Literary notes about grit (AI summary)
In literature, grit is portrayed with a remarkable duality. On one hand, it connotes an inner fortitude—a tenacity and steadfastness essential for enduring adversity and achieving success, as seen in remarks celebrating “splendid grit” and a determination that nothing shall check one’s career ([1],[2],[3],[4]). On the other hand, writers also employ grit in its literal sense, evoking the tangible quality of coarse particles in descriptions of landscapes and physical conditions—a texture that adds a raw, unpolished dimension to their narratives ([5],[6],[7]). This multifaceted usage not only underscores the admirable qualities of perseverance and resolve but also enriches sensory detail in both character portrayal and setting.
- They have splendid grit, the Old Settlers, splendid staying power.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain - Do you see? That requires uncommon grit.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - A man with an iron will, with a determination that nothing shall check his career, is sure, if he has perseverance and grit, to succeed.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - Indeed, most of the great things of the world have been accomplished by grit and pluck.
— from Pushing to the Front by Orison Swett Marden - Always, always she was spitting out of her mouth the ash and grit of disillusion, of falsity.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - There is no clear line of demarkation between the Coal-measures and the Millstone Grit, nor between the Millstone Grit and underlying Yoredale rocks.
— from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass - Soon I grew warm, and the dust on my face changed into solid and abiding grit.
— from The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
