Thinking activity on Derrida and Deconstruction

Thinking activity: Derrida and Deconstruction

Jaques Derrida, a French Philosopher gives an idea of Deconstruction and explain it in his numerous texts. Deconstruction is not a hedonistic(pleasure seeking) abandonment of all restraints, but a disciplined identification and dismantling of the sources of textual power. Barry peter, in his work  'an introduction to literary and cultural theory' gives detailed information about Derrida;s concept of Deconstruction.

i) Deconstructionist practices what has been called textual harassment or oppositional reading, reading with the aim of unmasking internal contradictions or inconsistencies in the text, aiming to show the disunity which underlikes its apparent unity.

ii)  Reading and interpretation, then, are not just reproducing what the writer thought and expressed in the text. This inadequate notion of interpretation Derrida calls a 'doubling commentary', since it tries to reconstruct a pre-existing, non textual reality to lay alongside the text.

iii) The Post structuralist literary critic is engaged in the task of 'deconstructing' the text. This process is given the name 'Deconstruction' which can roughly be defined as applied post-structuralism.
Deconstruction is not synonyms with destruction. It is in fact much closer to the original meaning of the word 'analysis' which etymologically means 'to undo'. The Deconstruction of a text is does not proceed by random doubt or arbitrary subversion, by the careful teasing out of warring forces of signification within the text.

iv) A Deconstructive reading: must always aim at a certain relationship, unperceived by the writer, between what he commands and what he does not command of the patterns of language that he uses. The Deconstructionist aims to show that the text is at war with itself. It is a house divided, and dis unified. The Deconstructionist looks for evidence of gaps, breaks, and discontinuities of all kinds.

Three stages of Deconstructive Process:-

i) The Verbal

The verbal stage is very similar to that of more conventional forms of close reading. It involves looking at the text for paradoxes and contradictions, at what might be called the purely verbal level.

ii) The Textual

The textual stage of the method moves beyond individual phrases and takes a more over all view of the work of art. At this second stage the critic is looking for shifts or breaks in the continuity of the work of art. These shifts reveal instabilities of attitude, and hence the lack of fixed and unified position.

iii) The Linguistic

The linguistic stage, finally involves looking for moment in the work when adequacy of language itself as a medium of communication is called into question. It may involve for instance, saying that it is unsayable; or saying that it is impossible to utter or to describe something and then doing so; or saying that language inflates, or deflates misrepresents to object, and or then continuing to use it anyway.

Aporia

The term Aporia, is a popular term in Deconstructive criticism. It literally means an impasse, and designate a kind of knot in the text which cannot be unravelled or solved, because what is said is self- contradiction.

Examples
.

i) In this image, even if Golding wants to put female as superior, he is lacking something in his concept. There is some loose stone. This image also deconstructed by raising question that why male is consider as the very first giver? why not female? why she only considered as a taker and then whatever she multiplies or enlarges, give it back to man?. If Golding wants to put female in better stage, then he has to put female in first category, the privileged one. Then only his main Idea of woman empowerment can be justified.

ii) We can find the example of Deconstruction in many films, texts etc. Here I wants to give one example from film whose title is 'Super Nani'.

It is feminist film in which the director wants to show the power of Indian woman. In film all the actions and dialogues are apt. In the starting scene the director show the weakness of Nani, who serve 24 hour for family but in return nothing she get. She was scolded all the time by her husband, her daughter and son. No one in her family show respect towards her. And somehow she also accept all her plight and never rebel against it. She never think of raising her voice in front of her husband. Then there is entry of grandson, who realised that the condition of his nani is very much tragic. He decided to help her and then comes the climax. He totally changed the look of his Nani.

The deconstructive thought which comes in our mind is that if it is a feminist film, to show the power of woman, then why it requires a male character as a support to raise her position in family, in society?. Still there is some gap which must be filled, If woman is strong enough, then she will never need any type of support from man. She can fight for her status in society, she can change herself and raise her voice against violence. But is is not happen in the film. Only after the arrival of her grandson, her situation improved. Otherwise she blindly accept her fate without arguing. The moral of the film cannot be justified because, still we can see the power of patriarchy in this film. Make dominance is always there. Whatever mistakes, her husband did in this film, she (super nani) forgets very quickly and again started obeying her husband. So visibly we can see the happy ending, but invisibly there is something lacking. firstly her husband order her in bitter or cruel way, and lastly in sugar coated way. The theme of obeying is always there. In the last scene also Super nani has to touch her husband's feet.

In many poems also we can see that what the poet wants to justify in the beginning is not justified at the end:-

iii) kat stratford quotes

I hate the way you talk to me
And the way you cut your hair
I hate the way you drive my car
I hate it when you stare

I hate your big dumb combat boots
And the way you read my mind
I hate you so much that it makes me sick
It even makes me ryhme

I hate the way you're always right
I hate it when you lie
I hate it when you make me laugh
Even worse when you make me cry

I hate the way you're not around
And the fact that you didn't call
But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you
Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

In this poem from the bigining we realized that there is strong hatred of the speaker. who hates each and every things of her lover. The way he talk, his big domb combat boots, his lying, his staring etc. is being hated by the poet. But still, even if there is strong hatredness we find something loosing here. 

In the end the poet herself in the confusing state and started praising her lover. She shows her incompleteness without him. As last stanza signified that she is completely ignored by her over and thats why she lastly admits that she don't hate him in real sense-

"But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you

Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all"

So in this way we can say that there is always , oppositional reading of text or poem. The aim of unmasking internal contradictions. In this poem we can clearly seen the disunity which underlies its apparent unity.The more deeper we read the more loose stones we find and in this way we deconstruct for the sake of reconstruction not for destruction.

iv) When I was fair and young by Queen Elizabeth

When I Was Fair and Young

By Queen Elizabeth I

When I was fair and young, then favor graced me.

Of many was I sought their mistress for to be.

But I did scorn them all and answered them therefore:

Go, go, go, seek some other where; importune me no more.

How many weeping eyes I made to pine in woe,

How many sighing hearts I have not skill to show,

But I the prouder grew and still this spake therefore:

Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

Then spake fair Venus’ son, that proud victorious boy,

Saying: You dainty dame, for that you be so coy,

I will so pluck your plumes as you shall say no more:

Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

As soon as he had said, such change grew in my breast

That neither night nor day I could take any rest.

Wherefore I did repent that I had said before:

Go, go, go, seek some other where, importune me no more.

In this poem we can see the starting in which there is more force on 'I'. The Queen Elizabeth of England was very much proud of her beauty. For the sake of her pride she refuses many proposals and breaks many hearts. We can see an arrogant look in Queen Elizabeth, but soon in third stanza, there is entry of Cupid, the son of Venus, who challenged Queen Elizabeth. Now the turning point happens and we cannot see the pride of 'I' anymore. Now there is influence of dominating factor, a male who changed the heart of Queen. Now the Queen becomes restless, she urge for cupid day and night. We can see binary opposition changing in this poem. In the first two stanza we can see the binary as given below:-

Privilege                      -              Under privilege

i) Queen Elizabeth       -              i) The lovers
ii) female dominant     -              ii) male submissive

In the last two stanza we can see the shift in binary opposition as follows:-

Privilege                       -     Under privilege

i) The lover Cupid        -    Queen Elizabeth
ii) Male dominant         -    Female submissive 

In this way we can see the change. The Idea from which the poem begins is changed with the conclusion of the poem. Pride of Woman is always considered as bad thing in society and male always known for breaking the pride. This is the stereotype, which clearly reflects in this poem.

Therefore Deonstructive reading happens on its own, with more deeper reading and it goes on changing, the quest never ends. Deconstruction is all about being skeptic, doubty. We have to question the things and going to the root of culture. In the process of Deconstruction we have to come up with new meaning.