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Juxtaposition

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Juxtaposition is a writing device where authors place two contrasting elements side by side—be they ideas, actions, locations, or characters for the purpose of contrast. For example: a character can talk about the virtues of humankind at a restaurant and get robbed walking back to his car.

In Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, he starts out with a juxtaposition of many ideas:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …” He did this to illustrate the elements comprising the French Revolution. All his opening juxtapositions are opposites.

In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, she presents a juxtaposition of societies much the same way Charles Dickens often had. There’s the opulent Capitol existing alongside twelve impoverished provinces.

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain illustrates the same juxtaposition … as does Walt Disney’s version of Cinderella. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is all about the juxtaposition of reason versus insanity.

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Eugene Orlando is a board member, group leader, regional director, and lifetime member of the FWA. He is also an author of works of fiction and books on writing. Early in 2015, he became an editor for FWA’s “Editors Helping Writers” program and is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association.
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