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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
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Pease Pease Me:
In Chapter 9, Richard gets a job working at an optometrist's office. Two young White men named Reynolds and Pease also work there. Reynolds accuses Richard of referring to Pease with only his last name, and, in a paradox, Richard realizes he has no way out of the accusation:
If I had said: No, sir, Mr. Pease, I never called you Pease, I would by inference have been calling Reynolds a liar; and if I had said, Yes, sir, Mr. Pease, I called you Pease, I would have been pleading guilty to the worst insult that a Negro can offer to a southern white man. I stood thinking of a neutral course that would resolve this quickly risen nightmare, but my tongue would not move.
Richard realizes that he has found himself in a Catch-22, a paradoxical situation in which the conditions of the situation are contradictory, resulting in only negative outcomes. Richard sees that he has to choose between calling one White man a liar, or admitting to the other one that he had disrespected him, when in fact he has done neither. To make matters worse, Reynolds is baring his teeth at Richard and waving a steel bar "threateningly" as the boy, still only 17, tries to find a way out of this impasse. Richard attempts a middle road: "'I don't remember calling you Pease, Mr. Pease,' I said cautiously. "And if I did, I sure didn't mean...'" Unfortunately this causes both Pease to believe that Richard actually called him by his last name, and Reynolds to believe that Richard called him a liar. Richard quickly decides it is best for him to simply leave and soon after this quits his job. Pease and Reynolds both know that Richard would not actually call Pease by his last name. But they know that through their structural power, they can corner Richard in a logical paradox.
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