A common definition of a paradox is a statement that consists of two seemingly contradictory ideas, which both appear to be true. The accepted fact that two contradictory statements or ideas cannot both be true is the source of the power of a paradox, and of its mystery and fascination.
Everyday Examples of the Literary Technique: Paradox
Many types of "folk" wisdom involve paradoxes, perhaps to attempt to describe or explain the often contradictory nature of life, with expectations being juxtaposed with situations. Here are a few of the most well-known:
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
"We can't live with them, and we can't live without them."
"To be a member of the Actors' Guild, you have to be in an Actors' Guild show. But, you can't be in an Actors' Guild show unless you are a member of the Actors' Guild."
Paradoxes in Literature
A famous example of paradox is Through the Looking Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Dodgson ( 1832-1898). The entire book is a mirror of the "real" world" through the "looking glass" world. When Alice goes into the Looking Glass world, she has trouble getting places by heading towards them. When she walks toward a place, she finds that she is actually walking away. One of the characters advises Alice to get somewhere by walking in the opposite direction, and she finds "It succeeded beautifully."
Political and Social Paradoxes
Another paradox is found in the speech given by Malcolm X, April 3, 1964, in Cleveland Ohio. Titled The Ballot or the Bullet, a major theme is that people who are American citizens are not treated like American citizens.
"Being born here in America doesn't make you an American. Why, if birth made you American, you wouldn't need any legislation; you wouldn't need any amendments to the Constitution; you wouldn't be faced with civil-rights filibustering in Washington, D.C., right now."
Thus, Malcolm is describing a paradox. Though all people are to be treated equally, some Americans are not treated equally, and resent the special legislation to correct a problem that should never have occurred.
George Orwell and Barack Obama
In George Orwell's satire 1984, the fascist Big Brother government spins paradoxes into people's minds: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength. The paradoxes confuse people, and lead them into relying on Big Brother to do their thinking for them.
On December 10, 2009, Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in the same week that he sent an additional 30,000 American troops to war in Afghanistan.
Artistic Paradoxes
Often writers are inspired by artistic depictions of a paradox. Mathematicians are also fond of paradoxes, and often the marriage of writing, art, and math can help people understand the nature of a paradox.
William Hogarth (1697-1764) created an image filled with paradoxes in his 1754 engraving titled Satire on False Perspective. The subtitle reads, "Whoever makes a DESIGN without the Knowledge of PERSPECTIVE will be liable to such Absurdities as are shewn in this Frontil piece."
Another artist interested in paradoxes Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), whose black and white images play with contradictory perspectives.
One of his most famous lithographs is " Ascending and Descending" from 1960. The stairs appear to lead both up and down, and whether people are climbing upstairs or walking downstairs is unclear.
Paradox at the End of the American Revolution
When British General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown in 1781, Cornwallis ordered his military band to play a song with the following words from an old nursery rhyme:
"If buttercups buzz after the bee; if boats were on land, churches on sea; If ponies rode men, and grass ate the cow; If cats should be chased into holes by the mouse...Then all the world would be upside down."
With the American colonists beating the British Empire, Cornwallis must have felt that the world was upside down.
How a Paradox Differs From an Oxymoron, or Contradiction in Terms
An oxymoron, or contradiction in terms, is often a phrase, consisting of two opposite words. Some examples of oxymorons can include "sad clown," "a dark light," or "jumbo shrimp."
A paradox is generally two contrasting statements, often complete sentences. The juxtaposition of the two statements creates a startling effect in the reader, or viewer, which often leads to much thought and contemplation.
References
Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking Glass. (1871).
Escher, M.C. Ascending and Descending. (1960).
Hogarth, William. Satire on False Perspective. (1754).
Malcolm X. The Ballot or the Bullet. (3 April 1964). Cleveland, Ohio.
Teresa Knudsen - Teresa's writing appears in the British Library, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Online she has written for USA Today and E How.
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