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Literary notes about brutality (AI summary)

Literary authors deploy the word “brutality” to capture not only raw physical violence but also the moral and emotional degradation hidden beneath seemingly civilized exteriors. For instance, in narratives of human suffering, such as the account of Uncle Abram’s harsh treatment, the term highlights a tragic incongruity between inherent kindness and external cruelty [1]. It also emerges as a sharp descriptor in dialogue, where an outburst laden with “deliberate brutality” conveys a stark immediacy in interpersonal conflicts [2]. Moreover, writers extend its metaphorical reach to cast societal indifference or dehumanizing social orders in a harsh light, turning acts of unfeeling financial or institutional neglect into matters of emotional and moral brutality [3][4]. In each usage, the term serves as a powerful indicator of the clash between civility and instinctual savagery, inviting readers to confront the darker sides of human nature.
  1. Uncle Abram, also, was frequently treated with great brutality, although he was one of the kindest and most faithful creatures in the world.
    — from Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
  2. On that?" shouted the friend with deliberate brutality.
    — from Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
  3. I was very much concerned for his misfortunes, and felt that any recognition short of ninepence would be mere brutality and hardness of heart.
    — from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  4. You talk about the brutality of war; it's not a patch on the brutality of peace.
    — from The Kingdom Round the Corner: A Novel by Coningsby Dawson

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