Previous
Motifs
Definition of Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to make a point—particularly to reveal a deeper or hidden truth... read full definition
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to make a point—particularly to reveal... read full definition
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to... read full definition
Key Examples in If Beale Street Could Talk
Troubled About My Soul
Explanation and Analysis—Precisely, My Mother:
After Tish loses her virginity to Fonny, the couple returns to Tish's family home to tell her parents they intend to marry. Sharon, ever accepting and understanding, deliberates for a moment but then seems pleased by the arrangement. While she thinks, though, Tish describes her appearance using an oxymoron:
"You going to marry Fonny. All right. When I really think about it"—and now she paused, and, in a way, she was no longer Sharon, my mother, but someone else; but that someone else was, precisely, my mother, Sharon—"I guess I'm real pleased." She leaned back, arms folded, looking away, thinking ahead. "Yeah. He's real. He's a man."
Related Themes:
