Time-travel paradoxes are very common in popular culture. In this classic example, the time traveler murders his own great-grandfather, meaning that the time traveler cannot exist. Logical paradoxes of this sort are one of the many reasons why time travel is such a difficult proposition for science. Logical paradoxes have been used for centuries to demonstrate the fallibility of human logic. So when a character combines disparate elements, it seems very lifelike and three-dimensional.
Such paradoxes can also lend mystery to a story, which helps to make it more compelling. This is a nice literary paradox, but not a logical one. The character Hamlet, however, combines disparate attributes of kindness and cruelty, so his personality is loosely paradoxical.
A Chinese folk tale tells of a blacksmith who created the best armor and weapons in the world. He once created a spear that could pierce any object. He then created a shield that could deflect any attack. When a young boy asked him what would happen if he tried to pierce the shield with the spear, the blacksmith realized he could not answer. A man approaches a wall 10 feet away. To get there, he must first go half the distance 5 feet , then half the remaining distance 2. Therefore in order to reach the wall he must complete an infinite number of actions , which is impossible , before he can reach the wall.
Therefore it is impossible to reach the wall. In other words, the underlined portion is not a logically valid step, and therefore there is no genuine logical paradox, but rather a simple logical error. In an episode of Futurama , Fry one of the main characters travels back in time to the s, where he comes face-to-face with his own grandfather, Enos. Finally Fry accidentally causes Enos to be destroyed by a nuclear test. In the television show House , the main character is a rude, narcissistic, and abrasive man who constantly alienates those around him.
Thus, he combines a gruff, mean exterior with a deep sense of compassion and morality. I close my eyes so I can see Fugazi, Shut the Door. However, this is merely a literary paradox or an oxymoron, since it employs a double entendre. Terms: self-fulfilling prophecy, dilemma, irony, oxymoron and juxtaposition. This video provides one possible way to reconcile this paradox. How would your character visit the past in the first place? In this scene, Marty literally begins to disappear as it seems his parents will never become a couple.
Another grandfather paradox occurs in The Terminator , when John Connor sends Kyle Reese to the past to save his mother, Sarah, from an artificial intelligence network that is trying to wipe out John by killing Sarah before he can even come into existence. Let's move onto what's known as a causal loop. The other primary time-travel paradox in science fiction is referred to as a causal loop — so named because the time travel journey on which the traveller embarks is a circular one.
He keeps making the same trip again and again despite attempts to change the past: a future event causes a past event, which causes a future event, and so on.
A causal loop is sometimes referred to as a predestination paradox, meaning that the future is predestined to stay the same at every point along the loop. An example of a predestination paradox can be found, not surprisingly, in Predestination , in which a time traveller is sent to the past by a government agency to stop a mass murderer. Once he realizes this, he tries to break the loop and stop himself, only to find that events unfold with the same results — they are predestined.
This video breaks down the timeline of Predestination to show how the screenplay dramatizes the paradox. The video explains the causal loop in the movie very clearly; however, a viewer watching the movie for the first time will likely find it much less clear. This is a good lesson for screenwriters: paradoxes can be confusing and need to be carefully set-up and explained.
Stories dramatizing predestination paradoxes are typically trying to convey irony — perhaps the idea that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Irony is one of the most important of all storytelling elements, and something every screenwriter should be in command of. Write and collaborate on your scripts FREE. Create script breakdowns, sides, schedules, storyboards, call sheets and more. Previous Post.
Next Post. A visual medium requires visual methods. Master the art of visual storytelling with our FREE video series on directing and filmmaking techniques. More and more people are flocking to the small screen to find daily entertainment. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? Skip to content. Tools For Screenwriters Literary Devices. Brain Teasers What does paradox mean? But first, let's start with a paradox definition.
This is the beginning of the end. Deep down, you're really shallow. However, both oxymoron and paradox can achieve similar effects as a means of manipulating language through opposing words and ideas to create deeper meaning. As a literary device, paradox functions as a means of setting up a situation, idea, or concept that appears on the surface to be contradictory or impossible.
However, with further thought, understanding, or reflection, the conflict is resolved due to the discovery of an underlying level of reason or logic. This is effective in that a paradox creates interest and a need for resolution on the part of the reader for understanding. This allows the reader to invest in a literary work as a means of deciphering the meaning of the paradox. Paradox is dependent upon two elements: 1 a statement or situation which initially appears contradictory; 2 the statement or situation that appears contradictory must, after consideration, be a logical or well-founded premise.
Here are some ways that writers benefit from incorporating metaphor into their work:. Paradox is an excellent literary device as a means of setting up conflict in a work of literature. A paradoxical situation or idea in a literary work creates tension and potential suspense for the reader. For example, a literary character may find themselves in a situation where they must go against law and order as a means of preserving law and order.
This type of paradox generates interest for the reader in terms of anticipating the resolution of the conflict. Paradox is a way for writers to create verbal or situational irony. In a broad sense, irony itself is a literary device in which what appears to be said, expected, or taking place on the surface of a literary work is very different from what is actually the case.
Paradox often creates irony in literature, which can deepen the meaning for the reader through humor or a sense of realism due to the complexity and often contradictory ways in which humans behave. Paradox is an effective literary device as a means of creating interest in a literary work and engendering thought on the part of the reader.
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