Literary notes about Track (AI summary)
Writers often employ the word “track” in literature to evoke both physical pathways and metaphorical journeys. It may refer to literal marks or trails—such as a railway’s fixed course disrupted by deliberate tampering [1] or a narrow trail winding through fields [2]—or serve as a signifier of progress and direction in one’s thoughts or life, as when a character feels reassured by being “on the right track” [3] or follows an elusive lead in a mystery [4]. At times, “track” highlights the act of pursuit or the process of following evidence, whether it be the traces of a wild animal [5, 6] or the subtle signs that guide a detective’s inquiry [7], underscoring its versatility as both a literal route and a metaphor for the progression of ideas and events.
- We learned afterward that a man named Bird had displaced a rail on purpose to throw the train off the track, and thereby give us time.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - By a devious track between the fields they wound back to the Starkfield road.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - And when I found that he alone, of all the company, had lost a thumb, my last misgiving vanished; I was sure I was on the right track.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain - This track, as you perceive, was made by a rider who was going from the direction of the school.”
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - I pointed to the spot where he had disappeared, and we followed the track with boats; nets were cast, but in vain.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - They run a considerable distance after being pierced, and it requires an experienced hunter to track them.
— from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll - I kept a bold face before Lestrade, but, upon my soul, I believe that for once the fellow is on the right track and we are on the wrong.
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
