Literary notes about CAT (AI summary)
The word "cat" is employed in literature with remarkable versatility, acting both as a literal creature and a symbolic device. At times, it appears as a mysterious, solitary animal quietly traversing deserted landscapes ([1], [2]) or a clever, agile being that outsmarts its foes ([3], [4]). In other instances, the cat emerges as a playful or ironic character in nursery rhymes and fables, an embodiment of wit and caprice ([5], [6]), or even a tool for satire and metaphorical commentary on human nature ([7], [8]). Its varied portrayals—from whimsical companions and cunning tricksters to ominous figures in darker tales ([9], [10])—underscore its enduring appeal and multifaceted role in literary tradition.
- Far away I saw a gaunt cat slink crouchingly along a wall, but traces of men there were none.
— from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells - A cat slowly walking over some roof put up his back in the pale rays of the sun.
— from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - He is like a cat, he always falls on his feet.
— from A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs - Who is born of a cat will run after mice.
— from A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs - Pussy-cat ate the dumplings, the dumplings; Pussy-cat ate the dumplings.
— from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes - A Man loved, heart and soul, his favourite Cat; She was his pet, his beauty, and all that.
— from The Fables of La Fontaine by Jean de La Fontaine - “What’s fun for the cat is tears for the mouse...” he muttered.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - This is not useful in practice; for convenience, the cat command accepts a filename argument.
— from Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences - ‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough.’
— from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - The knitting old woman with the cat obtruded herself upon my memory as a most improper person to be sitting at the other end of such an affair.
— from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
