Literary notes about Hoodlum (AI summary)
In literature, "hoodlum" is used to evoke a multifaceted character—one who embodies both the rough edges of delinquency and an almost roguish charm. Writers apply the term to denote young offenders or streetwise delinquents whose unruly behavior occasionally borders on admirable mischief ([1],[2]). At the same time, its usage often critiques societal conditions by highlighting a marginalized element that flouts respectability and traditional norms ([3],[4],[5]). The word can even serve as a nostalgic or ironic label, suggesting a poignant reminiscence of past rebelliousness while underlining the tension between social order and individual defiance ([6],[7]).
- He knew he was a hoodlum; the trolley conductors had told him that.
— from Tom Slade : Boy Scout of the Moving Pictures by Percy Keese Fitzhugh - For a while he had been a waif and a hoodlum, and by strict attention to the code of Barrel Alley's gang, he had risen to be king 11 of the hoodlums.
— from Tom Slade at Black Lake by Percy Keese Fitzhugh - The word “hoodlum,” meaning a youthful, semi-criminal rough, originated in San Francisco.
— from The Life of Bret Harte, with Some Account of the California Pioneers by Henry Childs Merwin - When they came out into the street the hoodlum crowd had dispersed.
— from Ralph on the Overland Express; Or, The Trials and Triumphs of a Young Engineer by Allen Chapman - Displaced by Italians and Slavs, many of the young men have fallen into the hoodlum and criminal element.
— from Races and Immigrants in America by John R. (John Rogers) Commons - Mart Eden, the hoodlum, and Mart Eden, the sailor, had been real, had been he; but Martin Eden!
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - He was no longer a fireman; he was a young hoodlum enjoying an adventure, and he looked up at the blaze before him with a grin.
— from Old Clinkers: A Story of the New York Fire Department by Harvey Jerrold O'Higgins
