Literary notes about OUST (AI summary)
The word "oust" consistently carries the forceful connotation of displacement or removal across a wide range of literary contexts. In Thoreau's writing, for example, it questions the legitimacy of removing elements from a natural or historical order ([1]), while in Yogananda's narrative it denotes the potential expulsion from a place of spiritual significance ([2]). This theme extends to personal and relational dynamics, as illustrated by the invocation of ousting in the context of marital or romantic rivalry ([3]) and even social elevation, where one is displaced from a position of power ([4], [5]). The usage broadens further into metaphorical terrain in H.G. Wells’s work, where competing images or ideas vie for dominance within the mind ([6], [7]), and even everyday social interactions are touched upon, as depicted by Dickens ([8]). Across these diverse examples, "oust" emerges as a vivid tool to symbolize the forceful replacement of one element by another, whether in the realms of nature, society, or the inner workings of psychology.
- But what right had I to oust johnswort and the rest, and break up their ancient herb garden?
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - The man, who held a reputation for ruthlessness, had it well within his power to oust us from the ashram.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - We further find the incantation (x. 145) of a woman desiring to oust her rival wives from the affections of her husband.
— from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell - Hence, he could not have calculated on surviving long enough for the son of a village carpenter, then a babe, to oust him from his throne.
— from The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors; Or, Christianity Before Christ by Kersey Graves - It was he whose arrival in his capital called up all France in arms to defend him there; and all Europe to oust him.
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - It was as if a little picture of a cut vein grew brighter, and struggled to oust from his brain another picture of a cut falling short of the mark.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - In those I remember one view would begin like a faint ghost, and grow and oust another.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - We might oust the girl herself?' Mrs Lammle shook her head.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
