Tuesday, April 12, 2016

J = Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition – comparing two items side by side in an effort to point out the ridiculousness or power of one of those things.

I once had a professor tell our class that if we ever used this word, then we didn’t really understand what it meant. No offense to that professor, but I believe society understands this term very well, we just don’t use the term in our every day vocabulary.

The truth is that beauty and ugliness coexist in every setting. The constant contrast gives each one more power than it would have alone.

Authors use this in their writing when they want to heighten the tension, or bring special attention to a scene or character.

Examples:
   1)      In dialogue - “I hate loving you,” or “I love to hate him.”
   2)   Novels, movies, plays, and even comics often feature characters with opposite attributes or personalities in order to create interesting conflict - Betty and Veronica, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, Beauty and the Beast, Carl Fredricksen and Russell, Buzz and Woody, as well as so many others.
   3) Opposing forces of good versus evil - even within the same character is another popular choice.
   4) Setting and circumstances can be opposites as well.

I  In "WIN" I used human fascination with technology, and contrasted it with a groups inability to access that technology. How might those people be different? Which would be better for society - more or less technology? 

The Parallels anthology explores these aspects through ten different tales. We hope you’ll dive in and share your thoughts with the authors. How did our use of juxtaposition help or hinder the stories?

What are some of your favorite examples of juxtaposition in other books and movies?

Don't forget, every comment you leave is a chance you have to win one of ten copies of Parallels: Felix Was Here.

11 comments:

  1. I love juxtaposition in stories. It is interesting how your society has such easy access to knowledge, but falls apart once that access is destroyed.

    Another book that comes to mind is The Life of Pi. The MC finds himself in the ultimate crucible, adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. The tiger is deadly, but focussing on his conundrum is what ultimately keeps Pi alive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love juxtaposition in stories. It is interesting how your society has such easy access to knowledge, but falls apart once that access is destroyed.

    Another book that comes to mind is The Life of Pi. The MC finds himself in the ultimate crucible, adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. The tiger is deadly, but focussing on his conundrum is what ultimately keeps Pi alive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think all good literature uses juxtaposition--it is the core of the Hero's Journey. From King Arthur to Harry Potter light vs. dark always makes for good story!

    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge http://www.kathleenvalentineblog.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Opposites often attract and that adds to the dynamics of a story.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post! Juxtaposition is a great word and you can see it at play almost anywhere if you look for it. Three weeks until the anthology comes out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks all! I'm so very excited about this publication, and I'm so glad to have the support of my nine fellow authors. You guys are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. In my books it's always a contest between good and evil. Loved your story WIN! I'm so proud to be part of such a great collection of stories.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My favorite? Spock. The juxtaposition of humanity and Vulcanity is, in a word, fascinating, and it can show us things about ourselves, in the bargain.

    A very, very close second is putting humanity and Vulcanity side by side in separate bodies, like Trip and T'Pol.

    Yup, I definitely have a Vulcan fetish! =)

    Boldly Going Through the Alphabet!
    @shanjeniah
    Part-Time Minion for Holton's Heroes
    shanjeniah's Lovely Chaos

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are most appreciated!