What is a Truly Bakhtinian Approach?

Abstract

Because of the depth and relevance of Bakhtin’s writings, the quantity and diversity of the application of Bakhtin’s theories to literary analysis is astounding. However, some critics misuse or abuse Bakhtin’s ideas according to their own agenda. To overcome this interpretive fallacy, this paper will differentiate Bakhtin’s idea of polyphony from other literary theories of variousness or disunity. By recognizing these differences, we can realize the uniqueness of Bakhtin’s theory and decide what kind of literary analysis can be called a truly Bakhtinian approach. Although Bakhtin’s theory contains some positive sides of relativism such as tolerance, flexibility, and co-existence of different values, it is devoid of relativism’s negative aspects, that is, value-free universe in which one’s own position as the center of anything actually doesn’t exist. Bakhtin is also distinguished from post-structuralists in that he claims that every utterance is not a free-floating abstract idea but a concretely personified and socio-ideologically oriented viewpoint. By grounding his theory of discourse in a concrete socio-historical context, Bakhtin achieves the plurality of meaning without sacrificing its social and historical values. On the other hand, Bakhtin's repeated assertions that human consciousness and language are social products may lead us to categorize him as a Marxist. However, he is radically different from traditional Marxist dialectics: he emphasizes ever-increasing difference and variety that cannot be overcome in any uniting synthesis. Therefore, for any literary analysis to be a legitimate Bakhtinian approach, it should, first, not fall into the fallacy of relativism because dialogue always presupposes one’s own perspective and the value of learning from other perspectives. Then, it should be socio-ideologically based. A post-structuralist’s attitude of différance may lead to a point of meaninglessness, which is an antithesis of Bakhtinian thought. Finally, it should be voice-oriented, which makes it possible for us to investigate concrete stylistic elements of the novel.