new and interesting meanings layered within.

Deconstruction according to Derrida or Kristeva is complex and oftentimes, quite frankly, rather confusing. A favorite source to look to when studying literary theory is Lois Tyson, who manages to break down even the most abstract of theories in a very approachable manner. According to Tyson, deconstruction is essentially a theory that suggests that language is not stable, which means that meaning is undecidable. Of course, this puts it in very simple terms, but in order to deconstruct a text, this is truly all one needs to keep in mind.

What I find most interesting when looking at Beloved is this. Not only is one able to deconstruct the text through critical analysis, but it seems that Toni Morrison is herself attempting to deconstruct ingrained ideologies concerning motherhood, gender, and identity—all of which are common themes for Morrison. Sethe does not represent the gentle, loving mother figure often propped up as ideal, just as Paul D demonstrates attributes that butt up against societal expectations surrounding the emotional landscape of masculinity. In fact, most of the Paul D scenes lend wonderfully to a deconstructionist application. One example is the scene in which Paul D attempts to explain what happened to Halle and says essentially that men aren't like axes—meaning that men aren't as strong as they are made out to be. Paul D continually breaks gender norms to reveal his emotional side, even lamenting the fact that he is unable to freely show his emotions in the way he believes a man should.

Another interesting approach would be to focus solely on how Morrison sets out to deconstruct society—and, more importantly, why? Of course, whatever answer one comes up with as to Morrison’s intention is, according to deconstruction, only one interpretation of one reader in a sea of millions of readers with millions of potential (and valid) interpretations.

It is in the close textual analysis of individual passages that deconstructive literary criticism, especially as practiced in the anglosphere, is closest to New Criticism as a practice, despite the fact that many of the original deconstructive literary critics who practiced close reading often consider themselves as rebelling against New Criticism.

The way to apply deconstructive criticism to a passage (it works for any practice chosen at random) is to address the thematic concerns of deconstructive theory. The most typical deconstructive move is to look for binary oppositions, especially binary where one side of the opposition is valorized by society. For example, one could look at black/white, good/evil, sane/insane, or male/female. In the case of each binary, one can show first how each side of the binary depends on its opposite for its existence. Next, one can show how Morrison subverts the binary opposition by either reversing the implicit hierarchy or erasing the opposition. 

Another strategy for applying deconstructive criticism to Beloved would be to use the notion of the trace, and show how the present of the text is dominated by things which are absent.

One passage that would be particularly interesting for deconstructive analysis would be the story of the rapists drinking Sethe's milk, as it evokes the oppositions between adult/baby, conventional motherhood/rape, black female fecundity/white male lack, etc.