Literary notes about jolt (AI summary)
In literature, “jolt” is deployed to signify a sudden, disruptive force that can be both physical and emotional. It may describe a literal movement—the abrupt shaking of a carriage or train nearly dislodging its occupants [1, 2]—or the figurative disturbance that rattles a character’s mental state, as when a severe mental shock upends one’s composure [3, 4]. Authors also use the term to punctuate narrative rhythm and to hint at transformative moments within a story, thereby capturing both tangible impacts and unexpected shifts in thought or feeling [5, 6].
- She leaned forward and pressed her face against the window just as the carriage gave a big jolt.
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Suddenly the jolt of the train coming to a standstill awoke me.
— from The History of a Crime by Victor Hugo - Mrs. Rachel felt that she had received a severe mental jolt.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - But two weeks ago he died suddenly from a stroke of apoplexy; and when his will was read to me I got a jolt from which I haven't yet recovered.
— from The Heritage of the Hills by Arthur Preston Hankins - It marries old opinion to new fact so as ever to show a minimum of jolt, a maximum of continuity.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - One must put in the pause, there, to fetch the reader up with a slight jolt, and keep him from gliding by without noticing the lake.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain
