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Literary notes about Substitute (AI summary)

The use of "substitute" in literature is remarkably versatile, functioning not only as a simple replacement for one tangible object with another but also as a metaphor for more abstract or symbolic stand-ins. Authors employ the term to denote a deliberate swap—such as replacing a genuine substance with a lesser one or adopting an alternative method in place of tradition—thereby inviting readers to reflect on authenticity and value ([1], [2], [3]). In some narratives, practical exchanges are detailed, where one item, like a wig or a different means of travel, takes the place of a lost or preferred original ([4], [5]), while in other works, the word extends into the realm of ideas, substituting established rituals or beliefs with modern equivalents or even entirely new constructs ([6], [7], [8]). Furthermore, the concept is harnessed in discussions of language and style, serving to illustrate shifts in meaning or grammatical adjustments ([9]), and in dramatic storytelling, where it encapsulates themes of replacement and transformation within personal relationships and societal roles ([10], [11]).
  1. For "real" therefore, we must substitute ordinary, or lingua communis.
    — from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  2. “The originally valuable offering is compromised for a smaller tribute or a cheaper substitute, dwindling at last to a mere trifling token or symbol.”
    — from Malay Magic by Walter William Skeat
  3. He thought the plums would be a substitute for the molasses, but we were not to be cheated out of our rights in this way.
    — from Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
  4. we determined to leave the white perogue at this place, and substitute the Iron boat, and also to make a further deposit of a part of our stores.
    — from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis
  5. The early loss of his hair obliged Mr. —— to procure the substitute of a wig.
    — from Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie
  6. If the real Prince Charming was never to come she would have none of a substitute.
    — from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
  7. The drink sacrifice was originally the blood of the sacrificed animals; wine was used later as a substitute for the blood.
    — from Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud
  8. It is no EXPLANATION of our concrete universe, it is another thing altogether, a substitute for it, a remedy, a way of escape.
    — from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James
  9. In which of the sentences that you have written (under 3 and 4) would it be possible to substitute an of -phrase for the possessive?
    — from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge
  10. From the moment when Marius took his place, and was the substitute, Cosette would not have regretted God himself.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  11. But—oh, Rosalind! Rosalind!... “It's all a poor substitute at best,” he said sadly.
    — from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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