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How are we able to analyze symbols, as symbols? in other words, how does deconstruction work at a basic level.

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Deconstruction is one (controversial) literary theory amongst many: Russian Formalism, Structuralism, Marxism, Feminism, Jungian, Freudian, Reception Theory, ... . Actually, Deconstruction is more a way of reading than a theory of literature, and it aims to show how texts deconstruct or contradict themselves. Instead of showing how everything fits together in a hierarchical structure, as other approaches tend to do, deconstruction tries to show how texts unravel themselves, particularly showing how the privileged item in a binary pair can be reversed and subverted. Marxists and Feminists may argue that Deconstruction lacks serious political commitment
User Jesper Jensen
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