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Literary notes about refuse (AI summary)

The term "refuse" carries a multifaceted role in literature, serving both as a declaration of personal conviction and as an instrument of social or moral opposition. It often denotes a deliberate act of declining or rejecting, as when a character shuns an offer or defies expectation—“I refuse to take any” [1] or “I refuse to accept your point of view” [2]—thereby asserting individual will. At times, its use reflects an inner conflict between duty and desire, illustrated when characters find themselves compelled or restrained by external forces, such as the moral dilemma in “I cannot refuse her, for I feel almost lifeless” [3] or the societal strictures that render the act of refusal consequential, like the sanction imposed on an innkeeper who denies admittance [4]. Ultimately, "refuse" emerges as a powerful lexical choice that encapsulates the tension between autonomy and compulsion, highlighting the diverse layers of human decision-making.
  1. 'I refuse to take any,' I said shortly; which was just the answer he expected, though its tone might have surprised him.
    — from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
  2. I refuse to accept your point of view, yours and his, I refuse!
    — from The Sea-Gull by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  3. I cannot refuse her, for I feel almost lifeless.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  4. The innkeeper who shall refuse them admittance, shall be fined forty shillings for such offence.
    — from Democracy in America — Volume 2 by Alexis de Tocqueville

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