I know the definition, but I can’t comprehend the concept of it. I couldn’t point out an instance of nuance in literature. What are “shades of meaning?”
Edit: Thank you all for the answers but I’m still not understanding. My brain doesn’t grasp certain concepts and it’s so frustrating. Maybe some context will help? I was debating with a friend whether or not humans are inherently selfish, and they said the answer is more nuanced than yes or no. Does that mean more specific? Why can’t I understand this concept 😭
In: 9
Nuance is detail, and subtlety when implying something. Having superman save people who get on the ground and worship him, and then t pose as he flies away is very on the nose savioir symbolism.
Nuance is when the details that make the comparison are more subtle. Bruce Wayne begging his dead parents to release him from his duty to save people, only to recognise it is his purpose to do so, even at the cost of his own life, is more subtle saviour symbolism. (Those are off the cuff examples, they’re not great but they get the idea across)
Better example: The matrix is about fighting evil guys. A more nuanced take is its an allegory for being trans. Its nuanced because the details are less obvious than it being about fighting evil.
Nuance is a finer understanding of an intricate topic. You might tell an elementary school science student that “heat rises.” It does, but that’s not the whole picture. To have a nuanced understanding of convection would mean you know when hot fluids rise, when they don’t, and why in both cases.
Shades of meaning convey slightly different information. Just think of the words “scent,” “aroma,” and “stench.” A non-nuanced understanding would be that they all mean the same thing: a smell. They have different connotations though. “Scent” is pretty neutral. Maybe not strong, but noticeable somehow. An “aroma” is generally thought of as a good thing– a pie baking, or something else enjoyable. But a “stench” is a smell that’s powerful and repulsive. You want to be away from it as soon as possible.
So yeah. Some topics can be understood on a basic level and reveal hidden complexity the harder you look. That hidden complexity is nuance.
Literary nuance is the meaning hidden between the lines. The nuance may indicate something entirely opposite to the literal meaning, as in sarcasm. Or, it can be anywhere in that spectrum of meanings. The nuance may even be saying something entirely foreign to the face-value.
An example that comes to mind is from the book “The Last Unicorn.” The movie of the same title follows the book religiously. The author was heavily involved. An important line appears in the movie though, that does not appear in the book. The witch says, “This is MY immortality!” out loud in the movie, but it is only nuanced in the book. The nuance did not communicate well graphically, so she just said it.
Say one person says an act is bad, another says it is good. Nuance is understanding there is middle ground or mitigating factors.
For an extreme example: a person takes another’s life while defending others from harm. Some might say killing is always wrong, while others might call the person a hero. So the Nuance is yes, killing is bad and the person who did the act will feel terrible and have to live with the trauma of taking a life, but the people they saved are grateful for the act.
It’s not black or white. It’s not this or that. There is a lot of stuff happening that some people might not notice- but we should notice it because it helps you see the whole picture, and make better conclusions.
Nuance is a scale for words.
If you rate things from negative to neutral to positive, you can see where your word is relative to other similar words. That’s nuance
-10 Engraged, (Most Angry)
-8 Hostile,
-6 Angry,
-4 Upset,
-2 Annoyed, (Slightly Angry)
0 Unfeeling (Neutral)
+2 Curious, (Slightly Happy)
+4 Playful,
+6 Happy,
+8 Elated,
+10 Loved (Most Happy)
Ice make drink cold. A nuanced understanding is that the ice isn’t actually transferring cold to the drink and making it cold, the drink is in fact transferring heat to and warming the ice because of a high to low energy gradient between the two…. but more easily put ice make drink cold.
You’re probably running into a couple of problems.
One of the problems is that the word “nuance” has **multiple definitions**. These definitions are related to each other, but aren’t exactly identical.
Another problem is that these definitions are **not precise**. There isn’t something you can exactly measure with some instrument and say with absolute certainty “this is nuance”.
One thing the various definitions of “nuance” have in common is this: there is “a thing”, which can be seen from a “simple” perspective and at least one more “complicated/detailed” perspective. And the critical part is that the extra details in the “complicated/detailed” perspective are “important” in some way, and could change someone’s overall perception of “the thing”.
To take your example, you could give a “simple” answer of yes; and a more “nuanced” answer of “yes, but they also at the same time have non-selfish drives under circumstances X, Y, Z”.
Seeing your edit yes using nuance to say that something is more complex the yes or no is a PERFECT example it literally means a subtle difference.
It’s like…you know how people have different preferences when it comes to cooking a steak? The nuance in this example is how cooked the steak is when you get it be it rare or well done.
Picture in your mind Alice moving very fast towards Bob. Now, how does that mental picture change when I phrase it differents ways?
* Alice charged at Bob
* Alice bounded towards Bob
* Alice fled towards Bob
* Alice dashed towards Bob
* Alice scurried towards Bob
* Alice hurried over to Bob
* Alice scampered to Bob
* Alice rushed to Bob
All those words mean “move fast” in one way or another, but they’re all a little bit different. “Bounded” suggests long decisive strides, while “hurried” is a bit more anxious. “Dashed” is very fast and probably a short distance. “Charged” suggests aggression towards Bob, while “fled” suggests fear of something else and that Alice sees Bob as safety.
“Nuance” captures that idea of similar, but slighly different meanings.
In the context of the discussion with your friend:, his point is that the answer to yes-or-no questions can be “Yes, but…”, “no, but…”, “sort of”, “it depends”, “not always”, “some times”.
If I have a slice of cake and you ask me if you can have some. I can be greedy and say no, or be generous and say yes.
If I’m greedy, I get more joy by having the whole cake for myself, but if I’m generous, I get more joy out of sharing than having all the cake. Either way, I’m doing the thing that brings _me_ most joy, which is, arguably, a selfish behaviour. On the other hand, if I’m greedy I feel good about prioritising my own individual desires, whereas, if I’m generous, I feel good about prioritising the desires of the group as a whole. From that point of view, one is selfish and the other isn’t.
So, are people inherently selfish? Well, the word “selfish” carries a lot of baggage, so you need to be really careful about what you mean by “selfish” before I can give you an answer.
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