Question

Difficulty: HardUnseen Text Appreciation and Analysis

Read the unseen prose extract below:

"The old judge sat in the silent courtroom, staring at the empty dock where his own son had stood decades ago. He picked up the heavy wooden gavel, weighed it in his trembling hand, and whispered to the quiet walls, 'Justice was served, but peace was executed.'"

Which literary device is primarily demonstrated in the judge's statement, 'Justice was served, but peace was executed'?

  1. ParadoxAnswer
  2. B
    Oxymoron
  3. C
    Metaphor
  4. D
    Dramatic irony

Answer

Paradox
The correct answer is Paradox. The statement 'Justice was served, but peace was executed' seems self-contradictory on the surface because serving justice is expected to bring peace rather than destroy it. However, it expresses a profound truth regarding the tragic personal cost of upholding the law. A full statement containing a hidden truth beneath apparent self-contradiction is a paradox.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the judge's statement: 'Justice was served, but peace was executed.'
The statement juxtaposes the fulfillment of legal justice with the destruction of inner peace within a single proposition.
Understanding the semantic relationship between the two clauses is necessary to identify the device.
2
Evaluate the structural and conceptual nature of the statement.
It forms a complete sentence that seems contradictory on the surface but conveys a deeper truth about the moral price of legal retribution.
A paradox relies on a full statement that holds a hidden truth despite apparent self-contradiction.
3
Differentiate paradox from oxymoron and dramatic irony.
Because it is a full clause containing an implicit truth rather than adjacent opposing words (oxymoron) or secret audience knowledge (dramatic irony), it is confirmed as a paradox.
Eliminating distinct but related devices ensures accurate literary classification.

Key Concept

Identifying Paradox in Unseen Text
Estimated Time:1m 30s
Rate this question