Juxtaposition

Sometimes, we are not able to appreciate something until it is contrasted with its extreme opposite—a technique known as juxtaposition.

Introduction

Juxtaposition is a long word that sounds complicated, but it's not really. 

In order to appreciate that something is big, we need to see it next to something small; in order to recognise that something is fast, we need to see it overtake something slow. 

While juxtaposition can be used in more subtle ways than this, at its core it is simply about contrasting one thing with its opposite to highlight its significance.

Juxtaposition in Writing

Let's consider a hypothetical situation to help us better understand how juxtaposition works. 

Imagine you never left your hometown while growing up. The local shops, school and parks were all you needed to sustain yourself, and all of your friends lived nearby. 

However, upon graduating high school, you are given the chance to study in another country. You wave farewell to your family and board the plane, and then anxiously await your arrival at your new home. 

When the plane door is reopened, you are greeted by scenes of extreme poverty—something you have never experienced before. 

The sights, sounds, and smells of the new country are in stark contrast to the scenes you farewelled at home, and it is only now that you realised the luxury and privilege you experienced growing up. 

In this example, the juxtaposition of one standard of living with its extreme opposite allows us to appreciate the original in a new way.

Visual Juxtaposition

To help us further understand how juxtaposition works, consider the photograph below by Chris Andrews:

Note how Andrews has deliberately juxtaposed an agricultural foreground against an industrial background in this photograph.

While the field radiates warmth with its vibrant colour, and simplicity through its empty landscape, the factory suggests cold artificiality with its lack of colour, straight lines, and absence of life. 

By seeing these two opposing landscapes in direct contrast, viewers can appreciate the difference between them, and perhaps be reminded of a simpler time when animals and trees—not factories and smoke—filled the horizon.

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