This synecdoche substitution of one art of literary theory and criticism for the whole must be considered unfortunate by both advocated and opponents of deconstruction. Derrida’ influence in literary studies has been extremely controversial, and many scholars refused such association with what they conceive as a catastrophic assault on the values of truth, rationality, and common sense. But equally, those more sympathetic to Derrida may stress that not only is deconstruction affirmative rather than destructive, but it is not a method of criticism, or even a theory in the sense in which we usually use that term. Moreover, in deconstruction’s resistance to conventional descriptions what its advocates argue makes it so important: He only possibility of a response to literature which does not destroy what it seeks to understand.