Thirst, Water and Post-Structuralism.

Derrida's idea of the signified and signifier are much like the idea that one cannot truly have a complete appreciation for water until they have known intense thirst. Without water, or liquid, it could be argued that one could not know what thirst actually is or exists. Because of the idea that no truth can be realized without another, "...as a result, [it] will always be incomplete" (258). That is, each truth will be unfinished, so to speak. "If every object derives its identity from its difference from other objects, then every thing or object and every idea or concept refers to something else to be what it is" (259). This means that no thing, object or thought can be complete on its own.

In the case of thirst, this truth cannot be known without water. If one is thirsty they quench this thirst with water, therefore learning what it is to thirst and what water is. Without water, this new gained knowledge would be very difficult to obtain. "...[A]ll reality is textual...That is, it is made possible by difference..." (259). This ties in closely with Derrida's idea of "inside" and "outside." It would be very hard for one to know the truth of an inside without realizing what outside actually is, or using outside to explain was inside means.

Work Cited
Ryan, Michael. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin. Grand Rapids: Blackwell Limited, 2008.