Apply A Structuralist, Poststructuralist, Psychoanalytic Fem

Apply A Structuralist Poststructuralist Psychoanalytic Feministorqu

Apply a structuralist, poststructuralist, psychoanalytic, feminist or queer theory (or a combination of one or two) analysis to this short story by the British author W. Somerset Maugham (you might want to google him). 200 words minimum.

Paper For Above instruction

The short story "Appointment in Samarra" can be profoundly analyzed through a poststructuralist and psychoanalytic feminist lens. Poststructuralism challenges the idea of fixed meanings and emphasizes the fluidity of signs and the instability of truth. In this story, the train of thought and the narrative structure expose how meaning is contingent upon perception and context. The servant’s fear of death is a construct within the story, emphasizing the societal tendency to perceive death as an imminent, tangible threat. The narrative deconstructs the notion that time and fate are absolute, revealing that both are subject to interpretation and individual perception.

From a psychoanalytic feminist perspective, the story can be read as a reflection of the unconscious fears and gendered anxieties surrounding mortality and agency. The servant's petrified response to death mirrors latent fears rooted in societal gender roles that associate femininity with vulnerability and helplessness. The servant’s attempt to escape fate by fleeing to Samarra underscores a desire for control, which is ultimately illusory, as death remains unavoidable. The narrative subtly critiques the patriarchal logic that dictates that men should confront and control death, while women are often rendered powerless in the face of mortality. The story’s unfolding reveals how societal constructions influence our understanding of fate, control, and death, reinforcing the gender-based anxieties embedded within cultural narratives.

Overall, the story exemplifies how language and societal expectations shape our perceptions of mortality, and how these perceptions are intertwined with gendered identities and power structures. Both poststructuralist and psychoanalytic feminist approaches deepen our understanding of how underlying fears and societal narratives construct individual and collective responses to mortality, illustrating that these perceptions are subject to continuous deconstruction and redefinition.

References

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• Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Columbia University Press.
• Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.
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