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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 3: The Fall
Explanation and Analysis—Margaret's Anger:
During Dana’s third trip to the past, during which Kevin transports back with her, she pretends to be owned by Kevin, who is White, so that others do not identify her as a runaway slave. In her narration of the days she spends at the Weylin Plantation, she uses a paradox when describing Margaret’s attitude regarding the enslaved people who attend to her:
I kept Kevin’s room clean [...] It was the only place I could go for privacy. I kept my canvas bag there and went there to avoid Margaret Weylin when she came rubbing her fingers over dustless furniture and looking under rugs on well-swept floors. Differences be damned, I did know how to sweep and dust no matter what century it was. Margaret Weylin complained because she couldn’t find anything to complain about. That, she made painfully clear to me the day she threw scalding hot coffee at me, screaming that I had brought it to her cold.
Though she seeks refuge in the room granted to Kevin by Tom Weylin, Dana is expected to perform slave labor at the Weylin Plantation, cleaning the house and attending to Margaret. Margaret, she notes paradoxically, “complained because she couldn’t find anything to complain about.” Dana, who has experience working as a cleaner in the 1970s, leaves the house spotless, but Margaret is unsatisfied anyway, as she feels that it is her duty to “run” the household by bossing around the enslaved people living on the Plantation. Ultimately, she yells at Dana in order to grant herself the feeling of power, not because Dana is unable to complete her tasks, and her haranguing actually slows down the labor of the enslaved people who clean the house.
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