Introduction:
I've been blogging about how to make any writing more literary. One thing that can make something stand out or be thought-provoking is to put two things together in an unexpected way, a way that makes you take a fresh look at both. This is called juxtaposition, and it invites the reader to compare and contrast them in a thought-provoking way. Doing this can make your work more literary and bring greater depth into your piece.
In Characters:
There are multiple kinds of juxtaposition. One example of juxtaposition many of us have noticed is character foils, where the protagonist and antagonist are so very different in so many ways, but the ways in which they're similar can turn them into mirrors. I've talked about foils in a past blog. They're not entirely opposite, nor entirely the same. When one watches Disney's "Snow, White," it's easy to think of the naive, humble princess as a simple opposite of the worldy-wise and vain queen.
However, a reader of the more literary Grimms Brothers' "Snow White" can see that the princess gets herself in trouble with the disguised queen when they're both dressed as something they're not, peasants, and the queen offers to sell the princess something that appeals to her vanity, laces, ribbons, and combs. When the princess has a hand in taking out her antagonist by having her dance to death in burning shoes, she is symbolically defeating the part of herself the queen represents. The juxtaposition of these two characters shows greater meaning and depth in both.
The article linked to above says, "The foil character can then be a way to show what would have happened if the protagonist had made a different choice or had started off in a slightly or completely different condition." For instance, Tom Riddle (aka the young Voldemort) and Harry Potter are shown to be so very similar, yet one chose to bring death, while the other chose to lay down his life to save others.
In setting/plot:
Fairy tales commonly feature the dark, wild woods contrasted with the domesticated city or town life. The forest is wilder when contrasted with the tame life, while the city or town is tamer by contrast with the town. Red Ridinghood and many others leave the safety of town and domestic life and venture into the dangerous wilds of the forest, where they face possible death. This very contrast shapes the plot. The same contrast between safe civilization and the dangers of the (human-manipulated) wild also forms the plotline of "Jurassic Park" (movie and book.) The differences between a big city and the countryside are highlighted in humble fairy tales like "City Mouse, Country Mouse" and great literary works like "The Importance of Being Earnest." Think of what you can do with a story in two settings or plot events that become more significant and meaningful in their juxtaposition to other settings or events.
In language/metaphor:
Many of the cliches we use everyday use juxtaposition, like "make a mountain out of a molehill," "all's fair in love and war," and "better late than never." Each of these phrases puts together opposites or seeming opposites in order to connect and contrast the two, a mountain from a molehill, love vs war, and late vs. never. We use these so often that we scarcely notice them anymore. But if you put together your own turn of phrase, your own set of opposites with thought-provoking commonalities, you can bring out deeper meaning in your stories. Poets do it all the time. In the article linked to above, the author points to the juxtapositions in the first lines of Tale of Two Cities and beyond, as juxtaposes "the best of times," "the worst of times," and the doubles the represent darkness and light within Dickens' famous text.
Now, it's your turn. How can you make more meaning in your writing with juxtaposition?
