Reaction Essay: "The Death of the Author" by Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes, a noted writer and believer of structuralism, outlines the basis for his structuralist theory in his text "The Death of the Author". Barthes' concern at this point in his career is with the relationship between the author and the writing and this is reflected in his essays entitled "The Death of the Author". Barthes' divides his argument into two parts. The first is the author who exists before the book was ever written, …

…the author will never be original in his thought but will imitate a gesture that is always anterior, never original. Like many structuralist theorists, Barthes wanted to create a way for people to deepen their understanding of language, society, literature, and texts. Barthes believed that text was a human invention; consequently, the deepest feelings and thoughts of a writer are always bound to spill over into the work of the writer. This is Barthes argument.