<DECONSTRUCTIVE LITERARY THEORY> (SOPHIA)

Deconstruction cannot be defined in particular terms. Even Jacques Derrida who

developed this concept did not and could not define it in exact terms. But, instead
of defining it we can discuss the various aspects of deconstruction. We can see how
the reader used deconstruction and how deconstruction is used as a literary theory.

Deconstruction is the combination of the a prefix and a word. De plus construction.

But it is not as you can see, destruction. Deconstruction isn't about destroying
meaning, it's about viewing things in a new light. Rather than seeking to
understand the world through fixed structures, we should approach text and ideas
with an open mind recognizing that meaning is constantly shifting and open to
interpretation.

Deconstruction involve breaking down a text, an idea, or the conventional

obviousness of structures.

It also involves themes that are contradictions that emerge in its meaning. It is
sort of dismantling the text and then bringing it together. Any idea and concepts
will broken down to the deconstructors idology and subjectivity.

In fact, the main points of deconstruction are that the person, the critic, the
reader, his psyche, his objectivity, and his personality modifies the text meaning.

A text, an idea, a concept, or a belief might seem to have a particularly unified

meaning on a surface.

A deconstructive perspective help us to see how a text may have not won, but many
meanings, many conflicting, or contradicting opposite meanings that challenge each
other.

A text may not have fixed meaning. The meaning cannot be fixed because it changes
from context to context, person to person. It has no final meaning. The idea of a
unified, singular, final meaning is a myth in deconstruction.

<PROPONENTS> (SHANE)

<FUNDAMENTALS OF DECONSTRUCTION> (DOMINIC)

01. No true meaning... You can't find true meaning due to the ambiguity of meaning
and the constant change of language.

Ambiguity - (uncertainty) a word or expression that can be understood in two or

more possible ways.

02. ...

For example, define the word red. What does this mean to you? Without using a
dictionary, can you describe this word? Perhaps one of you will say that it
represents danger. Or that red is a color of love. Others will say red is anger,
violence, or seduction.

In this exercise, all i can say is red, and every single one of you define it
entirely different.
<BINARY OPPOSITIONS> (SHANE)

The theory or deconstruction also....

Deconstructionist points out the nuance of words. Pointing out how difficult it is
to narrow down a specific meaning of something or anything when every single word
has a multitude almost endless amount of interpretations and context and meaning.

<HOW TO DECONSTRUCT A TEXT?> (SOPHIA)

Step 2. Determine what the text says. Use formalism or structuralism and figure out
the poem's intended meaning. Anf if I am looking at Cinderella, it seems to me that
Cinderella is the ultimate good girl. That she is sweet, kind, obedient, and
innocent. And these are all traits that the story seems to show and her evil
stepmother is none of those things. She is evil. And the text doesn't like her. And
tht she is not somebody to imitate.

Step 3. ... If we go back to step 2, it was said that Cinderella is the ultimate
good girl and her stepmother is evil. So it seems to be that the opposite is good
versus evil. Now, which one is considered championing or desirable? Well, the text
seems to be saying that good is better than evil.

Step 4. ... Why do we value Cinderella? Because of her goodness. We see these
values as superior to the evil stepmother.

Step 5. ... Look at this. Cinderella disobeyed her stepmother. Her stepmother says,
that she can go to the ball if she finished her chores. That's a reasonable
request. What does Cinderella do? She whines and cries in the garden. She's not
very obedient here. Her fairy godmother comes in when Cinderella is at hr most
disobedient self. When Cinderella is doing her chores and being obedient, her fairy
godmother did not come in. Her fairy godmother did nothing. It was when Cinderella
was disobedient that the fairy godmother stepped in. So, we thought that the text
saiid that if you're good and obedient, good things will come to you. Yet good
things only came to Cinderella when she was disobedient. The text does not seem to
be saying what we thought it was saying or what it seems to think it was saying.
That's how deconstruction works. It seeks to expose the inherent ambiguities,
contradictions, and tensions present in text and challenge the traditional
hierarchies and binary oppositions that shape the understanding of the text.

<STRENGTHS OF DECONSTRUCTION> (SHANE)

01.These can be especially useful in context where traditional interpretations have

been used to justify oppressive or exclusionary practices.

02...

03. ... People shoudn't just know what the poem means because we don't share a
common history and mind.

04. ... sometimes this doesn't work the way it should but sometimes it brings to
light and new and invariably unique perspective that would be missed if we keeo
ignoring it in the favor of the popular reading.

<WEAKNESSES OF DECONSTRUCTION> (DOMINIC)

01. The study of pragmatics concerns how people understand one another in
conversation. Deconstructions says, we assume too much when we think everyone else
means the same thing.

02. Deconstruction often involves complex and abstract concepts and can be
challenging to grasp for those who are not familiar with the theory. Additionally,
some critics argue that deconstruction can be overly critical and dismissive of
traditional interpretations and that it can lead to a nihilistic view of meaning
and interpretations.

Nihilistic - rejecting all religious and moral principles in the belief that life
is meaningless.

03....

04. ... What the point of simply upping the strength of magnification if no real
answer comes out of it.

<THE ROAD NOT TAKEN> (SOPHIA)

Now, we will examine the Road not taken by Robert Frost in the lens of
deconstruction approach. Here is a sample deconstruction of the poem The Road Not
Taken.

Two roads diverged....

At first glance, this poem appears to be a simple description of a choice made by

the speaker. The speaker encounters two roads and must choose one to take. However,
a deconstrutive reading reveals that the poem is not straightforward as it seems.

One assumption that this poem relies on is that the road not taken is somehow
different or better than the one tht was chosen. This is suggested be the
phrase ....

The speaker seems to regret.... However, this assumption is challenged by the final
lines of the poem: I shall be telling this with a sigh.... Here, the speaker
suggests that the road not taken was "less traveled by," implying that it was less
desirable or less well-known. However, this interpretation is complicated by the
phrase (And that hs made all the difference), which suggests ... This contradiction
reveals ...

A deconstructive reading of this poem might also consider the implications of the
lines.
(and looked down one) This suggests that the speaker was unable... This
undermines...

Overall, a deconstructive reading of "The Road Not Taken" reveals that the poem is
not simply a description of a choice, but also a reflection on the way we think
about and interpret choices and their outcomes. It challenges the assumption that
the road not taken was somehow superior, and exposes the uncertainty and
contingency of all choices.

Contingency - a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be

predicted with certainty.

<CONCLUSION>