--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not all of Derrida's writing is to…" description: "\"“Not all of Derrida's writing is to everyone's taste. He had an irritating habit of overusing the rhetorical question, which lends itself easily to par..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/terry-eagleton-1660_derrida_not-all-of-derrida-s-writing-is-to-every_2837511.png" --- # Not all of Derrida's writing is to everyone's taste. He… ![“Not all of Derrida's writing is to everyone's taste. He had an irritating habit of overusing the rhetorical question, which lends itself easily to parody: 'What is it, to speak? How can I even speak of this? Who is this "I" who speaks of speaking?” quote by Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/terry-eagleton-1660_derrida_not-all-of-derrida-s-writing-is-to-every_2837511.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/terry-eagleton-1660_derrida_not-all-of-derrida-s-writing-is-to-every_2837511.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/664/terry-eagleton-1660_derrida_not-all-of-derrida-s-writing-is-to-every_2837511.png) > ““Not all of Derrida's writing is to everyone's taste. He had an irritating habit of overusing the rhetorical question, which lends itself easily to parody: 'What is it, to speak? How can I even speak of this? Who is this "I" who speaks of speaking?”” [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Derrida's style often uses rhetorical questions, which can seem pretentious and invite parody. **In simple terms:** His writing can feel overly rhetorical and mockable. Key Takeaway Beware of overusing rhetorical questions. Themes literary criticism style rhetoric Mood critical reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - academic essays - literary analysis - public speaking - writing workshops Key Concepts deconstruction irony parody Questions to Reflect On - How does rhetorical style affect audience engagement? - When is parody constructive? A Different Perspective Rhetorical questions may alienate readers seeking clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Parody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parody/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Rhetorical question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetorical-question/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Given Loughner's obsession with meaninglessness and language, maybe Foucault & Derrida deserve some fault here, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/given-loughner-s-obsession-with-meaninglessness-and-language-maybe/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“In 2004, Jacques Derrida said that a change was under way. Torture damages the inflicter as well as the inflicted. It’s no coincidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/in-2004-jacques-derrida-said-that-a-change-was-under-way-torture/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“If my mother's intention in whole or in part was to ensure that I never had to suffer any indignity or embarrassment for being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-my-mother-s-intention-in-whole-or-in-part-was-to-ensure-that-i/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I have a little theory that I'd like to air here, if I may. What is it that you think makes you magicians?" More…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-have-a-little-theory-that-i-d-like-to-air-here-if-i-may-what-is-it/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“... a rhetorical question. It has a question mark at the end, but you are not meant to answer it because the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-rhetorical-question-it-has-a-question-mark-at-the-end-but-you-are/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Certain American uses of deconstruction, Derrida has observed, work to ensure ‘an institutional closure’ which serves the dominant political and economic interests of American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/certain-american-uses-of-deconstruction-derrida-has-observed-work-to/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [When one emphasizes, as Jacques Derrida once remarked, one always overemphasizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/when-one-emphasizes-as-jacques-derrida-once-remarked-one-always/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Woman is the opposite, the ‘other’ of man: she is non-man, defective man, assigned a chiefly negative value in relation to the male first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/woman-is-the-opposite-the-other-of-man-she-is-non-man-defective-man/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Derrida… labels as ‘metaphysical’ any such thought system which depends on an unassailable foundation, a first principle or unimpeachable ground upon which a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/derrida-labels-as-metaphysical-any-such-thought-system-which-depends/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [It's time for a recovery and reassessment of North American thinkers. 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And if he almost never spoke of his relationship to women, this was because his obsession with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beno-t-peeters/derrida-had-an-irresistible-desire-to-seduce-and-if-he-almost-never/) [Benoît Peeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beno-t-peeters/) > [“Between Derrida and women (who had been so often ignored by the Western philosophical tradition), an alliance was soon to be formed. A personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beno-t-peeters/between-derrida-and-women-who-had-been-so-often-ignored-by-the/) [Benoît Peeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beno-t-peeters/) > [The followers of Derrida are pathetic, snuffling in French pockets for bits of pieces of a deconstructive method already massively and coherently presented and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-followers-of-derrida-are-pathetic-snuffling-in-french-pockets-for/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) ## More by Terry Eagleton > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. 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Civilisation means rational reflection, material wellbeing, individual autonomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/we-face-a-conflict-between-civilisation-and-culture-which-used-to-be/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) [Explore all 215 Terry Eagleton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## More Derrida quotes > [The followers of Derrida are pathetic, snuffling in French pockets for bits of pieces of a deconstructive method already massively and coherently presented and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-followers-of-derrida-are-pathetic-snuffling-in-french-pockets-for/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“Between Derrida and women (who had been so often ignored by the Western philosophical tradition), an alliance was soon to be formed. 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I remember thinking that was important - and I don't say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-mastrangelo/when-i-was-in-college-it-was-jacques-derrida-everyone-was-dropping/) [Fernando Mastrangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-mastrangelo/) > [“Jacques Derrida W r i t i n g a n d D i f f e r e n c e”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jacques-derrida-w-r-i-t-i-n-g-a-n-d-d-i-f-f-e-r-e-n-c-e/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“While Derrida had frequently bumped into him, since their first encounters at the home of Maurice de Gandillac at the beginning of the 1950s,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beno-t-peeters/while-derrida-had-frequently-bumped-into-him-since-their-first/) [Benoît Peeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beno-t-peeters/) > [The smouldering eroticism of great European actresses like Jeanne Moreau demonstrated to my generations women's archetypal mystery and glamour, completely missing from the totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-smouldering-eroticism-of-great-european-actresses-like-jeanne/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“I once told a very serious writer/poet I knew about how obsessed I was with various women’s lives. 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