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Derrida is often considered to be the founder of the philosophical literary theory of Deconstructionism. A lot of the theory's aim can be inferred through it's name, though not definitely. Literary critic Barbara Johnson describes Deconstructionism in her 1981 novel as being:
"Much closer to the original meaning of the word 'analysis' itself, which etymologically means "to undo" -- a virtual synonym for "to de-construct." ... 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. A deconstructive reading is a reading which analyses the specificity of a text's critical difference from itself" (Johnson 1981).
Deconstructionism thrives upon examining the contradictions present within language. While Deconstructionism does not seek to destroy a text or work, it does emphasize the differences present within a work as being a series of undefinable, infinite and everlasting contradictions. Difference, according to Deconstructionism, both differs and defers meanings---creating various meanings and understandings. Through these various meanings, a text essentially has no definite meaning as language is never truly capable of expressing an authors intentions without depending upon contradicting binaries, or comparisons.