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Literary notes about alarm (AI summary)

In literature, the term "alarm" serves both as a literal signal of danger and a metaphor for inner turmoil. It is used to instill immediate tension and urgency—as when a character’s sudden realization generates an almost palpable shock [1, 2]—or to reflect more internal, psychological distress, as seen when characters experience inexplicable inner agitation [3]. Authors employ alarm to punctuate key moments, whether marking a physical crisis [4, 5] or subtly signifying the disruption of complacency in a character’s mind [6, 7]. This dual usage enriches narratives by linking external disturbances with emotional and existential responses, thereby deepening the reader’s engagement with the unfolding drama [8, 9].
  1. Her eyes had in them a strange perplexity, and perhaps—but why?—alarm.
    — from The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
  2. And here a fresh alarm brought me to a standstill with a thumping heart.
    — from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
  3. An irrepressible tremor gradually pervaded my frame; and, at length, there sat upon my very heart an incubus of utterly causeless alarm.
    — from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe
  4. “An alarm!” said I. “Yes, we've had a scare in this part lately.
    — from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
  5. He stumbled over a prostrate figure, which started up with a yell of alarm and dashed off down the street.
    — from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
  6. In spite of his alarm about Ilusha, he had not, till lately, felt one minute's doubt of his boy's ultimate recovery.
    — from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  7. But, all this while, I was giving myself very unnecessary alarm.
    — from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  8. My soul is kindled, and my bosom burns; New rising spirits all my force alarm, Lift each impatient limb, and brace my arm.
    — from The Iliad by Homer
  9. “I cannot allow that,” Varvara Petrovna brought out hurriedly, even with some alarm.
    — from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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