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Manhattan · 1979 — 第 23 / 23 章 · 3'26" · B2

Why Is Life Worth Living?, Explained：look the other way

Isaac admits to Yale that letting Tracy go was a mistake, one he made worse by keeping his distance and never returning her call. Then the talk turns philosophical: asked why life is worth living, he answers with a list of small beloved things, from Groucho Marx to Swedish movies, and ends on "Tracy's face."

あらすじ

Isaac tells Yale that he regrets letting Tracy go, that he kept her at a distance, and that he never even returned her call. The conversation turns to why life is worth living, and Isaac answers with a personal list: Groucho Marx, Willie Mays, the Jupiter Symphony, Swedish movies, and, at the end, Tracy's face.

Small talkStorytellingConfessingExplainingFriendsB2slowamerican
IMDb ↗

注目の表現

look the other waya good betlead her onpissed off

00:00 / 03:26
Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
  37. ❝ 独白the list that makes life worth living11 行練習ページ ↗
セリフをタップするとそこから再生

このシーンの表現

look the other way

pretend not to notice

Talking about Yale's affair, Isaac says he refuses to pretend not to notice, because it costs you later.

The manager looked the other way when rules were broken.

このシーンの他の表現

  • a good bet

    a smart choice

  • lead her on

    give false hope

  • pissed off

    annoyed or angry

  • worth living

    worth living

  • live in the past

    dwell on old days

このシーンのメモ一覧

47 行のセリフに 24 件のメモ

表現 · B1nothing is perfect

nothing is flawless

But then, nothing's perfect.
発音nothing's perfect

The g in nothing's drops away and slides into perfect.

But then, nothing's perfect.
表現 · B2make minor compromises

small concessions

Marriage is a... requires some minor compromises, I guess.
スラング · A2cos

because — Casual speech only; never in formal writing.

It's funny cos I'm just a non-compromiser.
表現 · B2look the other way

pretend not to notice

Talking about Yale's affair, Isaac says he refuses to pretend not to notice, because it costs you later.

I think it's always a mistake to look the other way cos you pay for it in the end.
表現 · B1pay for something in the end

suffer the cost later

I think it's always a mistake to look the other way cos you pay for it in the end.
文法 · B2it's always a mistake to look

extraposition: The it is a placeholder; the real subject is the infinitive to look the other way.

I think it's always a mistake to look the other way cos you pay for it in the end.
表現 · B2live in the past

dwell on old days

Mentioning Jill's book, Isaac admits he is still stuck in the past and cannot move on.

I'm living in the past.
表現 · A2be seeing someone

dating someone

How about you? You seeing anybody?
表現 · B2a good bet

a smart choice

Isaac calls letting Tracy go a missed bet, using a gambling image for romantic regret.

I think I really missed a good bet when I let Tracy go.
スラング · A2kid

young person — Affectionate and casual; not for formal description.

She was a terrific kid, but young, right?
表現 · B1blow it

ruin a chance

No, I would never do that. I think I blew that one.
表現 · B1keep someone at a distance

stay emotionally apart

I kept her at a distance and I would never give her a chance.
表現 · A2leave a message

record a message

She called me. She left a message with my service about a month ago that I should watch Grand Illusion on television
発音with my

With my is usually reduced and blurred together.

She called me. She left a message with my service about a month ago that I should watch Grand Illusion on television
表現 · A2return someone's call

call someone back

and I never returned her call.
表現 · B2be pissed off

annoyed or angry

Isaac admits he was annoyed with Yale for introducing Mary to Yale in the first place.

You know I was a little pissed off at you.
スラング · B2pissed off

angry — Blunt and informal; avoid it in polite company.

You know I was a little pissed off at you.
文法 · C1if you hadn't introduced

unreal conditional: The past perfect after if marks an unreal past condition, with might have as its imagined result.

I figured if you hadn't introduced Mary to Yale, this might never have happened.
文法 · B2keeps them from dealing

keep someone from doing: Keep someone from doing something means to prevent it; the busy problems block the bigger fear.

unnecessary, neurotic problems for themselves cos it keeps them from dealing with more unsolvable, terrifying problems about... the universe.
表現 · B1be worth living

worth living

Isaac raises the biggest question of the night and then answers it with a personal list.

Well, all right, why is life worth living? That's a very good question.
発音is life

Link is and life so they run together as i-slife.

Well, all right, why is life worth living? That's a very good question.
表現 · B2make something worthwhile

make it worth it

Well, there are certain things, I guess, that make it worthwhile.
表現 · B2to name one thing

to give one example

Isaac begins his list with to name one thing and keeps adding examples.

Ooh, I would say Groucho Marx, to name one thing.

「Why Is Life Worth Living?」を読み解く

What's really going on

The final conversation turns Isaac's regret into a theory of life. He begins with Tracy, admitting that he "really missed a good bet" and that fear kept him from taking it. Then Yale asks the big question, and Isaac answers it the only way he can, with a list: jokes, baseball, a symphony, a painting, a restaurant, and finally "Tracy's face." The list is funny because it is so personal, and moving because of where it ends. Everything else on it is a thing he can enjoy from a safe distance; Tracy is the one he ran from. The scene gives him the vocabulary for what he wants only after he has already lost it.

Theme

PhilosophyIsaac answers the question of why life is worth living with a personal list of small pleasures.
MemoryHe admits that he lives in the past, and the list itself is a monument to what he kept at a distance.

このチャプターで学べること

  • Regret sounds honest when it stops making excuses.
  • The list works because every item is specific.
  • Ending on a face turns a joke into tenderness.
  • He talks about life to avoid talking about himself.

発音のポイント

  • nothing's perfect — The g in nothing's drops away and slides into perfect.
  • with my — With my is usually reduced and blurred together.
  • is life — Link is and life so they run together as i-slife.
Well, all right, why is life worth living? That's a very good question.

The question that organizes the ending of the film, asked plainly and answered with a list rather than an argument.

I think I really missed a good bet when I let Tracy go.

Isaac's admission that letting Tracy go was a mistake, which he frames as a lost opportunity.

I kept her at a distance and I would never give her a chance.

His explanation of how he ruined it: he held her off on purpose rather than risk being close.

I think I had the most relaxed times and, you know, the nicest times with her.

His warmest memory of Tracy, which makes the regret sharper because the good times were real.

このシーンについての質問

Why does Isaac regret letting Tracy go?

He says he missed a good bet: she was the person he felt most relaxed and happiest with, and he kept her at a distance anyway. He never even returned a call of hers.

Why does Isaac list Groucho Marx and Swedish movies?

He is answering the question of why life is worth living with the things he personally loves. The list is intimate rather than philosophical, which is the joke and the point.

Why does the list end with Tracy's face?

Because she is the thing he actually wanted and refused to have. After a list of things he can safely enjoy, the ending name is the one that costs him something.

What does "a good bet" mean?

It means a smart choice with a good chance of paying off. Isaac uses it to call Tracy a missed opportunity rather than a person, which is part of his problem.

Why does Isaac disapprove of looking the other way?

He thinks ignoring a problem in a marriage is a mistake, because the cost comes due later. It is a rule he states confidently and, as the film shows, cannot follow himself.

マンハッタン · 全 23 章

すべて見る →
第 1 章have the nerve toThe Drowning Question at Dinner第 2 章getting out of handIsaac and Yale Talk About an Affair第 3 章get carried awayIsaac Sends Tracy Home第 4 章overratedIsaac and Mary Argue About Art第 5 章a sucker forIsaac Quits the TV Show第 6 章far from the actionIsaac Cries Poor at the Benefit第 7 章right on the moneyIsaac and Mary Meet Again第 8 章basket caseIsaac and Mary Walk by the River第 9 章break up a marriageYale and Mary Meet at Bloomingdale's第 10 章wind upIsaac and Mary Walk in the Rain第 11 章at my fingertipsIsaac and Mary Talk in the Rain第 12 章the toast of the townIsaac Tells Tracy to Go to London第 13 章a no-win situationMary Ends It With Yale第 14 章make a commitmentIsaac Breaks Up in Tracy's New Flat第 15 章wasting myself on someoneMary Visits Isaac Late at Night第 16 章right up your alleyThey Push Isaac to Call Mary第 17 章hung up onIsaac Finally Kisses Mary第 18 章in the same ballparkIsaac Tells Tracy About Someone Else第 19 章a sucker forIsaac and Mary Run Into Her Ex第 20 章balk atIsaac Confronts His Ex-Wife's Memoir第 21 章have it outMary Tells Isaac She Loves Yale第 22 章get your story straightIsaac Confronts Yale in Class再生中 · 第 23 章look the other wayWhy Is Life Worth Living?
この作品の 23 章はここまでです