English language technique help!!! (1 Viewer)

[K33GAN]

I'm doing immigrant house by Warrick Wynne as a related text for an assessment coming up.

A quote I've got listed is "...his mother smiles at me with a European accent".
My teacher said that this technique was a 'non-sensical paradox'.

Can anyone go into detail about what that is? Is it too much of a dodgey technique and should I find another one? Or is it obscure in a good way?

Anyone got the answers?

Thanks in advance

 

[erckle999]

I'm doing immigrant house by Warrick Wynne as a related text for an assessment coming up.

A quote I've got listed is "...his mother smiles at me with a European accent".
My teacher said that this technique was a 'non-sensical paradox'.

Can anyone go into detail about what that is? Is it too much of a dodgey technique and should I find another one? Or is it obscure in a good way?

Anyone got the answers?

Thanks in advance

Hi,

A paradox is almost necessarily nonsensical, so writing nonsensical paradox is superfluous if not outright ridiculous.

However, in the quote you've got, it is not so much a paradox as a personification or aural imagery. Personification because you are attributing human qualities (accent) to a non-human entity (a smile) or aural imagery as the accent evokes speech which is something that is heard.