Then there's the genuinely sinister Bill Sykes, the out-and-out villain of the piece, whose acts of brutality provide a sharp reality check after the audience has succumbed to the warmth of the pickpocketing gang's community feel.
But I suppose if you are burdened with good fortune, as the Duke feels himself to be, if you are up to your neck in unearned luxury and privilege, you might welcome that sharp slap of reality, or as much sharp reality as you can get from owning racehorses.
Argentine Dario Benedetto, struck a superb second-half hat trick as the Mexican team turned on the style after going in at half-time trailing by a goal and offered a sharp reality check for those who have wondered, hopefully, whether MLS was finally catching up to the level of Liga MX.
Instead, it has not only been a painful voyage of discovery but also a short, sharp reality check confirming Liverpool do not currently sit at the European game's top table.
At Wembley on Tuesday, Ukraine gave English football a short, sharp, reality check and in doing so handed the Manchester United playmaker a timely reminder that he still has some way to go before he can be compared to the very best in Europe.
Individuals and small business donated and made the dream a very sharp reality.
Soon the sharp reality of brutality assaults her dry, Nevada world.
On a steep learning curve, she had chats with ministers, made impromptu speeches at fringe meetings on the sharp realities of her home life "in the ghetto" and took lessons on the conference art of networking.
I said a quiet word of thanks, as I had most days on that continent, for health, for life, and for the ability to so fully see and feel all of the sharp realities of being.
The meeting foreshadowed what would be a multi-year crash between lofty goals of a hope-filled campaign and sharp realities -- economic, political and otherwise.
These data sets illustrate clearly that if a transition is sharp in reality (as observed by ASC), DSC fails to correctly obtain the transition temperature and profile.
