Klages writes that deconstruction reads a text to see where it posits its own center, how it constructs its own system of ‘truth’ and ‘meaning,’ and then looks to see where it contradicts itself” (59).

Question Set
1. Klages writes that “Everything one thinks or does is in some degree the product of one’s past experiences, one’s beliefs, one’s ideologies; there is no such thing as objectivity. Where new critics, humanists, and even scientists claim that they can look at an object of study (like a literary text) with no preconceived notions of what they’ll find, they are only masking their own ideological positioning. This idea relates back to the previous one, that truth is always relative, rather than absolute” (51). In what ways do the fictional worlds in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” demonstrate that truth is relative rather than absolute?
2. Klages writes, “The second point that deconstruction makes comes from Levi-Strauss’s insight that the units within a structure tend to group in binary pairs or oppositions, consisting of two terms placed in some sort or relation to each other. Derrida says that, within such structures based on binary pairs, one part of the pair is always given higher cultural value than the other; one term is marked as positive and the other as negative” (54). What binary pairs structure the narrator’s thinking in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral?”
3. Klages writes that “The center limits play, and guarantees full presence; Derrida also refers to the center as a ‘transcendental signified,’ as the ultimate source of meaning, that which, paired with any and every signifier, creates the relation of signification which makes a sign able to say something” (57). What center determines the meaning of the annual lottery for the villagers in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery?”
4. Klages writes that deconstruction reads a text to see where it posits its own center, how it constructs its own system of ‘truth’ and ‘meaning,’ and then looks to see where it contradicts itself” (59). Where does the center that determines the meaning of the annual lottery for the villagers, is to find that center and see what happens to the structure is you take it away” (59). How does Robert, in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” take away the center that structures the narrator’s beliefs, and what is the result of this action?
Reading:
– Mary Klages, Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chapter 4, “Deconstruction.”
– Raymond Carver, “Cathedral,”
– Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery.”
Tasks:
1. Complete all of the reading listed above.
2. Prepare written answers to all questions in Question Set Three.
3. Submit written answers in a word document.
Instructions:
– Write a minimum of one well-organized, well-developed, five-sentence paragraph answer for each question.
– Include the following in each paragraph:
1. A theoretically informed topic sentence that clearly answers the question;
2. A secondary sentence derived from or informed by Mary Klages’ Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed that elaborates, explains, or expands the topic sentence;
3. A sentence that presents concrete details from the literary work as evidence for the topic sentence;
4. A sentence that presents a quotation from the literary work as support for topic sentence;
5. An analysis sentence(s) that unpacks the concrete details and quotations and explains how they support the topic sentence.
– Format question set answers using MLA style.
– Include a works cited page for the assignment.

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