Binary Oppositions

Claude Levi Strauss

All cultures, according to Structuralism, are organized around binary oppositions: animal/human, good/bad, rich/poor, man/woman. His theory of binary opposition suggests that all narratives progress due to conflict caused by a series of opposing forces. (He believed that the way we understand certain concepts depend not so much on their meaning but on the opposite word.)

·         Good vs Evil

·         Rational vs irrational

·         Protagonist vs Antagonist