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Paradox: To Suffer or Not to Suffer Living 

1/18/2017

15 Comments

 
Picture
Living or dying?

​Let's say while calling the roll, I said "raise your hand if you are absent." Those who were present would laugh a good laugh. For you caught the paradox in my statement. 
​
A paradox is a statement that is self-contradictory because it contains two statements that may be both true but cannot be true at the same time. You cannot be absent and present at the same time, right? Similarly, if I say "I am a compulsive liar," will you believe what I say? Does that make me an honest person who can own up to being a liar? So, I am not a liar? . . . Neither you nor I will be able to determine the truth of my statement. Now, how about "deep down, you're really shallow"? That is a "profoundly shallow" statement that makes us scratch our heads. In addition, "you shouldn't go in the water until you know how to swim." Let's wrap up this round with "never say never!" 

Now to shift gears:
Following is an excerpt from "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," a short story written in 1890 by Ambrose Bierce. Peyton Farquhar, a Southern planter and our protagonist, is suffering an acute anxiety and panic attack while awaiting to be executed by the union army.    


        He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children. The               water, touched to gold by the early sun, the brooding mists under the banks at some           distance down the stream, the fort, the soldiers, the piece of drift--all had distracted             him. And now he became conscious of a new disturbance. Striking through the                   thought of his dear ones was a sound which he could neither ignore nor understand,           a sharp, distinct, metallic percussion like the stroke of a blacksmith's hammer upon             the anvil; it had the same ringing quality. He wondered what it was, and whether                 immeasurably distant or nearby--it seemed both. Its recurrence was regular, but as             slow as the tolling of a death knell. He awaited each stroke with impatience and--he           knew not why--apprehension. The intervals of silence grew progressively longer, the           delays became maddening. With their greater infrequency the sounds increased in             strength and sharpness. They hurt his ear like the thrust of a knife; he feared he                 would shriek. What he heard was the ticking of his watch.

The extreme fear of death overstimulates Farquhar's senses, and in his imagination, the ticking of his watch becomes a blacksmith's hammer that pounds against his nerves. He imagines each time it ticks the sound stabs him like a knife. In his mind, the sound is just like the crashing bells that signal somebody's death. In this way, he experiences his death before it actually happens. His fear makes life as deadly as death and he cannot bear the short amount of time left for him. His knowledge that he is sure to be hanged makes him unable to bear his life. In such a situation, death may be more welcome than life. Paradoxically, life becomes unbearable and death becomes a comfort.  


15 Comments
Andrea Gaytan
1/19/2017 23:37:46

The story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a story meaning "A dead man's dream". This story talks about the experience this man, Peyton Farquhar, had while he was about to be executed by the army. This man was in the wait of becoming a dead man, and in that moment he experience some type of anxiety that felt like he was reflecting over his life and loved ones. The author uses similes and descriptive words to the scene and the main character's feelings. Trying to imagine such a contradicting scene is quite difficult, and makes you wonder how such a scary time can be a peaceful time because he is thinking of his loved ones. The contradiction does not only come from the event itself, but the person. Peyton Farquhar was a Southern planter who was killed as a traitor. He was a gentleman about to be hanged. This makes you wonder, how is it possible? The author does great on showing different example on how paradoxical Farquhar's last moments are.

Reply
Denise J Ruiz
2/15/2017 10:23:30

Andrea, I love your explanations. Mostly this one, at first I was confused of what paradox actually means but little by little I got the hand of it. However, you make a great point towards the story. I read the small description and it put me on a state of confusion but as I read your comment I started to understand the concept of it. Thanks.

Reply
Jackeline A Martinez
1/24/2017 19:42:33

Since we discussed about Paradox I got really interest about how many times we used this literary resources without intention because it flows in our daily conversation in "sarcastic" ways.

Reply
Kay
1/26/2017 13:54:35

Very true. If one believes that there could be "a blessing in disguise," the person already knows how a paradox works and how paradoxical a human existence can be. Life is many splendid things!

Reply
Andrea Gaytan
1/29/2017 21:27:51

Hello Jackeline, before reading your comment the topic of Paradox being used in our every day lives had not crossed my mind. It is a very common thing we do, and we don't even realize it.

Reply
Jackeline A Martinez
2/18/2017 21:41:08

I know Andrea, I did't have idea about it, but after the lesson with Ms. Lee about paradox we can analyze about it.

Denise J Ruiz
2/15/2017 10:21:26

Jackeline, paradox is use daily in our lives we have heard it daily but we don't make a notice of it.

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Monica Orduna
1/25/2017 20:28:02

After reading the story of "An Occurrence at Owl Creen Bridge" the paradox becomes clear in my mind. The suffer that is found in the intense and metaphorical story of Peyton Farquhar is a constant way to led the death seems like the best thing to do, besides the past opiniones of it.

Reply
Melissa Menchaca 1/2A
2/16/2017 22:05:24

I see your point of view clear in the aspect that you believe death would be the best key but is it always the answer in the end? I know that the story makes it seem that death is the key to happiness but what about others that are around you will they also be affected?

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Raquel B.
1/31/2017 22:59:31

Farquhar’s last moment was paradoxical because he suffered while being alive and people usually want to live longer. The last moment before his death seemed eternal and torturous to him, “as slow as the tolling of a death knell.” and he preferred a quicker death because “the life he is left with is the torture of death” as Mrs. K stated.

Reply
Denise J Ruiz
2/15/2017 10:27:18

Raquel, I sort of believe that many individuals could of prefer to die instantly than to suffer into the awakens of death. I in my personal experience, I believe that a instantly death is better for anybody because even to the ones that are watching that individual die they suffer the same pain. But, yes . Mrs. Kay makes a great point with her statement.

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Raquel B.
2/17/2017 20:51:16

If the last moment of ones life was free of torture they would like for that moment to last longer yet for Farquhar's situation was not the case. Sadly his last moments were torturous and he simply wanted instant death. (What I meant to say in my first sentence)

Jorge Gonzalez
2/11/2017 19:53:07

Hmmm..... He should've chose "not to be" like Ophelia sooner so he didn't have to suffer and instead sleep, perchance dream... cx

Ok, well, putting jokes aside, Ambrose Bierce does an amazing job at capturing human emotions when it comes to death. No matter how strong willed a human is, the thought of dying will make the human body fear for it's life. This reaction is normal, and over-exaggerating every single sound and motion is exactly what a human feels when he/she has the knowledge that it's their time. So, indeed, the last moments of Farquar were scandalous and horrendous to him which is why it would seem that death was the only way to keep him in peace.

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Denise J Ruiz
2/15/2017 10:29:50

Yes! Jorge, he should've chosen "not to be" as Ophelia. I was actually commenting something similar to that in Raquel statement. But yeah, here in this story death is the may thing for the paradox they tried to make.

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Edoardo Munoz
2/18/2017 21:25:20

This is a paradox. We as human beings fear nothing more than death itself but absolutely hate the concept of suffering. But alas, the only way to truly end someones suffering is to "put them out of their misery." You cannot live life without suffering, so therefore you cannot live it without misery; but you cannot be miserable after death.

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