Literary notes about Awry (AI summary)
The term "awry" is used in literature to evoke a sense of misalignment or distortion, whether describing physical features or abstract circumstances. Authors employ it to indicate that something is askew—a hat misplaced or a plan gone wrong. In some works, the word enhances vivid imagery, as when a character’s hat or spectacles are depicted as positioned awry, emphasizing dishevelment or eccentricity ([1], [2], [3]). In other texts, "awry" conveys a more metaphorical disruption of order, be it in the scheming fate of a character or the unforeseen derailment of events ([4], [5], [6]). This flexible usage allows writers across centuries to capture both the literal and figurative off-kilter state of characters and situations.
- The editor came from the inner office, a straw hat awry on his brow.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - His hat was gone and his clothes were awry.
— from The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War by Stephen Crane - His glasses were slid far down on his nose, his hair was standing on end, his tie was all awry.
— from Empire by Clifford D. Simak - His single minded scheming had gone awry.
— from A Son of the Immortals by Louis Tracy - "At the last moment their plans went awry; they send deep regrets.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - By thy first step awry, thou didst plant the germ of evil; but since that moment it has all been a dark necessity.
— from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
