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Literary notes about UNTIDY (AI summary)

The term "untidy" appears across literary works as a versatile adjective that vividly conveys disorder—both in physical surroundings and in a character’s personal habits or mental state. Authors use it to describe tangible messes such as disheveled personal effects, scattered papers, and cluttered rooms ([1], [2], [3]), evoking a palpable sense of chaos and neglect. At the same time, "untidy" extends beyond mere physical disarray; it often captures an inner turmoil or a careless attitude, as when it characterizes a person's overall appearance or behavior, suggesting both literal and figurative disorganization ([4], [5], [6]). Some narratives play with ironic or humorous contrasts, highlighting untidiness as a contrary trait to polished society or neat manners, thereby enhancing character depth or social commentary ([7], [8], [9]). In other contexts, the word accentuates the natural, unpolished quality of certain settings or characters and becomes a subtle marker of authenticity or rustic charm ([10], [11], [12]). Overall, literary usage of "untidy" not only paints a picture of disorder but also contributes to the characterization and atmosphere, enriching the reader’s sensory and emotional experience ([13], [14], [15]).
  1. She folded the card into her untidy bag and snapped the catch.
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  2. He went to a little untidy desk in the corner, and began a note.
    — from The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance by H. G. Wells
  3. For a long time he walked to and fro, threading his way between the chairs and the piles of untidy objects of all sorts.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  4. You know she is fearfully untidy, and she had left it with her handkerchiefs and ribbons and things in her top drawer.
    — from Three Girls from School by L. T. Meade
  5. His face was disturbed and troubled, while his clothes were disarranged and untidy.
    — from A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
  6. It would have been all the better, as it seemed to Alice, if she had got some one else to dress her, she was so dreadfully untidy.
    — from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
  7. "I always heard literary people were untidy," said Esther smiling.
    — from Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People by Israel Zangwill
  8. They were dressed to correspond, though in a most untidy and negligent way.
    — from Bleak House by Charles Dickens
  9. When I was happy, it was only necessary to glance into my closets, and it would have been evident that I was not a coquettish and untidy woman.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  10. Arabella looked so handsome amid her untidy surroundings that he felt glad he had come, and all the misgivings vanished that had hitherto haunted him.
    — from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
  11. She tried to look picturesque, but only succeeded in being untidy.
    — from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  12. I mean not to be slovenly about her dress or untidy in leaving things about.
    — from Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw
  13. She just huddled into bed, huddling up her mind in an untidy hurry and confusion, just as she left her clothes in an untidy heap on the floor.
    — from The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth
  14. " He felt like answering: "I was, till I saw you again;" but instead he stood up abruptly and glanced about him at the untidy sweltering park.
    — from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
  15. I'm quite happy to forgive you for it, as you ask, especially as I can't see anything at all that's been left untidy."
    — from The Trial by Franz Kafka

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