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Literary notes about switch (AI summary)

In literature, the term “switch” assumes a range of meanings that blend the literal with the symbolic. At times, it designates a concrete object—a twig or similar instrument used for corporal punishment, evoking a sharp, stinging reality [1, 2]—while in other contexts it denotes a mechanical device that controls the flow of energy or signals a change in operation, such as when characters interact with electrical equipment [3, 4, 5]. Beyond these physical applications, “switch” also functions metaphorically to indicate shifts in behavior or circumstance—marking abrupt transitions from one state to another—and even serves as a symbolic moniker or emblem of authority [6, 7, 8]. This multifaceted usage enriches narrative textures, underscoring both tangible actions and the more subtle transformations within human interactions.
  1. The youth's knees trembled, but when he did not go on, the old woman hit him about the legs with a switch and with stinging-nettles.
    — from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
  2. Only consider, I struck her just twice with a switch—there were no marks even...
    — from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  3. Assume that there are ten in each instrument, and that the switch in each is in its lower position.
    — from How it Works by Archibald Williams
  4. Von Bork pushed it back, and, leading the way, he clicked the switch of the electric light.
    — from His Last Bow: An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
  5. Check that the modem's power switch is off.
    — from The Online World by Odd De Presno
  6. “Pan Dobrzynski,” said General Dombrowski to him, “are you that famous swordsman of the Kosciuszko times, that Maciej, called Switch!
    — from Pan Tadeusz; or, The last foray in Lithuania by Adam Mickiewicz
  7. I was rather impressed by the remarkable facility with which he could switch on extreme courteousness and severity, kindliness and contempt.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
  8. Maciej is our marshal and his little switch is his baton of office.”
    — from Pan Tadeusz; or, The last foray in Lithuania by Adam Mickiewicz

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