جميلة،بن سي يعقوبحليمة،بلوافي2026-07-062026-07-062026https://dspace.univ-temouchent.edu.dz/handle/123456789/7150This study explores the aesthetics of “paradox” as a structural strategy in the contemporary Algerian short story, focusing on the collection “The Cup of Time” by writer Maamar Chadri Ali. The foundational aspect of the research addresses the concept of paradox, exploring its various types (verbal, dramatic, situational, figurative, and title paradox) and their expressive and aesthetic functions, in the applied analysis of six selected stories, the mechanisms by which paradox is formed are identified through imagery intensification, stylistic deviation, and semantic ambiguity. The study concludes that the writer employs paradox as a cognitive tool to embody existential contradictions, where the unusual vocabulary combines with paradoxical structures to disrupt the reader’s expectations and transform the very short story into a vast interpretive space that transcends the boundaries of direct language.otherThe contemporary Algerian Storyparadoxthe aesthetic mechanismscup of time- very short storiesThesis