brace yourself for news
Warren warns his reader to sit before he delivers the news, a clumsy but caring opening.
I hope you're sitting down...About Schmidt · 2002 — 第 8 / 16 章 · 3'48" · B2
Warren Writes Ndugu About Helen's Death, Explained：make the best of
"I hope you're sitting down," Warren writes to the child he sponsors overseas, "because I'm afraid I've got some bad news." He then describes Helen's death, the funeral, and what his own actuarial tables say about how long he has left.
あらすじ
Alone in his big old house, Warren Schmidt writes another letter to Ndugu, the child he sponsors through a charity. He breaks the news that his wife Helen died suddenly of a blood clot. As an actuary, he calculates his own odds of dying within nine years, then resolves to make the best of the time he has left.
注目の表現
make the best ofshape up or ship outwallowing in self-pitypassed away
00:00 / 03:48Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
make the best of
use it as well as possible
After his own mortality statistics, Warren quietly orders himself to make the best of what remains.
Let's make the best of the short weekend.
このシーンの他の表現
- shape up or ship out
improve or leave
- wallowing in self-pity
drowning in self-pity
- passed away
died
- hope you're sitting down
brace yourself for news
このシーンのメモ一覧
45 行のセリフに 20 件のメモ
Flap the t in sitting so it sounds like sidding.
I hope you're sitting down...died
Warren reports Helen's death with the standard gentle phrase before naming the medical cause.
...passed away very suddenly from a blood clot in her brain.from as distant as
...and folks drove up from as far away as Des Moines and Wichita.however you judge it
It was a very moving tribute any way you look at it.the chaos has settled
But now that all the excitement is over and the smoke has cleared...with high likelihood
...I can calculate with great probability how long that man will live.a statistical likelihood
...there is a 73 percent chance that I will die within nine years...on the condition that
...provided that I do not remarry.conditional clause: Provided that sets a formal condition on the statistic just given.
...provided that I do not remarry.use it as well as possible
After his own mortality statistics, Warren quietly orders himself to make the best of what remains.
...I've got to make the best of whatever time I have left.Link best and of into bes-tov.
...I've got to make the best of whatever time I have left.cannot spare it Not about money here; it means cannot spare another minute.
And I can't afford to waste another minute.gerund as subject: The gerund phrase is the subject, so the verb stays singular: has been.
Adjusting to life without Helen has been quite a challenge.a little — A breezy understatement, too casual for formal prose.
Oh, sure, sometimes I can be a tad forgetful and miss a meal or two...drowning in self-pity
Warren refuses to sit at home feeling sorry for himself, and names the trap to escape it.
Helen wouldn't want me sitting around, wallowing in self-pity.no way — An old-fashioned, joking refusal for familiar company.
No sirree, Bob.improve or leave
Warren imagines Helen ordering him to stop moping, quoting an army phrase in her voice.
Why, she'd tell me to shape up or ship out.keep a regular schedule
You know, try to stay active, stick to my routine.when confronted with
That's very important in the face of big changes in life.「Warren Writes Ndugu About Helen's Death」を読み解く
What's really going on
Warren narrates his grief in the flat language of an insurance man. He tells Ndugu that Helen "passed away very suddenly," then reports the funeral the way he might report a policy: well attended, a "very moving tribute," people driving in from far away. Only in the actuarial aside does the loss turn personal. "In my own case," he says, there is a 73 percent chance he will die within nine years, "provided that I do not remarry." He is not breaking down; he is doing what he has always done, putting a number on a life. That is what makes the letter so quietly sad: Warren can calculate his remaining years far more easily than he can say what Helen meant to him.
Theme
Death & griefWarren processes his wife's death by writing a letter and running the numbers, holding emotion at the distance of an actuary's report.
LonelinessThe house is now "under new management" but empty of Helen, and Warren admits it is just him and his thoughts.
このチャプターで学べること
- Make the best of accepts a bad situation and still chooses how to live it.
- Passed away is the soft, formal phrase for died in condolence.
- Shape up or ship out gives an ultimatum with an army edge.
- Provided that attaches a formal condition to his own life expectancy.
発音のポイント
- sitting down — Flap the t in sitting so it sounds like sidding.
- best of — Link best and of into bes-tov.
Life is short, Ndugu.Warren states the obvious to a child, then acts on it: the cliche about life's shortness is what pushes him to change his own.
...I've got to make the best of whatever time I have left.After calculating his remaining years, Warren decides to accept them and use them well rather than waste what is left.
Why, she'd tell me to shape up or ship out.Warren imagines Helen's reaction to his self-pity, and borrows her no-nonsense phrase as a way of pushing himself to act.
And I can't afford to waste another minute.The letter ends with resolve: Warren says he cannot spare any more time, closing the scene on his decision to move forward.
このシーンについての質問
Why is Warren writing to Ndugu instead of telling a friend?
Ndugu is a child he sponsors overseas through a charity letter. Writing to a distant, silent correspondent lets Warren narrate his grief without having to read another person's face.
Why does Warren calculate his own life expectancy?
He is an actuary who has spent his career pricing other people's lives. Now, with Helen gone, he runs his own numbers and uses the 73 percent figure to decide how to spend what is left.
Is Warren really coping well after Helen's death?
He insists the house is "under new management" and that he tries to stay active, but he also admits the place is now just him and his thoughts. The matter-of-fact tone hides how much he misses her.
What does "shape up or ship out" mean?
It means either improve your behavior or leave. Warren imagines Helen saying it to him, meaning she would have told him to stop feeling sorry for himself and get on with life.
Does Warren follow through on his resolve to change?
The letter ends with him saying he cannot waste another minute, and the film picks that up right after: he starts making plans to travel and visit his daughter rather than stay alone in the house.
アバウト・シュミット · 全 16 章
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次のチャプター · 第 9 章maiden voyageJohn Rusk Invites Warren to Dinner
第 1 章retire in gloryRay's Toast at the Retirement Dinner
第 2 章bigger fish to fryJeannie's Long-Distance Call Home
第 3 章work out that wayWarren's Video Letter to Ndugu
第 4 章up to snuffWarren Complains About His Wife
第 5 章if there's anything you needWarren at Helen's Funeral Reception
第 6 章keep your options openWarren Tries to Postpone the Wedding
第 7 章splurge onJeannie Fights Warren Over the Casket
再生中 · 第 8 章make the best ofWarren Writes Ndugu About Helen's Death
第 9 章maiden voyageJohn Rusk Invites Warren to Dinner
第 10 章you shouldn't haveWarren Has Dinner With the Rusks
第 11 章put a good face on thingsVicki Sees Through Warren
第 12 章easy on the eyeWarren Meets Randall's Family
第 13 章up to snuffWarren Tells Jeannie Not to Marry
第 14 章on cloud nineRoberta Gives Warren Expired Pills
第 15 章insist on its own wayRandall and Jeannie's Wedding
第 16 章pitch inWarren Toasts Jeannie and Randall第 8 / 16 章 · 残り約 30 分