Literary notes about confusion (AI summary)
In literature, the word "confusion" functions as a versatile tool to describe both internal states of mind and external disorder. It frequently depicts a character's inner tumult—an inchoate blend of fear, uncertainty, and lost identity [1]—as well as the chaotic upheavals of battle or societal turmoil, where order collapses into pandemonium [2][3]. Authors also employ the term to symbolize the mingling of conflicting ideas or moral quandaries, marking transitions from clarity to ambiguity [4][5]. Whether illustrating a moment of personal bewilderment or the broader disturbances of a community, "confusion" is employed to evoke a sense of fragility and the unpredictable nature of experience [6][7].
- Again the confusion came over him, as if he were losing himself and becoming all vague, undefined, inchoate.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - Thus they gathered in a pell-mell of mad confusion, and the earth groaned under the tramp of men as the people sought their places.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Cries and confusion, the flashes and reports of pistol-shots, and one loud groan rang in my ears.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - The common term under which, through the accidental use of language, two entirely different ideas were included was another source of confusion.
— from The Republic of Plato by Plato - Here, about half-past 3 p.m., began the scene of confusion and disorder that characterized the remainder of the day.
— from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman - There is something touching, and at the same time ridiculous, in this strange confusion of two different states of being.
— from Democracy in America — Volume 2 by Alexis de Tocqueville - The Universe is either an ordered whole or a confusion.
— from The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius
