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Literary notes about drift (AI summary)

The term "drift" functions as a multifaceted metaphor in literature, often capturing both tangible movement and abstract transitions. It is employed to denote physical displacement—a vehicle stalling amid a snow-drift [1] or an object floating toward an unknown destination [2, 3]—while, in other contexts, it describes the intangible flow of conversation or thought, as when one inquires about the "drift" to seek the underlying message or direction of an argument [4, 5]. Additionally, the word connotes a gradual, inevitable transition in states of being, whether in the emotional, intellectual, or even historical realm, illustrating a sense of change that is both natural and uncontrollable [6, 7, 8]. Through these varied uses, the term underscores the subtle interplay between external forces and internal dynamics, enriching narratives with layers of meaning that resonate on multiple levels.
  1. We actually went into camp in a snow-drift in a desert, at midnight in a storm, forlorn and hopeless, within fifteen steps of a comfortable inn.
    — from Roughing It by Mark Twain
  2. If they did so, they would become seasick, fall asleep, and their canoe would drift away into the unknown.
    — from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski
  3. He thought it was a piece of floating paper, perhaps part of the kite, and wondered idly how long it would take to drift ashore.
    — from Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie
  4. For in this case what is the drift of the enumeration?
    — from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot
  5. They would say that, at any rate, if they did not perceive the drift of the question.
    — from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
  6. I thought of their unfathomable distance, and the slow inevitable drift of their movements out of the unknown past into the unknown future.
    — from The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
  7. with this background did Amory drift into adolescence.
    — from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  8. At all events, he was powerless, and had to let matters drift to a conclusion.
    — from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman

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