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?

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