| Doctor of Philosophy in English | |
| Fictional Character | |
| "Deconstruction Gang" Set in OTL (?) | |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct second-person narrator, unnamed |
| Nationality: | United States |
| Date of Birth: | c. 1962 |
| Occupation: | Research Doctor, Deconstructionist |
| Affiliations: | Gang 4 |
A 30-ish man who received a doctorate of philosophy in English quickly learned after graduation how limited his job opportunities were. After he was unable to secure a position at a university or even as a technical writer, the young doctor rather arbitrarily decided to apply for a job with a road deconstruction gang. He soon learned that his degree made him uniquely talented for such work, even if it wasn't the sort of "studious" position he'd wanted.
After answering the foreman's question about Paul de Man intelligently, the young man was hired. He'd initially thought about spreading his resume around further, but then realized that he had a job the very next day if he wanted. He went home, notified his fiancée, who was pleased, and went to bed early. His first day he was assigned to Gang 4, and sent to work on Durant Street. He soon proved himself quite capable of applying deconstruction principles to road work. By the end of the day, the young doctor was truly part of the gang, and had accomplished a great deal of work on Durant.
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