Literary notes about Conventional (AI summary)
In literature, the term "conventional" is often deployed to evoke a sense of established norms and traditions—whether in language, behavior, or artistic form. Some authors use it to denote the standard or customary mode of expression, as when Thomas Jefferson refers to "conventional tints" in topographical drawing [1, 2] or when Rousseau discusses the conventional form that supplements natural lessons [3, 4, 5]. At the same time, it can serve as a subtle critique, pointing to rigid adherence to tradition that may stifle originality; this is evident in the measured observations of writers like Chekhov and Henry James who note the limitations or mechanical aspects of such practices [6, 7, 8, 9]. Whether highlighting the societal adherence to expected patterns or questioning their creative merit, "conventional" functions as a flexible literary marker—simultaneously descriptive and evaluative—in a wide range of contexts [10, 11, 12].
- O 1st Part:— Topographical Drawing: Conventional Tints, 1 . . . .
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Conventional carved ornament was substituted in its place, and developed into a splendid system of highly decorative forms.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The first lessons come by nature; art only supplements them and determines the conventional form which politeness shall take.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Hence the first law of every society is some conventional equality either in men or things.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - He is swept along on the torrent of conventional ideas; to rescue him you must urge him in the opposite direction.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - “There are so many conventional ideas in the world,” Nadyezhda Fyodorovna went on, “and life is not so easy as it seems.”
— from The Duel and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - And I say that not in the least out of conventional modesty; it’s perfectly sincere.”
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - one ought to be above conventional prejudices and rise to the level of modern ideas.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - I’m not in the least stupidly conventional.
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - The poor Frenchman, forgetting his conventional language, had taken to his own mother tongue, to utter a last appeal!
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - According to my experience, the conventional notion of a lover cannot be always true.
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Extravagance in dress is the folly of the class rather than the individual, it is merely conventional.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
