Literary notes about Incarceration (AI summary)
The term "incarceration" is employed in literature to evoke both the physical confinement of a character and the broader themes of injustice, degradation, and social constraint. It often signifies not only the literal imprisonment—illustrated by references to the looming threat of ruin and an unjust fate [1, 2, 3]—but also serves as a metaphor for the emotional and societal cages that bind individuals, as seen in depictions of prolonged and oppressive confinement [4, 5]. Authors also use the word to highlight the transformative and sometimes dehumanizing experiences that emerge from being confined, whether it be through explicit commentary on legal systems and their harsh punishments [6, 7] or in narrative settings where the very notion of incarceration shapes a character’s destiny and reflects a larger political or moral critique [8, 9].
- Mr. Boltby did indeed hint something about a criminal prosecution, and utter ruin, and—incarceration.
— from Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope - Now that he could without danger to his mother seek release from an unjust incarceration, he became eager to get out.
— from The Mystery of Metropolisville by Edward Eggleston - She knew also that the Cardinal had that in his hands wherewith he could condemn and sentence her to incarceration for the rest of her days.
— from Political Women, Vol. 1 by Menzies, Sutherland, active 1840-1883 - Three hundred and thirty days had passed since my incarceration.
— from The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs - "Why?" I asked faintly, not yet fully recovered from my long incarceration.
— from Gala-Days by Gail Hamilton - An offence punishable with imprisonment is, in this language, an offence “which produces incarceration.”
— from The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay — Volume 1 by Fanny Burney - First incarceration rates in 1970 and earlier were estimated to be 80% of each age-specific rate of first incarceration in 1974.
— from Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001 by Thomas P. Bonczar - Under the sway of the Moslem, her highest condition is a life-long incarceration, her best treatment, that of a gilded toy—a soulless slave.
— from Noble Deeds of American WomenWith Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent - During the period of our incarceration Kantos Kan and I became well acquainted, and formed a warm personal friendship.
— from A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
