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The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 7 of 19 · 3'12" · B2

Matuschek Turns on Kralik, Explained: pick on someone

Kralik can't figure out why his boss has gone cold, and Matuschek deflects every question with talk of pay and duty. Under the office bickering sits a Depression-era fear: 'Not when millions of people are out of work.' Walking out is easy to threaten, hard to survive.

What happens

The clerks agree the shop window looks terrible and plan to redecorate after closing. An employee with an 8:30 engagement rushes off to change. Then Matuschek calls Kralik in, shrugs off his request, and treats a long-serving clerk like a nuisance. Kralik vents to Pirovitch, who warns him not to quit.

Talking to the bossCriticism & layoffsComplainingConfrontingBoss & employeeB2fastamericanClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

get out of somethingbe at a losspick on someonea fine reason

00:00 / 03:12
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Phrase of the scene

pick on someone

to repeatedly criticize or single out someone

克拉利克向皮罗维奇倒苦水，抱怨老板最近总是拿他开刀，好像全店就盯着他一个人。

Stop picking on your little brother.

Also in this scene

  • get out of something

    to avoid or escape a duty

  • be at a loss

    unable to understand or decide

  • a fine reason

    a sarcastic way to call a reason worthless

Everything marked in this scene

37 notes across 73 lines

Grammar · B2There isn't a shop on the street that doesn't

double negative for emphasis

There isn't a shop on the street that doesn't look better that this.
Phrase · B1it's a wonder (that) ...It's a wonder we get any customers.
Phrase · B1after closing hoursWell, we'll stay tonight after closing hours 'and redecorate it.'
Phrase · B1get out of something

to avoid or escape a duty

I'll have to get out of it some way.
Soundget out of it

liaison

I'll have to get out of it some way.
Phrase · B1not have a chanceOh, Kiara, you haven't got a chance.
Phrase · B2have an engagementI have a very important engagement tonight at 8:30.
Phrase · A2did you notice ...Ilona, tell me, did you notice the blouse I wore yesterday, the green one?
Phrase · B1simply stunningI thought it was simply stunning.
Phrase · B1not want to disturb someoneWell, you were sleeping, and I didn't want to disturb you.
Soundwant to

elision

Well, you were sleeping, and I didn't want to disturb you.
Phrase · A2a little longerI thought perhaps you'd like to sleep a little longer.
Phrase · A2have a good timeDid you have a good time?
Phrase · B1all that matters is ...Yeah. Well, that's all that matters, isn't it?
Grammar · B1isn't it

tag question

Yeah. Well, that's all that matters, isn't it?
Phrase · B1quite a bit of somethingIt's quite a bit of money.
Phrase · B1as soon as possibleI'll s-send it over as soon as possible.
Soundas soon as possible

liaison

I'll s-send it over as soon as possible.
Phrase · A2talk to someone for a momentI'd like to talk to you for a moment.
Phrase · B1one's attitude toward someoneWell, sir, for several days your attitude toward me seems to have changed.
Grammar · B2seems to have changed

seem to have done

Well, sir, for several days your attitude toward me seems to have changed.
Phrase · B2be at a loss to do something

unable to understand or decide

Now, really, I'm completely at a loss to understand it.
Phrase · B1after allAfter all, I do my work.
Grammar · B1I do my work

emphatic do

After all, I do my work.
Phrase · B1seem to be ...Yes, well, everything seems to be alright then, doesn't it?
Phrase · B1not stand for somethingI'm not going to stand for this much longer.
Phrase · B2what does someone want of someoneWhat does that man want of me, anyway?
Phrase · B1pick on someone

to repeatedly criticize or single out someone

And why does he always have to pick on me?
Phrase · B1call someone an idiotThe other day he called me an idiot.
Slang · B2idiotThe other day he called me an idiot.
Phrase · B1have trouble with someoneOr maybe he has some trouble with his wife.
Phrase · A2leave someone aloneAnd I don't know anything. Leave me alone, please.
Phrase · B1be out of workNot when millions of people are out of work.
Phrase · B1get a job anywhereI can get a job anywhere.
Phrase · B1let's be honestCan you? Let's be honest.
Phrase · B1take a chanceAnyway, I'll take a chance.
Phrase · B1be no cowardI'm no coward, you know. I'm not afraid.

Matuschek Turns on Kralik, explained

What's really going on

Nothing in this scene is really about a window. Matuschek keeps answering 'important to me' with 'Is it important to Matuschek and Company?', turning every personal plea into a question of profit, the reflex of a shop owner who has lost something at home. Kralik, his oldest employee, reads the coldness as personal: 'I'm completely at a loss to understand it.' Pirovitch supplies the era's real argument against pride: 'Not when millions of people are out of work.' The office is a pressure cooker where dignity is expensive and a job is survival.

Theme

PowerMatuschek owns the shop and can dismiss a loyal clerk's feelings with one question about pay.
SurvivalIn the Depression, quitting on principle is a luxury; millions out of work keep Kralik at his desk.

What you'll learn

  • Use pick on someone to describe repeated harassment.
  • Recognize at a loss as confusion or helplessness.
  • Soften complaints with seems to have changed.
  • Use as soon as possible in practical requests.

Listen for

  • get out of it — liaison
  • want to — elision
  • as soon as possible — liaison
Not when millions of people are out of work.

A warning against quitting on impulse: with so many unemployed, holding a job matters more than pride.

I'm not going to stand for this much longer.

Kralik has reached his limit with Matuschek's cold treatment and is close to walking out.

Now, really, I'm completely at a loss to understand it.

He honestly cannot account for why his boss's attitude changed, and says so plainly.

I am. I have a family.

Pirovitch admits he is afraid, because losing this job would hurt the people he supports.

Questions about this scene

Why has Matuschek suddenly turned cold toward Kralik?

The scene never says. Matuschek deflects every question, and the clerks can only guess at business worries or trouble with his wife. Pirovitch refuses to gossip at all.

Why won't Pirovitch say what he knows about Matuschek's marriage?

He calls it none of his business and tells Kralik to leave him alone. He is protecting his own position and avoiding an awkward conversation about his boss.

Is Kralik right to want to quit?

The film lets both sides stand. His pride is wounded, but Pirovitch answers that with millions out of work, a steady job is not something to gamble away.

Why does Pirovitch bring up unemployment?

He is answering Kralik's boast that he can find work anywhere with the reality of the Depression: jobs are scarce, so quitting over a bruised ego is a risk he cannot afford.

The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8call it a dayKlara Asks Kralik for a Night Off
Chapter 1make something out of nothingMorning Gossip at Matuschek'sChapter 2earn one's daily breadThe Anonymous Letter From Box 237Chapter 3make up your mindMatuschek's Singing Cigarette BoxChapter 4go through the whole routineA Job Seeker's Sales PitchChapter 5have a weakness forSelling the Musical Candy BoxChapter 6knock on woodKralik Reveals His Pen PalWatching · Chapter 7pick on someoneMatuschek Turns on KralikChapter 8call it a dayKlara Asks Kralik for a Night OffChapter 9of one's own accordMatuschek Fires KralikChapter 10mind your own businessMatuschek Learns of the AffairChapter 11had enough bad news for todayKralik's Blind Date Is Miss NovakChapter 12instead of a heart, a handbagKralik and Novak Meet at the CafeChapter 13kept in strictest confidenceMatuschek Confesses His JealousyChapter 14a yes manKralik Fires VadasChapter 15not in the same planetKralik Visits a Sick KlaraChapter 16ruin ChristmasThe Staff Choose Christmas GiftsChapter 17from the bottom of my heartMatuschek Returns on Christmas EveChapter 18your whole life ahead of youMatuschek Invites a Lonely Boy HomeChapter 19swept me off my feetKlara Confesses to Kralik
Chapter 7 of 19 · about 55 min to go