Deconstructing text and audience relationship

Abhimanyu Mani Acharya Dixit

Deconstruction is a method of investigating a text which was first started by Jacques Derrida in
1967. According to Collins Dictionary of Philosophy, “to deconstruct is to dismantle; next we
take a look at the pieces, and then put them together again after which the whole cycle may
recur, for we cannot take things into bits without some prior notions.” The definition focuses on
knowing what the text is about before beginning to dismantle it. The whole procedure of
dismantling and putting them together is not systematic but it would throw really interesting
lights on the subject matter when the bits and pieces are analyzed.

This philosophical form of literary criticism first appeared in “Structure, signs, and play in the
discourse of human sciences”. Derrida starts the essay by defining a text. A text according to
deconstruction is without a centre but is bound. Literary theorist Terry Eagleton calls this nature
“Working in Margins”. Anything bounded even by boundaries does have a centre. Derrida
clarifies that the centre is the totality of the text. “There is nothing outside or beyond the text”
says Derrida.

Traditionally, “context” was referred to as the centre that holds the whole text together. In order
to deconstruct, context is never allowed to enter the text. When an audience reads text with
context, then it would be “internal reading” of the text. Internal reading according to Derrida is
insufficient. Reading a text would constrict the text and rather making it a living thing it would
make the text as a prologue to someone else’s life. Any text is a living text. He clarifies this by
saying “my life as any life is a text”. He wanted texts to be treated with respect as giving context
to the text would only limit its meaning.

Since there is no context, deconstruction does not allow authors to have authority over the text.
While reading a text, the presence of the author is not accounted. A text according to Derrida is
like a “child who starts talking”. The child may have his or her parents but when it starts talking,
it would go on talking by itself. “It takes without your help”, says Derrida, “who doesn’t even
answer you expect to your fantasy”. He calls the text “talking beings who can always outtalk
you”.
Derrida calls reading a text without a context as “Close reading”. A close reading would make
the text alive and without an author and without a prior context the text’s meaning could be
deciphered subjectively by the readers. “A close reading is similar to reading the text under a
looking glass”, says Terry Eagleton “where the reader explores every word, phrase, and its
placement.” With every letter, word and phrase understood, the reader can begin dismantling the
text and deciphering the little pieces. If close reading is applied, a text would have the respect it
deserves or in Derrida’s words, it would be a “a living text”.

In media texts, deconstruction can be primarily used for media literacy. Decontructing media
texts would allow dismantling and studying each word, audio, or visual piece separately. For
example, advertisements can be studied without their “taglines” or anchorage, to decipher the
intend of the advertisement text. By using deconstruction, people could be able to understand
how the media texts are constructed to convey ideas, information, and news from someone else’s
perspective. Television, radio, internet, and newspapers use special techniques to create the
emotional affect on people. Deconstruction can be used in deciphering these “special
techniques”.

Sources:
Sharma M and Luitel K .purwiya ra pashchatya sahitya siddanta. Viddarthi Pushtak Bhandar,
Kathmandu. 2004.
Vesey C and Foulkes P. Collins dictionary of philosophy.Harper Collins Publications. Glasgow.
1990.
www2.arts.gla.ac.uk
www.wikipedia.org