quite a lot, not a bargain
Someone uses a mild phrase to say how much of that long life has been told, and the next line asks about death.
Oh, you- You've talked a good deal about your extraordinary amount of living.The Man from Earth · 2007 — Capítulo 6 de 10 · 2'34" · C1
John on Dying and Survivor's Guilt, Explained: survivor's guilt
Someone asks John what he thinks of dying and whether he fears it. The picture that follows is physical: people stop, fall, smell, and come apart. Underneath sits a harder claim, that everyone else ages and dies "but not me," while other people pass like "Ripples in a wheat field, blown by the wind."
Qué pasa
John is asked whether he fears death and how primitive people regarded it. The reply is physical: people fall, smell, and come apart, while injuries make sense and aging does not. A line adds that others grow old and die, but not the speaker. Time is called turbulence: meet someone, learn a name, say a word, they are gone, like ripples in a wheat field.
Atento a
a good dealcome apartsomething wrong withleave a lot
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Expresión de la escena
survivor's guilt
guilt for living on when others died
Regret for lost people is not enough for the questioner, who names survivor's guilt and waits for a real answer.
She refused the label survivor's guilt and said she was only tired of missing them.
También en esta escena
- a good deal
quite a lot, not a bargain
- come apart
to fall to pieces
- something wrong with
something defective in a person
- leave a lot
bequeath much; leave also means go
- Ripples in a wheat field
wind-made ripples across wheat
Todo lo marcado en esta escena
29 notas en 47 frases
an unusually large span of life living means life lived, not a residence
Oh, you- You've talked a good deal about your extraordinary amount of living.Let the question rise and keep the final d tucked in.
Who wouldn't?to fall to pieces
Asked how early people saw death, someone sets come apart after falling and smelling, as if listing chores.
You know, we stopped, fell down, didn't get up, Started to smell bad, come apart.Keep didn't get up in one move and let the t glance forward.
You know, we stopped, fell down, didn't get up, Started to smell bad, come apart.spread across the ground spread on the ground, not finished
If someone's insides were all over the ground.manage to do something
Longer to realize how I was different, to find a way to synthesize my experience into a view of myself.object clause: The how-clause is the thing realized: what the difference was.
Longer to realize how I was different, to find a way to synthesize my experience into a view of myself.something defective in a person
Someone explains an old mistake: dying looked like a defect in everyone else, including animals.
At first, I thought everybody had something wrong with them.Put the weight on not and let me drop away.
but not me.bequeath much; leave also means go
After a remark about living simply, someone who has owned castles asks why wealth should be left behind.
I've owned castles, but why leave a lot if you're always leaving?constantly departing departing again and again, not bequeathing
I've owned castles, but why leave a lot if you're always leaving?conditional clause: The if-clause makes constant departure the reason not to keep much.
I've owned castles, but why leave a lot if you're always leaving?buy a stock at that price bought shares cheaply, did not enter a building
What, you get into AT&T at 50 cents, John?bought that stock dirt cheap — Teasing stock-talk among people who know the market, not for formal writing.
What, you get into AT&T at 50 cents, John?time passes faster time passes; nobody is walking past
As one grows older, the days, weeks, months go by more quickly.say one word not speaking up to object; literally one word
I meet someone, learn their name, say a word, they're gone.grow weary of the whole thing
Do you ever get tired of it all?occasionally not now plus then; once in a while
I get bored now and then.repeatedly again and again, not passing over
They keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over.Keep both overs clear and shrink and to a light sound.
They keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over.the remainder of something
Then you see yourself as separate from the rest of humanity.that was not the intended sense
I didn't mean it that way.at ease while knowing
Are you comfortable knowing that you have lived while everyone you knew - Everyone you knew, John! - has died?interrupted clause: The name crashes into the while-clause, but has died still finishes it.
Are you comfortable knowing that you have lived while everyone you knew - Everyone you knew, John! - has died?close to; similar to
Have you ever felt guilt about that, something akin to survivor's guilt?guilt for living on when others died
Regret for lost people is not enough for the questioner, who names survivor's guilt and waits for a real answer.
Have you ever felt guilt about that, something akin to survivor's guilt?appositive phrase: The comma phrase renames the guilt as near to survivor's guilt; that is still outliving them.
Have you ever felt guilt about that, something akin to survivor's guilt?take any action on it
But what can I do about it?John on Dying and Survivor's Guilt, explicado
What's really going on
Someone keeps asking John what dying means to him: fear, primitive ideas, a day versus a century. The answers stay blunt. A body stops, falls, smells, and comes apart. Injuries are understandable. Infection is "mysterious." Aging is "The biggest mystery of all." The bluntness turns personal. Others age and die, "but not me." Things follow. "I've owned castles, but why leave a lot if you're always leaving?" People do too. "I meet someone, learn their name, say a word, they're gone." The next image is "Ripples in a wheat field, blown by the wind." Company does not last. A complaint that they repeat the same mistakes gets the pronoun thrown back: "They." The following line names the split, "separate from the rest of humanity." "I didn't mean it that way." gives way to "I am." Asked if it is comfortable that everyone known has died, guilt "akin to survivor's guilt" is allowed, then left at "But what can I do about it?"
Theme
PhilosophyDeath is handled as a body that falls and comes apart, then as time in which people vanish like ripples in a wheat field.
GuiltLiving on while everyone known has died draws a question about survivor's guilt, and the only answer left is that nothing can be done.
Escucha con atención
- Who wouldn't — Let the question rise and keep the final d tucked in.
- didn't get up — Keep didn't get up in one move and let the t glance forward.
- not me — Put the weight on not and let me drop away.
- over and over — Keep both overs clear and shrink and to a light sound.
You know, we stopped, fell down, didn't get up, Started to smell bad, come apart.Here death is a practical fact: a person stops, falls, does not get up, smells, and the body comes apart.
I've owned castles, but why leave a lot if you're always leaving?Castles are conceded and then dismissed. If you are always leaving, there is no reason to leave a large estate behind.
I meet someone, learn their name, say a word, they're gone.One meeting is shrunk to a name and a single word. After that, the person is already gone.
They keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over.The boredom just named is blamed on other people repeating the same mistakes, which puts the speaker outside that group.
Then you see yourself as separate from the rest of humanity.Repeating They is treated as proof. The sentence says that word already means standing apart from the rest of humanity.
Are you comfortable knowing that you have lived while everyone you knew - Everyone you knew, John! - has died?The question asks if it feels acceptable to keep living after everyone you knew has died. Repeating "Everyone you knew" and naming John makes the loss personal.
Preguntas sobre esta escena
Why is death described as falling down and smelling bad?
Someone asks how primitive man regarded death. The answer calls it a practical concept: people stopped, fell down, did not get up, started to smell, and came apart. Injuries were understandable when a person's insides were on the ground. Infection is called mysterious, and aging the biggest mystery of all.
Why do castles come up in a talk about dying?
A line notes "You live simply." The reply is "I've owned castles, but why leave a lot if you're always leaving?" Right after that come "I have money" and a question about getting into AT&T at 50 cents. The reason given is that constant leaving makes a large holding useless.
What are the ripples in the wheat field?
A day, a year, or a century has just been called turbulence. The lines before the wheat field say: meet someone, learn their name, say a word, they're gone; others come like waves, rise and fall. "Ripples in a wheat field, blown by the wind" is that same coming and going.
Why answer with only the word "They"?
It repeats the subject of "They keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over." The next sentence states the implication: "Then you see yourself as separate from the rest of humanity." What follows denies it, "I didn't mean it that way," and then accepts it, "But of course... I am."
Is survivor's guilt admitted?
After the question about living while everyone known has died, someone asks if there has been guilt "akin to survivor's guilt." One reply narrows it: "In the strict psychological sense?" The next is "I suppose I have," plus "Yeah." It ends on "But what can I do about it?" The guilt is granted, then left standing.
El hombre de la tierra · 10 capítulos
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Siguiente · Capítulo 7on the ropesWill's Wife Just Died
Capítulo 1itchy feetJohn Oldman's Farewell Toast
Capítulo 2pan outJohn's Caveman Hypothetical
Capítulo 3a day overNot a Day Over 900
Capítulo 4almost wish it were trueNever Told the Buddha
Capítulo 5no way to disproveNo Way to Disprove John's Story
Viendo · Capítulo 6survivor's guiltJohn on Dying and Survivor's Guilt
Capítulo 7on the ropesWill's Wife Just Died
Capítulo 8no need of that hypothesisPressing John About the Bible
Capítulo 9the jury is still outSo You Were Jesus
Capítulo 10If I said noJohn Won't Confirm He Was JesusCapítulo 6 de 10 · quedan unos 16 min