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Literary notes about challenging (AI summary)

The word "challenging" in literature frequently embodies a sense of provocation—a call to confront, question, or overcome an obstacle. It appears in contexts ranging from literal combat and legal proceedings, as when jurors are described in a testing situation [1], to intimate personal confrontations that evoke defiance and audacity [2, 3]. Authors also employ it as a metaphor for the complexities of life itself, as in riddles of good and evil that compel intellectual engagement [4] or discussions that unsettle conventional wisdom [5]. Whether highlighting a physical battle on the field [6, 7] or signaling an inner determination to defy authority [8, 9], "challenging" serves as a dynamic descriptor that enriches the narrative by inviting readers to witness or partake in moments of courageous opposition.
  1. usque eō timuī, dōnec ad rēiciundōs iūdicēs vēnimus , V. 1, 17, I was afraid all the time till we came to challenging jurors .
    — from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane
  2. He was not tall, but he carried his head so haughtily that he looked a commanding figure, and there was something daring and challenging in his eyes.
    — from My Ántonia by Willa Cather
  3. Katavasov said to Levin with a smile, distinctly challenging him to a discussion.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy
  4. Good and evil is the challenging riddle which life places sphinxlike before every intelligence.
    — from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
  5. Let us begin by challenging our conventional wisdom.
    — from State of the Union Addresses (1790-2006) by United States. Presidents
  6. And of Aser forty thousand going forth to fight, and challenging in battle.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  7. And having taken them up, he sped his chariot away, challenging the invited kings to a fight.
    — from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
  8. “But before he fainted, he collected all his strength to challenge you, and to defy you while challenging you.”
    — from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  9. His horoscope is a challenging portrait, revealing his unalterable past and its probable future results.
    — from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

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