Literary notes about assistance (AI summary)
In literature, the word "assistance" is a versatile term that conveys both physical help and abstract support, and its usage shifts in tone depending on context and era. For example, in romantic and heroic narratives such as Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, assistance is life-saving—a mermaid’s timely help averts death ([1])—while in more bureaucratic or formal texts like Thomas Jefferson’s writings, it becomes an official requirement for attaining office or legitimacy ([2], [3]). In the works of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens, "assistance" also embodies communal support and personal reliance, ranging from the aid offered by a multitude in enhancing a city's glory ([4]) to the intimate, sometimes reluctant, appeals for help among friends and family ([5], [6]). Thus, across genres and historical moments, authors employ "assistance" to reflect the multifaceted nature of human interdependence, whether it springs from societal duty or individual need.
- His limbs were failing him, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he would have died had not the little mermaid come to his assistance.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - Application for this assistance must be made to the Minister of the Marine at the matriculation of the candidate.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - But it is not often given a party, or an individual, to have the assistance of two such men at the same time.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - These twenty-five millions, employed in assistance and enjoyment, would double the splendor of Paris.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - I felt myself extremely humiliated at being supposed to want the assistance of a good and charitable lady.
— from The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Mr. Elton was the only one whose assistance she asked.
— from Emma by Jane Austen
