Literary notes about Confrontation (AI summary)
In literature, "confrontation" is employed to illustrate a range of encounters—from personal struggles and intimate clashes to broader ideological and political conflicts. Authors depict it as a moment when characters face their inner demons or adversaries directly, as in a solitary battle with one’s fate or even with divine judgment ([1], [2]). At the same time, the term is extended to embody historical and sociopolitical clashes, underscoring the collision of opposing systems or ideas ([3], [4]). In dramatic settings, the face-to-face encounter is portrayed as integral to the unfolding of conflict and the deepening of narrative tension ([5], [6]), while in political literature it often highlights the stark divide between negotiation and open dissent ([7], [8]). This versatility of usage reinforces "confrontation" as a powerful literary device that not only captures physical conflict but also the intricate interplay of internal and external forces driving human experience ([9], [10]).
- It was the principle of "every man for himself"; solitary confrontation of his God, solitary struggle with the wilderness.
— from The American MindThe E. T. Earl Lectures by Bliss Perry - “Confrontation of myself with Madame Goëzman.
— from Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence, Vol. 1 by Elizabeth Sarah Kite - And we sought to engage the Soviet Union in the important task of moving beyond the cold war and away from confrontation.
— from State of the Union Addresses by Jimmy Carter - The Peloponnesian War was the confrontation of two social systems, radically opposed in form, method, and outlook.
— from Creative Intelligence: Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by George H. Mead - I have tried, on the contrary, to show that confrontation is a necessary product of the bare form of dramatic representation,—two people face to face.
— from The Psychology of Beauty by Ethel Puffer Howes - And it is the singular peculiar characteristic of the drama— the face to face confrontation of forces—which furnishes these conditions.
— from The Psychology of Beauty by Ethel Puffer Howes - Only a balanced agreement will serve our interests and minimize the threat of nuclear confrontation.
— from State of the Union Addresses (1790-2006) by United States. Presidents - In our relations with the Soviet Union, we have turned away from a policy of confrontation to one of negotiation.
— from State of the Union Addresses by Richard M. (Richard Milhous) Nixon - The hour of confrontation is come, and you must answer.
— from The Man Who Laughs: A Romance of English History by Victor Hugo - The view of confrontation as the dramatic principle is confirmed by dramatic literature.
— from The Psychology of Beauty by Ethel Puffer Howes
