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Literary notes about query (AI summary)

In literature, the term "query" serves not only as a straightforward request for information but also as a multifaceted device that can heighten tension, invite reflection, or even challenge established norms. In some works, a query is a blunt demand for identity or clarification—as seen when a character is abruptly confronted with "Who are you?" ([1]) or queried about details that carry social or political weight ([2], [3]). In other texts, it functions as a contemplative prompt, nudging both characters and readers to consider deeper existential or historical questions ([4], [5]). Additionally, its use in formal correspondences or editorial annotations—such as noting a word’s unusual usage ([6], [7])—demonstrates an adaptability that spans from dialogue to metatextual commentary. This rich versatility allows "query" to act as both a narrative catalyst and a stylistic marker across varied literary genres.
  1. Then Enjolras approached the man and demanded of him:— “Who are you?” At this abrupt query, the man started.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  2. The Elector of Mentz circulates among his brother Potentates this pertinent query, Were it not advisable to treat of Peace?
    — from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle
  3. He hazarded a query: “Why do you not have a carriage of your own?
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  4. Still the query haunts us: Is this so in truth?
    — from Studies in Logical Theory by John Dewey
  5. In particular THIS query has always come home to me: May not the claims of tender-mindedness go too far?
    — from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James
  6. [A] The excellent proof-reader has put a query to my use of the word "see."
    — from The World I Live In by Helen Keller
  7. Query, Who is now the possessor of Kinaston's manuscript, which M R .
    — from Notes and Queries, Vol. IV, Number 97, September 6, 1851 by Various

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