Literary notes about Disbelief (AI summary)
In literature, disbelief is often portrayed as a complex and multifaceted reaction—a mixture of emotional shock, skeptical inquiry, and a profound challenge to accepted truths. It may manifest in a character’s subtle facial expression or in a slow, creeping sensation that transforms from doubt to open denial ([1], [2]), while in other narratives it serves as a tool to question prevailing authorities or moral certitudes ([3], [4]). Some authors use disbelief to underscore a psychological defense against propaganda or to mark the transition from naive belief to a critical, often disillusioned, stance ([5], [6]), thereby enriching the thematic complexity of their works.
- "Thus," he writes ("Life and Letters", Vol. 1. page 309.), "disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete.
— from Darwin and Modern Science by A. C. (Albert Charles) Seward - "To the pole!" I exclaimed, unable to keep back a movement of disbelief.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - There was never any danger that the Germans were not listened in on; the danger the Nazi operators had to worry about was disbelief.
— from Psychological Warfare by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger - But in the English Church a man succeeds, not through his capacity for belief, but through his capacity for disbelief.
— from Intentions by Oscar Wilde - Since the first lesson of all propaganda is reasoned disbelief , it would be sad and absurd for anyone to believe propaganda about propaganda.
— from Psychological Warfare by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger - At first, discouragement took hold of people's minds, opening the door to disbelief.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne
