Which of the following statements were made by Barbara Johnson?

1. A. 'Deconstruction is not synonymous with destruction...'
2. B. 'The deconstruction of a text does not proceed by random doubt or arbitrary subversion...'
3. C. 'Deconstruction is not a dismantling of the structure of a text but a demonstration that it has already dismantled itself.'
4. D. 'If anything is destroyed in a deconstructive reading, it is not the text, but the claim to unequivocal domination of one mode of signifying over another.'
5. E. 'Deconstruction as a mode of interpretation works by a careful and circumspect entering of each textual labyrinth...'

1. AA, B and D only
2. BA, C and E only
3. CB, C and D only
4. DA, D and E only

Pick an option to check yourself, or open the answer below.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A. A, B and D only

Explanation

A, B and D are from Barbara Johnson's introduction to The Critical Difference (1980): deconstruction is closer to 'analysis' than to destruction, proceeds by 'the careful teasing out of warring forces of signification', and destroys only the claim of one mode of signifying to dominate another. C and E are J. Hillis Miller's formulations (from 'Stevens' Rock and Criticism as Cure').