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Literary notes about college (AI summary)

The term "college" in literature is used with a remarkable versatility, often reflecting its multifaceted role in society. In some instances, it denotes a prestigious academic institution—a place of intellectual and professional formation—as seen in Aaron Bernstein’s depictions of King’s College and the Hebrew College ([1], [2], [3], [4]), or in the rigorous training noted in Dickens’ narrative ([5]). In contrast, other works employ the word in a more relaxed or even satirical tone, highlighting the complacency or everyday nature of academic life, as exemplified by Gaskell’s reference to a “drowsy college” ([6]) or Thoreau’s commentary on the aspirations of the “college-bred” ([7]). Additionally, authors like Joyce and Hardy use college settings not only as a backdrop for key narrative moments ([8], [9], [10]) but also as a symbol of cultural and institutional continuity, whether in the context of sports, addresses, or emerging adulthood ([11], [12]). Through these varied examples—from the formal halls of learning to more colloquial and critical portrayals—the word "college" emerges as a rich literary motif that encapsulates education, social status, cultural critique, and personal transformation.
  1. After a few years he studied at King's College, and was ordained to the ministry of the Church of England in 1885.
    — from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein
  2. As far back as 1849 he delivered an address to the students in the Hebrew College.
    — from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein
  3. He entered the college at Lemberg, passed the examinations, and received his medical diplomas.
    — from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein
  4. He then studied at Basel, and afterwards in the Hebrew College, Palestine Place.
    — from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein
  5. ‘You’ll take a high degree at college, Steerforth,’ said I, ‘if you have not done so already; and they will have good reason to be proud of you.’
    — from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  6. He, living a lazy life in a drowsy college.
    — from North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
  7. This is about as much as the college-bred generally do or aspire to do, and they take an English paper for the purpose.
    — from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
  8. He went as far as the clock of the College of Surgeons: it was on the stroke of ten.
    — from Dubliners by James Joyce
  9. "I must rest a moment," he said; and as he paused, holding to the railings, he measured with his eye the height of a college front.
    — from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
  10. It was towards the close of his first term in the college when he was in number six.
    — from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
  11. College sports today I see.
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce
  12. Amory spread the table of their future friendship with all his ideas of what college should and did mean.
    — from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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