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Literary notes about groups (AI summary)

The word "groups" in literature is a versatile device that authors employ to denote collections—be they of individuals, words, or ideas—each with its own distinct character and function. In some works, groups reflect the enigmatic and diverse array of social associations; for instance, Dewey [1] describes one man’s involvement in various, heterogeneous groups, while Tolstoy [2, 3, 4] portrays groups as clusters of characters whose interactions reveal social dynamics. In other contexts, groups serve as formal classifications that help organize thought and argument, such as Darwin’s grouping of species or fossils [5, 6] and the grammatical grouping of words discussed by Kittredge [7]. Moreover, literature also depicts groups in political or conflict settings, as seen in the writings of Carlyle [8, 9] and sociologists like Burgess and Park [10, 11, 12]. Thus, whether to illustrate social organization, structure narrative, or frame scientific discourse, the term “groups” is employed across a spectrum of genres to structure and clarify complex ideas.
  1. One man is concerned in a multitude of diverse groups, in which his associates may be quite different.
    — from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey
  2. And little groups and solitary figures among the public began running from place to place to get a better view.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy
  3. At the foot of the hill lay wasteland over which a few groups of our Cossack scouts were moving.
    — from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy
  4. There were also small scratch groups of foot and horse, and groups of peasants and landowners that remained unknown.
    — from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy
  5. Many large groups of facts are intelligible only on the principle that species have been evolved by very small steps.
    — from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
  6. ON THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF GROUPS OF ALLIED SPECIES IN THE LOWEST KNOWN FOSSILIFEROUS STRATA.
    — from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
  7. In the expression of thought, words are combined into groups called phrases, clauses, and sentences.
    — from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge
  8. Lafayette comes up, with aide-de-camps and oratory; pervading the groups: "Taisez vous," answer the groups, "the King shall not go."
    — from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle
  9. At the fall of night, we behold him advance to those armed groups of Saint-Antoine, hovering all-too grim near the Salle des Menus.
    — from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle
  10. War, on the other hand, brings about the adjustments in the relations of competing and conflict groups which make peace possible.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  11. Their organization is usually quite informal and is determined by the nature and imminence of its conflicts with other groups.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  12. The existence of conflict groups like parties, sects, nationalities, represents the area in any society of unstable equilibrium.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park

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