way that collapses
the distinction between man and animal:
“it was a man, going on all fours like a beast” (52).
5) Finally, decide what
this dismantling does to the system of values at work in the novel (or in
society). If there is no clear distinction between
man and animal, it becomes impossible to value one over the other.
6) Begin
again with a new binary opposition until the system of values at work in the
novel (or in society) is completely dismantled and play is thoroughly
unleashed. Thus, I might turn to any
of the following binary oppositions in The
Island of Dr. Moreau: youth/age, violence/peace,
laws/lawlessness, man/woman, carnivore/herbivore, etc.