the real reason for it
Kind of the point of a good-bye party, John.The Man from Earth · 2007 — Chapter 1 of 18 · 2'42" · B2
John Gets Itchy Feet, Explained: itchy feet
Friends throw a goodbye party days after John resigns, then ask why he is giving up tenure and a turn as department chair with nowhere to go. He will not call it a problem. "After a while, I get itchy feet" is the whole answer, and someone notes he has not aged a day in ten years.
What happens
John's colleagues throw a goodbye with taquitos, wings, and beer, annoyed that he resigned only days ago and will barely eat. A painting like a Van Gogh turns up, and he calls it a gift. Asked why he is leaving tenure with nowhere to go, he calls it cabin fever and itchy feet, and says he has done this before. Someone answers that he is too young.
Listen for
a certain amount of troublemade up his mindstretcherBrilliant deduction
00:00 / 02:42Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
itchy feet
an urge to move on after a long stay
He adds itchy feet after cabin fever, so leaving is an urge after a long stay, and the destination stays blank.
She gets itchy feet whenever a project runs past a year.
Also in this scene
- a certain amount of trouble
put in quite a bit of effort
- made up his mind
finally reached a decision
- stretcher
the wooden frame under a canvas
- Brilliant deduction
sarcastic praise for an obvious guess
- while you can
do it before the chance ends
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 66 lines
put in quite a bit of effort
Someone softens the complaint by naming the effort before scolding him for not staying.
Went to a certain amount of trouble, you know?the least you could have done
Could've at least stayed a few minutes, huh?Don't restore have in Could've; keep that ending light before at least.
Could've at least stayed a few minutes, huh?Keep of short between couple and days.
You only resigned a couple of days ago.the top history post chair is the post, not furniture.
You got the history chair at Stanford.Put the weight on wish and keep I light.
I wish.third conditional: They never had the extra time, so the grander party did not happen.
If we'd had more time, we'd have done something a little more grandiose.all right, let it go — Casual acceptance; too loose for a formal reply.
A'right.step into someone's job
Is George taking over for you?finally reached a decision
Two names are still in play, and the question only highlights that the dean has not chosen.
- George or Trimbell. - Has the dean made up his mind?Let the n in an slide into original.
Is that an original, John?relative clause: someone gave me tells which gift; that is simply left out.
No, it's just a gift someone gave me.sarcastic praise for an obvious guess
The guess was empty, so the detective nickname lands as a pinch, not applause.
Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.a sarcastic know-it-all jab — Teasing between friends; insulting to a boss.
Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.get an expert to examine it
Surely you'll have this looked at, appraised?that's enough, or that settles it — Spoken to mark finality or exasperation, not a polite topic change.
That does it.a long gap since the last time
It's been years since I sat on a floor.since clause: sat marks the last time; the years sit in the main clause.
It's been years since I sat on a floor.that familiar old place, named warmly
So you're leaving good old "we teach you."stop hedging and be honest
Truth time, John.walk away from a permanent post
Givin' up tenure...next in succession Next in line for the job, not a queue.
A decade of professorship, in line to chain’ the department, and you don't know where you're going?stacked phrases: The titles pile up so the question makes leaving sound absurd.
A decade of professorship, in line to chain’ the department, and you don't know where you're going?restless after being stuck too long
Asked for a destination, he names a mood instead and keeps the map blank.
Call it cabin fever.an urge to move on after a long stay
He adds itchy feet after cabin fever, so leaving is an urge after a long stay, and the destination stays blank.
After a while, I get itchy feet.looks no older after years Looks unchanged, not a literal count of days.
And he hasn't aged a day in ten years.want it badly enough to trade anything
The line inflates envy about his unchanged face until it is obviously not a real bargain.
Every woman on the faculty would give anything to have that secret.the thing they actually want
Is that what they're after, Edith?John Gets Itchy Feet, explained
What's really going on
Nobody is arguing about the food. Colleagues went to some trouble, and they want John to stay after resigning only days ago. He did not land the history chair at Stanford; the answer to that is "I wish." He is walking away from tenure and a decade in line to chair the department, with no destination. Someone calls "Truth time, John" and asks if there is a problem. The answer is "No," and an offer of help is appreciated, then refused. Next come "Call it cabin fever," "After a while, I get itchy feet," and "I've done this before." That last claim gets blocked: he is too young, and he has not aged a day in ten years. "Every woman on the faculty would give anything to have that secret" aims the joke at his face, and the following line throws it back at Edith. A painting like a Van Gogh, inscribed "to my friend Jacques Borne," is brushed off as a gift he would not sell.
Theme
SecretsHe names no destination or problem, calls the painting a gift, and a colleague treats his unaged face as a secret worth giving anything to have.
FriendshipColleagues bother to throw a goodbye, offer help, and keep asking why he is leaving tenure, even while he insists there is no problem.
Listen for
- Could've at least — Don't restore have in Could've; keep that ending light before at least.
- a couple of — Keep of short between couple and days.
- I wish — Put the weight on wish and keep I light.
- an original — Let the n in an slide into original.
If we'd had more time, we'd have done something a little more grandiose.With only days' notice, the goodbye is taquitos and beer. This line jokes that a proper send-off would have been much grander.
A decade of professorship, in line to chain’ the department, and you don't know where you're going?The case against the sudden exit: ten years as a professor, next in line to chair the department, and still no place he is going.
After a while, I get itchy feet.The only reason offered for leaving. Not a job or a city, just restlessness that shows up after he stays in one place too long.
And he hasn't aged a day in ten years.The reply to "I've done this before." A face that has not changed in ten years makes another career exit hard to believe.
Every woman on the faculty would give anything to have that secret.The unchanged face is treated as a secret. Every woman on the faculty, the line jokes, would trade anything to know how he manages it.
Well, maybe sometime, but I wouldn't really want money for it.Asked to have the painting appraised, he puts it off. He does not want to turn the picture into cash.
Questions about this scene
Why is John leaving so quickly?
The furniture is going that afternoon, and he resigned only a couple of days ago. He will not give a city or a problem. The account on offer is "Call it cabin fever," "After a while, I get itchy feet," and "I've done this before." The reply to that last line is that he is too young, and that he has not aged a day in ten years.
Did John get the history chair at Stanford?
No. Someone tells him, "You got the history chair at Stanford." The next line is "I wish."
Is the painting an original Van Gogh?
Asked "Is that an original, John?" the answer is "No, it's just a gift someone gave me." Others still call it a superb copy, on the same stretcher Van Gogh used, with "to my friend Jacques Borne" on the back in French. The follow-up is that he would not really want money for it. The scene never settles what the painting is.
Why do they say he has not aged a day?
It answers "I've done this before." The line just before says he is too young to have done this already, and "And he hasn't aged a day in ten years" is the reason they give. The next line jokes that every woman on the faculty would give anything to have that secret.
The Man from Earth · 18 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 2itchy feetJohn Oldman's Farewell Toast
Watching · Chapter 1itchy feetJohn Gets Itchy Feet
Chapter 2itchy feetJohn Oldman's Farewell Toast
Chapter 3pan outJohn's Caveman Hypothetical
Chapter 4a day overNot a Day Over 900
Chapter 5just happenedI Just Happened, Not a Mission
Chapter 6You can't go home againJohn's Farewell Talk
Chapter 7almost wish it were trueNever Told the Buddha
Chapter 8no way to disproveNo Way to Disprove John's Story
Chapter 9So much forJohn's Caveman Claim Under Fire
Chapter 10I never saidJohn Says He Is Only Old
Chapter 11survivor's guiltJohn on Dying and Survivor's Guilt
Chapter 12on the ropesWill's Wife Just Died
Chapter 13a touch of senilityJohn Recalls Losing a Man in Brussels
Chapter 14no need of that hypothesisPressing John About the Bible
Chapter 15have something in mindJohn Implies He Was Jesus
Chapter 16the jury is still outSo You Were Jesus
Chapter 17If I said noJohn Won't Confirm He Was Jesus
Chapter 18chasing our tailsJohn's Story Is Called a HoaxChapter 1 of 18 · about 58 min to go