Literary notes about Cinder (AI summary)
In literature, “cinder” functions both as a literal description of burned residue and as a potent metaphor for transformation and decay. Authors use the term to evoke a vivid image of something reduced to ash—a ladder, for instance, transformed into nothing but “cinder” by fire [1] or a substance that has “gradually…carbonized… to a cinder” [2]. At the same time, passages warn of being “burnt to a cinder,” using the word to symbolize overwhelming destruction or emotional ruin [3, 4]. In more lighthearted contexts, “cinder” colors everyday imagery, describing rustic pathways [5, 6] or even food in playful, fairy-tale narratives [7, 8]. Moreover, its application extends to the natural world, as in descriptions of volcanic landscapes and burnt-out geological features [9, 10].
- "The ladder was against the straw-rick and is burnt to a cinder," said a spectre-like form in the smoke.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - The gradual deepening of the color indicates the gradual carbonization, which is completed when only the dry insoluble cinder remains.
— from Science in Short Chapters by W. Mattieu (William Mattieu) Williams - And the greater the demand he makes on it in the exultation of his pride the more likely it is to turn on him and burn him to a cinder . . . ”
— from Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad - I won't be a witch; I won't be a witch: they may burn me to a cinder, but I won't be a witch!"
— from The Ordeal of Richard Feverel: A History of a Father and Son by George Meredith - Here a fine new cinder path had been laid around the grounds, forming an oval that measured just an eighth of a mile, to a fraction.
— from The Chums of Scranton High on the Cinder Path Or, The Mystery of the Haunted Quarry by Donald Ferguson - Fanny found her way down the crude cinder paths that made an alley-like approach to the cathedral.
— from Fanny Herself by Edna Ferber - Dummling answered, "I have only cinder-cake and sour beer; if that pleases you, we will sit down and eat."
— from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm - And Dullhead replied: ‘I’ve only got a cinder-cake and some sour beer, but if you care to have that, let us sit down and eat.’
— from The Red Fairy Book - It is a scenic route between silverswords on Ka Moa o Pele, a red cinder cone.
— from Hawaii National Park: A Guide for the Haleakala Section, Island of Maui, Hawaii by George Cornelius Ruhle - On the right lay Sunset Mountain, a volcanic cinder cone of ruddy-brown hue, that glistened in the morning sunlight.
— from Across America by Motor-cycle by C. K. Shepherd
