Literary notes about advantage (AI summary)
The term “advantage” in literature serves as a flexible concept, denoting both material and abstract benefits that shape character actions and plot developments. It is used to highlight concrete gains, such as a character capitalizing on a chance observation or seizing a tactical opportunity in battle [1][2][3], while also embodying more subtle advantages like the intellectual or moral upper hand that influences decisions [4][5][6]. In some passages, the word underscores social or economic leverage—whether by wealth or position—that affects interpersonal dynamics and power struggles [7][8][9]. Thus, its usage reflects a spectrum of benefits ranging from immediate physical gains to long-term ethical considerations, illustrating the multifaceted role advantage plays in driving narratives and deepening character conflicts [10][11].
- Cesaire had disappeared, taking advantage of the door being open.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - Swift as thought, Hawkeye seized the advantage, and discharged his fatal weapon into the top of the oak.
— from The Last of the Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper - We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account unless we make use of local guides.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - Thus, so far as knowledge of detached facts is concerned, the advantage is on the side of self-knowledge as against external observation.
— from The Analysis of Mind by Bertrand Russell - But this is an advantage, that concerns only the owner, nor is there any thing but sympathy, which can interest the spectator.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume - But consider what precedes and what follows, and then, if it be for your advantage, engage in the affair.
— from The Enchiridion by Epictetus - To save the island, he refused to use an enormous advantage fortune had given him over the [374] fleet.
— from The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan - He was a smooth and florid personage, elegantly dressed, and he spoke their language freely, which gave him a great advantage in dealing with them.
— from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of her time with her two elder sisters.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - that nothing could be unjust that was done against Jews; and that when both cannot be consistent, advantage must prevail over justice.
— from The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Flavius Josephus - This advantage, which had been obtained by treachery, served as a prelude to more honorable and decisive victories.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon