Transcript Literary Analysis: Structuralist Perspective

Catherine Wishart
Adjunct Instructor
LITERARY ANALYSIS:
STRUCTURALIST PERSPECTIVE
WHAT IS THE STRUCTURALIST PERSPECTIVE?
Studies the systems of relationships that are
embedded in words and items, “and shows us
the ways in which we think” (Guerin 369).
 Acknowledges the arbitrariness of assigning
certain series of letters to represent specific
ideas.
 Focuses on the opposites that often appear in
literary constructs.
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FATHERS OF STRUCTURALISM
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Ferdinand de Saussure, professor at University of
Geneva, Switzerland, developed structural
linguistics between 1906 and 1911.
This approach attempts to study literature from an
objective perspective.
 Looks at the surface structure of the text.
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Claude Levi-Strauss introduced the binary
approach to structuralism.
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Studying opposites and how they interplay in the text.
BINARY OPPOSITIONS
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Levi-Strauss wrote Structural Anthropology in 1950s.
He closely examined paired opposites (binary oppositions)
that creep into works – sometimes intentionally, and
sometime unintentionally.
He also closely examined double entendres, statements that
could be interpreted in two different ways.
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Example: in “Young Goodman Brown,” Brown laments, “My Faith
is gone!” This can be interpreted as his wife (note the capital
letter for Faith), or it can be interpreted as his religious faith.
Searching texts for binary oppositions, or paired opposites, is
a practical method of applying structuralist analysis to a
literary work.
OPPOSITES PRESENT IN LITERATURE
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Fairy Tales: Cinderella
 Cinderella
is pretty, while step-sisters are ugly
 Cinderella is penniless, while step-sisters have
money
 Cinderella is good, while step-sisters are evil
 Loses one slipper, but keeps the other
 Cinderella has a complete reversal of fortune, as do
her step-sisters.
(DiYanni 1584)
STRUCTURALIST SKETCH OF BINARY OPPOSITIONS:
“THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER”
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“There are combinations of very simple natural objects which have
the power of thus affecting us” (150). Objects can stand for
something else in our mind.
“mansion of gloom” (150). Opposite imagery juxtaposed in the same
sentence. Mansions are normally viewed as beautiful, impressive.
Gloom is the antithesis of a mansion.
Opposites of narrator knowing Roderick as a boy and now they are
adults.
The study is lofty with black oaken floors. Contrary imagery.
While the furniture is tattered, there are still servants.
Complete change in Usher’s appearance – reversal.
“His action was alternatively vivacious and sullen” (152). Binary
opposites.
Poetry embedded in prose.
STRUCTURALISTS ANALYZE OTHER STRUCTURES:
The sequence of events from beginning to end
 The rearrangement of the narrative to build
suspense or for aesthetic effects (The death of
Tessie in “The Lottery”)
 Flashbacks
 Unequal treatment of time
 Shifts in viewpoints or speakers
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STRUCTURALISTS’ LITERARY CODES
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Codes developed by Barthes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The code of actions asks the reader to find meaning
in the sequence of events.
The code of puzzles raises questions to be answered.
The cultural code refers to all systems of “knowledge
and values invoked by a text.”
The connotative code expresses themes developed
around the characters.
The symbolic code refers to the theme as we have
generally considered it, that is, the meaning of the
work.
(Guerin 375).
ODDS AND ENDS
Structuralist Theory was the basis for Formalist
Theory.
 Structuralist Theory is used by important
French philosophers:
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 Rationalists:
 Voltaire
 Jean-Paul
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Sartre
French terminology is often used in
Structuralism.
A CHECKLIST OF STRUCTURALIST CRITICAL
QUESTIONS
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6.
What are the elements of the work – words, stanzas, chapters, parts,
for example – and how can these be seen as revealing “difference”?
How do the characters, narrators, speakers, or other voices heard in
the work reveal difference?
How do the elements of the work’s plot or overall action suggest a
meaningful pattern? What changes, adjustments, transformations,
shifts of tone, attitude, behavior, or feeling do you find?
How are the work’s primary images and events related to one
another? What elements of differentiation exist, and what do they
signify?
What system of relations could be used to link this work with others
of its kind?
What system of relations could be used to link this work with others
of its kind? What system of relations could be used to link this work
with different kinds of things with which it shared some similarities?
(DiYanni 1585)
SOURCES:
DiYanni, Robert. Literature Approaches to
Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Boston: McGrawHill, 2004. Print.
 Guerin, Wilfred L., Labor, Earle, Morgan, Lee,
Reesman, Jeanne C., and Willingham, John R. A
Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature.
5th ed. NY: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.
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