Question

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

Answer 1

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