Jacques Derrida's Deconstructive Approach of Reading Text

Deconstruction is one of the approaches to literary criticisms that emerged in the late 1960’s. It has been the subject of controversy in contemporary literary theory. Jacques Derrida, the successor to structuralism has developed a wonderful and groundbreaking theory Deconstruction. Derrida, the central figure of post structuralism, sets out a deep study on structuralism, where he finds some inherent weaknesses on it. Derrida first questions on the way how structures are made. Structuralism views that various references are needed in understanding a work of art. On the other hand, Derrida argues there is no such reference because nothing is fixed, exact, and finite in the true structuralist sense. The center also plays an important role in orienting, balancing and organizing the structure. Nobody can conceive an unorganized structure. The organizing principle of the structure is to limit the play of the structure. At the center the substitution and transformation of structure is forbidden. The center is the governing principle of the structure. Deconstruction has attempted to explore the subversion of oppositions and hierarchies on any text. In other words, one can say that deconstruction is a kind of reading a text. It means not to destruct the work of an author but to show the different meanings at work in language.