Post-structuralism and deconstruction

Résumé du document

Literary theory has penetrated all spheres of modern day life. It has shifted from being a prerogative of Academia to being a part of a popular culture. Yet, how can the term "literary theory" be defined lucidly? According to McLaughlin, literary theory is the "debate over nature and function of reading and writing, which has followed on the heels of structuralism, linguistics and cultural analysis". Literary theory is concerned with determining how various systems of signs, such as language itself, influence the way we read and, hence, comprehend the world and our own Self. This basic question has been answered in a radically different manner by various schools of thought or movements. We shall focus on the theory known as post-structuralism. Its most prominent scholars have often emerged from structuralist movement and have seldom labeled themselves as "poststructuralists". More importantly, "poststructuralists" reject an idea of the existence of "theories", "universal truths" or "subjugated knowledges" as Derrida has called them. We shall develop this point in more detail further on.

Extraits

[...] This process can be as long as it is wished, and hence, goes against the structuralist idea that there is a perfect symetry in the language. This process is ever more complex if we consider not only the word on its own, but a phrase as a whole. In every phrase, a word is in interaction with multiple “opposite” signifiers, but also with the words that precede and follow it and that define it in a certain sense. Moreover, the volatility of the language is created by the fact that the meaning of the word is never identical. [...]

[...] The signified of the word is obtained through the difference between two signifiers. Yet, post- structuralists have noted numerous problems with that point of view. If the signified is the difference between two signifiers, then the signifier can be chosen arbitrary. A cat is a cat not only because it is not a dog, but also because it is not a rat, a mat or a hat. As this can be continued infinitely, language is not stable and closed system as claimed Saussure. [...]

[...] Main scholars and ideas In an evolution from structuralism to post-structuralism, the concept of structure has disappeared, to be replaced by writing as such. The work of literature became a text, as it is no longer seen as a closed entity with defined meanings that a theorist is meant to decipher, but rather as a something plural, an endless game of signifiers that cannot be reduced to an essence or unique meaning. Post-structuralism is thus about: Decentring of the Self/ of the Subject Post-structuralism has challenged the traditional view of a Man, of the Self, developed by the Humanists. [...]

[...] Furthermore, Winston's mental evolution is just another proof of inherent inconsistencies endured by a Human. Finally, if one considers the importance of the language, as portrayed by the post-structuralist school, the following observations can be made. The language is used as a tool of manipulation. It is sufficient to think of the operations done in the Ministry of Truth in order to realise that existence and language are closely linked in such a way, that language brings into existence and erases, by influencing human understands and memory that acts as a filter. [...]

[...] These have developed various concepts, tools and methods within the post-structuralist thought, such as Derrida's “deconstruction”. Originally a “continental theory”, post-structuralism gradually spread over the Atlantic with what became known as Yale deconstructionist school, uniting Paul Man, J.Hillis Miller, Geoffrey Hartman and, to a lesser extent, Harold Bloom. Post-structuralism as a critique of structuralism Structuralism: a reminder Structuralism: no human activity is natural, it is all constructed and all we do is that we select from given pre-constructed codes. That is to say we have “shared meanings” that are understood by members of a particular culture and that are conveyed through various signs. [...]