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Motifs
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 The Souls of Black Folk
Chapter 3: Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others
Explanation and Analysis—Gaining Respect:
In Chapter 3, Du Bois draws readers' attention to what he sees as the central paradox of Booker T. Washington's work, a contradiction that bleeds through into the rhetoric of his followers:
The way for a people to regain their reasonable rights is not by voluntarily throwing them away and insisting that they do not want them; . . . . the way for people to gain respect is not by continually belittling and ridiculing themselves.
