Literary notes about pull (AI summary)
The word "pull" functions as a multifaceted verb in literature, its meaning shifting seamlessly between the literal and the metaphorical. In many works it denotes physical actions—drawing objects toward oneself or extracting them with force, as seen when a character is pulled by the cloak [1] or when a sail is hoisted [2]. Equally, it operates as a metaphor for emotional or psychological effort, urging individuals to "pull themselves together" in moments of distress [3, 4] or even to maneuver social or personal situations to their benefit [5]. By bridging concrete physical acts and abstract inner strength or coercion, the term enriches narrative texture and underscores themes of struggle and resilience across diverse literary contexts [6, 7, 8].
- You pull’d me by the cloak; would you speak with me? BRUTUS.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - 2 He spoke to his crew: ‘Pull up the sail higher.’
— from Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski - You must pull yourself together, Monsieur Bovary.
— from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert - One ought to pull oneself together and shake off such nonsense.
— from The Sea-Gull by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - I want to pull strings, even for somebody else, or be Princetonian chairman or Triangle president.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Now let me see whether ye can put the sword there as it was, and pull it out again.
— from Le Morte d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory - But their brother was no fool; he guessed what they were at, so he fastened the rope to a stone, and then gave it a pull.
— from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore - "It's a scrape, I acknowledge; but if you will lend a hand, we'll pull through, and have a good time yet.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott
