Many common phrases are Oxymorons – a few examples include “enormously small”, “accidentally on purpose”, “fairly obvious”, “insane logic”, “staged accident”, and “required donation”. Oxymorons are contradictory words used in conjunction with each other. Some will use terms such as “military intelligence” or “wedded bliss” to voice cynical opinions – or to make jokes such as “Thank God I’m an Atheist” or “All natural artificial flavor”.
In a similar vein, a Parodox is a self-contradicting statement like “The truth is I am a compulsive liar.” Which part of the statement do you believe, is the person telling you the truth about being a liar or is it a lie? If he is telling you he lies then can you believe him? We have two statements that cannot be true at the same time. “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” is a thought provoking statement from Orwell’s Animal Farm. A Paradox should stop the reader in his tracks and make him think about a deeper meaning than the words imply on the surface.
A contradiction is a statement that is inconsistent with what has already been stated. Oxymorons and Paradoxes are both contradictions. Sometimes a writer uses contradiction to lighten the mood, it can be used as subterfuge to create mystery, or to make others question previously accepted facts.
Hypocrisy is not the same as contradiction. Even though your actions or statements may be in opposition to your beliefs, in hypocrisy you are only pretending to hold such beliefs. It is a form of deception. Ambiguity is also not the same as contradiction, it is just implies a vague uncertainty of facts.
A speaker may use contradiction as a form of disrespect or derision if he thinks “the people” are too stupid to catch what he is really committing to. Scammers use contradiction to fool people into a false sense of satisfaction. Sometimes people, in the heat of the moment, may contradict themselves when the example they use to try to win an argument actually opposes the argument they are making.
It is alright for a writer to use a form of contradiction in their writing so long as it is intended and there is a purpose to it. If you are simply inconsistent in your story, that’s not contradiction.
Writing exercise: Look at your local newspaper and skim over one of the front page articles. Set you timer for ten minutes and free-write what you saw and felt as if you had been there. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation – just write.
Writing prompt: Write down any three objects you can see from where you are sitting. Write a paragraph long story using all three of those objects.
