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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
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Pease Pease Me:
In Chapter 9, Richard gets a job working at an optometrist's office. Two young White men named Reynolds and Pease also work there. Reynolds accuses Richard of referring to Pease with only his last name, and, in a paradox, Richard realizes he has no way out of the accusation:
If I had said: No, sir, Mr. Pease, I never called you Pease, I would by inference have been calling Reynolds a liar; and if I had said, Yes, sir, Mr. Pease, I called you Pease, I would have been pleading guilty to the worst insult that a Negro can offer to a southern white man. I stood thinking of a neutral course that would resolve this quickly risen nightmare, but my tongue would not move.
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