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.
- 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 - Only consider, I struck her just twice with a switch—there were no marks even...
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 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 - 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 - Check that the modem's power switch is off.
— from The Online World by Odd De Presno - “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 - 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 - 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