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Definition of Paradox
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that "Life is... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel... read full definition
Key Examples in A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings
Paradox
Explanation and Analysis—Omnipresent Angel:
Near the end of the story, after Pelayo and Elisenda have built a large house for themselves with the money they earned from charging visitors to see the angel, they allow the angel to come indoors. When describing the angel’s presence in the house, the narrator uses a series of hyperboles, as seen in the following passage:
They would drive him out of the bedroom with a broom and a moment later find him in the kitchen. He seemed to be in so many places at the same time that they grew to think that he’d been duplicated, that he was reproducing himself all through the house, and the exasperated and unhinged Elisenda shouted that it was awful living in that hell full of angels.
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