Literary notes about tell (AI summary)
The word "tell" serves as a versatile narrative tool across literature, functioning as a means to impart information, convey emotions, and deliver commands. Authors use it to directly communicate pivotal plot details—as when a letter announces freedom ([1]) or a character is instructed to share secrets ([2], [3])—while also employing it in intimate dialogues and reflective monologues that reveal character intentions and internal states ([4], [5]). It appears in various genres, from historical narratives and epic tales ([6], [7]) to fairy tales and modern realist fiction ([8], [9]), underscoring its adaptability in both conveying factual reports and shaping interactive, character-driven exchanges. In some instances, "tell" even bridges narrative distance by inviting readers to uncover hidden truths or join in on auditory experiences, as seen when speakers transition into storytelling or personal revelations ([10], [11]). This multiplicity of usage highlights how "tell" not only propels the narrative forward but also enriches the reader's understanding of character relationships and the unfolding events ([12], [13]).
- By the next mail I received this brief letter from Mrs. Bruce: "I am rejoiced to tell you that the money for your freedom has been paid to Mr. Dodge.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - "It may spare you a disappointment," remarked Sir Percival, "if I tell you at once that you will not find her there.
— from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - “Tell me the truth, now!” commanded the other, sternly.
— from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - The curtains of his bed were drawn aside, I tell you, [Pg 40] by a hand.
— from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - How I wish I could see you this lovely morning, and tell you all that has happened since I left home!
— from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - The meat was scarcely put on the table, when a man came into the house to tell Nikolas that the Birkebeins were roving up the river.
— from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway by Snorri Sturluson - But tell me, Sancho, hast thou got Mambrino's helmet safe?
— from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - Did I not tell you so?" said the smallest of the sparrows.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - You kin fix it up wid dat man, en tell him you’s gwine away to git de res’ o’ de money, en dat you’ll be back wid it nex’ Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday.
— from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - If it would not look too much like showing off, I would tell the reader where New Zealand is; for he is as I was; he thinks he knows.
— from Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Mark Twain - Tell me, is it true that we're unlucky?" "H'm ... how?" "Father says so.
— from The Bet, and other stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Let me tell you that in these corners live strange people—dreamers.
— from White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - But let us finish breakfast first, and then I will tell you about our town and take you to see it.”
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant