Defferance: David Mamet’s Oleanna [In English]

Abstract

Oleanna, takes place in the office of a male professor who receives visits from a student, Carol who seeks help to understand John’s book which is part of the curriculum. By applying the theories of Derrida such as undecidability, indeterminacy, binary opposition, supplement, différance to this drama, it is demonstrated that Mamet's text is an indeterminate one in which nothing stable comes out of it. The characters, the words, power structure, all are engaged in an undecidable différance in which no sign reaches its signified and it continues to the point that even the ending of the play is undecidable

Keywords

• undecidability
• indeterminacy
• binary opposition
• supplement
• différance