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Literary notes about Disturbing (AI summary)

The term “disturbing” in literature operates on multiple levels, often describing both physical interruptions and internal, psychological unrest. It can denote tangible disruptions—such as astronomical phenomena that unsettle a character’s inner world ([1]) or noises that break the silence of a setting ([2], [3])—while also capturing the essence of mental disquiet, as when characters grapple with unsettling thoughts or emotions ([4], [5]). At times, the word is employed in dialogue to convey politeness or irony, evident when characters apologize for intruding ([6], [7]), or to critique societal imbalances where unexpected elements upend established order ([8], [9]). This layered usage enriches narratives by addressing disruptions that are both concrete and abstract.
  1. Yet there was near by what the astronomers would call a disturbing star, which might have produced an agitation in this gentleman's heart.
    — from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
  2. Then, suddenly, fearing perhaps that she was disturbing me, she said: 'Thank you,' and walked away.
    — from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant
  3. In the tops of the trees the wind began to play, disturbing the sleeping birds so that they flew about calling plaintively.
    — from Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson
  4. Disturbing thoughts began to chase each other through his head.
    — from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
  5. Looking back, I think now that he was blind to everything but to some disturbing vision in his soul.
    — from The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
  6. “Forgive me for disturbing you,” he said as he went into the room with Laevsky, “but I’m just going away, and I had an impulse to see you.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  7. “I fear I am disturbing an article,” said the guest.
    — from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli
  8. But Victor's astonishment was so genuine, and Mrs. Pontellier's indifference so apparent, that the disturbing notion did not lodge long in her brain.
    — from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin
  9. The introduction of water had been the means of disturbing its equilibrium.
    — from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne

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