English Literature And Theory This blog contains the explanation of various critical theories that provide a new insight to view literature and interpretation of various literary texts.

Deconstructionism a text is similar to breaking a house to see what mistakes were made in its building. When a reader deconstructs a text he is examining it for prejudice and bias that the author might have used for purpose of control. For example, a deconstructionist reading the declaration of Independence would note that the phrase "all men are created equal" excludes women, and while it talks of freedom, it was written by a white male slave- owner. Sexism and slavery contradict the language of liberty. The Deconstructionists look for deception or bad faith, which might be consciously or unconsciously (the Freudian element) motivating a particular author/artist/politician. Note also, that what is absent (gender or ethnic group) from a text may appear large in a deconstructionist interpretation of a text. They refer to this as "the presence of absence"

The task of Deconstructionists, therefore, is to discover contradictions, to show the hidden and suppressed meanings that inhere in a text, whether it is a literary work, or a social institution. Since the official meaning of a discourse is determined by those "in power," Postmodern critics "deconstruct those meanings" to discover what is hidden or suppressed in a text, thereby dishonoring the establishment which stands behind the text and gaining the "right" to overthrow its authority.

The ultimate aim of an interpretation is to construct a meaning that accounts for one's own experience or that of a group. For example, a revisionist historian might write a history of Columbus' discovery of the New World which might benefit those who were oppressed by the white Europeans. Just as we have "spin doctors" in politics and the news media, we have "spin scholarship."