preview

55 Miles To The Gas Pump

Better Essays

“55 Miles to the Gas Pump” by Annie Proulx By: Kalena Gottwald, Skyler Greenberg, Garin Mesarch, Rachael Phillips, and Abigail Sanford In this presentation, we will look at 55 Miles to the Gas Pump by Annie Proulx through the deconstructionist point of view Deconstructionist Strategies Literary works DO NOT yield fixed, single meanings. Language is never definite because of the endless meanings of words/phrases. reveals how the text is internally conflicted/contradictory seems to destabilize meanings rather than establish them focuses on gaps and ambiguities in the text opposes the Formalist criticism strategy The deconstruction school of literary criticism is different from the formalist and new critics, as well as the reader-response …show more content…

In addition, because he is drunk, his perception of his surroundings are distorted. This is another example of multiple meanings of words and phrases, leading to uncertainty regarding the transportation he used to arrive. The Suicide of Rancher Croom Rancher Croom presumably falls off the cliff and dies, but the incident is not explicitly stated. Proulx describes, “... [Rancher Croom] looks down on tumble rock, waits, then steps out, parting the air with his last roar, sleeves surging up windmill arms, jeans riding over boot tops, but before he hits he rises again to the top of the cliff like a cork in a bucket of milk.” A deconstructionist might think: He stumbles off the cliff and dies, his body bounces off the sharp cliffs at the bottom He jumps off the cliff and dies, his body bounces off the sharp cliff on the bottom After becoming drunk and standing at the edge of the cliff, looking down at his possible death, he comes out of his drunken disillusionment like a cork in a bucket of milk, and vows to start anew. He hangs himself, and the cork in the bucket of milk represents his body bouncing up after the rope is pulled

Get Access