How to Deconstruct a Text

                This blog task is given by Baras sir. In that we have to write about understanding of the Deconstruction Process and  analyze the three poems which are written here.

∆ Deconstruction Process:->

 

             Deconstruction is a way of thinking and analyzing that was developed by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. It's like taking apart ideas and texts to see what they're really made of, kind of like how you might take apart a toy to understand how it works.

                Imagine you have a story or a book. Deconstruction looks at this story and asks, "What assumptions are being made here? What is being left out? Are there hidden meanings?" It digs deep to uncover contradictions and different interpretations that might not be obvious at first.

                For example, if you read a story where the hero is always strong and the villain is always weak, deconstruction might ask, "Why is strength considered good and weakness bad? Could there be another way to look at this?"

                 Overall, deconstruction is about questioning and exploring deeper meanings, rather than just accepting things at face value. It helps us understand that meanings are not fixed and can change depending on perspective.

∆ Analysis of the Poems:->

1. 'On a Station in the Metro'

                                     - Ezra Pound

"The apparition of these faces in the crowd;  

Petals on a wet, black bough."

1. Finding Opposites:

   - The poem shows opposites like urban (metro station) vs. nature (petals) and temporary (faces) vs. lasting (petals on a bough).

2. Questioning Meanings:

   - The word "apparition" means something ghostly or not real. This makes us question if the faces we see in a crowd are really there or just fleeting images.

   - Why compare faces to petals? Petals are usually delicate and beautiful, while a metro is crowded and hectic. This blurs the line between chaos and beauty.

3. Multiple Meanings:

   - The poem can be understood in different ways. Are the faces lost in the crowd, or is each face unique and beautiful like a petal? Is the "wet, black bough" dark and decaying, or does it make the petals stand out more?

4. Challenging Hierarchies:

   - Traditional views might see nature as more beautiful than the city, but Pound finds beauty in the metro crowd, showing that these hierarchies can be unstable.

2. 'The Red Wheelbarrow'

                       - William Carlos Williams

"so much depends  

upon

a red wheel  

barrow

glazed with rain  

water

beside the white  

chickens."

1. Opposites:

   - Natural vs. Man-made: The wheelbarrow (man-made) is in a natural setting (rain, chickens).

   - Function vs. Beauty: The wheelbarrow is useful but also described in a beautiful way.

2. Questioning Meanings:

   - "So much depends upon" suggests importance, but the poem doesn’t explain why the wheelbarrow is important, making us think about what we consider important.

3. Multiple Interpretations:

   - The red wheelbarrow can mean different things to different people, like hard work or simple beauty.

   - The rain and white chickens add layers of freshness and contrast.

4. Challenging Traditions:

   - Traditional poetry often focuses on big, grand subjects. This poem focuses on an everyday object, suggesting that even simple things can be meaningful.

3. Anecdote of the Jar

                         - Wallace Stevens

"I placed a jar in Tennessee,  

And round it was, upon a hill.  

It made the slovenly wilderness  

Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,  

And sprawled around, no longer wild.  

The jar was round upon the ground  

And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.  

The jar was gray and bare.  

It did not give of bird or bush,  

Like nothing else in Tennessee."

1. Opposites:

   - Nature vs. Culture: The jar (made by humans) is placed in the wilderness (nature). The poem explores the tension between these two elements.

2. Questioning Meanings:

   - The jar seems to control the wilderness just by being there. This makes us question how something so simple can have such power over nature.

3. Multiple Interpretations:

   - The wilderness changes because of the jar. Does this mean the jar makes nature better by adding order, or worse by making it less wild? It’s open to interpretation.

   - The jar is described as plain and lifeless ("gray and bare"), yet it has a big impact. This makes us rethink what we consider important or powerful.

4. Challenging Traditions:

   - Traditional poetry often sees nature as powerful and beautiful. This poem suggests that even a simple human object can dominate nature, challenging our usual ideas about what’s important.