Deconstruction: How Do You Want Your Eggs?/Raw/Cooked

Derrida (to the waitress, holding up two index fingers) "Two eggs, please"

He pauses, thinking about the translation, nods in affirmation.

Just as he is about to turn to resume his conversation

Waitress, routinely, and with patience: "How do you want your eggs?"

Derrida, confused, then realizing he needs to complete his order

"How do I..." he begins to say back to her.

"Cooked" she says, helping him.

"Cooked?" (beat). "Cooked!" He is elated. He turned to his French colleague and says the word again to him drawing out the ooo sound

Then again to towards the waitress, but addressing all three of them, "Cooked" (on the one hand) "Raw" (on the other."

"Cooked...raw..raw...cooked..." He says as if savoring the Anglo-Saxon diphthongs in each word separately.


To his French colleague "RAW!


The French colleague says back "Raaaaw!" duplicating his effort at the phoneme.

"Raw!" "Raw!" They go  back and forth, amplifying each other, as if leading a cheer.

The waitress is patient. She is amused. She wants to be a part of their conversation.

We hear the other colleague say in an American flat accent, "He'll have them sunny-side up,  miss.  ...These jokers..."

In the background we that the Baltimore cop is talking across the talking in his own world to another cop.

We see the short order cook put an egg on the grill next to several others which are in various states of sizzle.