be logical
It all makes sense if you just read this passage here.Slacker · 1990 — 第 12 / 22 章 · 3'40" · B2
An Argument About Giving Change, Explained：condescending
Walking to the cinema, two friends argue about whether to give a man on the street some change. One calls charity condescending, the other says he sees potential. The debate turns personal, and one of them says he suspects there is nothing really in the other's head.
あらすじ
On their way to a film, two people disagree about giving money to a man asking for change. One argues that charity carries a condescending element and that groups are a better way to help. The other says he sees potential, and the argument grows into insults about borrowed ideas and an empty head.
注目の表現
condescendingfutile causesthat's what I'm talking aboutget a move on
00:00 / 03:40Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
condescending
talking down to people
She says his charity carries a condescending, even contemptuous, air.
His condescending tone made everyone in the room bristle.
このシーンの他の表現
- futile causes
efforts doomed to fail
- that's what I'm talking about
that is exactly my point
- get a move on
hurry up; get going
- that's rich
that is ironic and absurd
- asshole
a strong insult for a jerk
このシーンのメモ一覧
69 行のセリフに 23 件のメモ
conditional clause: The if-clause gives the condition for the main claim about the passage.
It all makes sense if you just read this passage here.handle or place something
What did you do with the bookmark?how are things
- Hey, how's it going? - Hi. Okay. Where have you been?hurry up; get going
Meeting at the cafe door, he rushes her to move before the next show starts.
- Oh, nowhere. - We've gotta get a move on.We've gotta blurs into we-gotta in fast speech.
- Oh, nowhere. - We've gotta get a move on.for half the cost
- Great. NutraSweet, my favorite. - Come on, I got it for half price.The t in got flaps into a d and joins it.
- Great. NutraSweet, my favorite. - Come on, I got it for half price.you all, Southern speech — Southern US speech; sounds affected elsewhere.
- Budding capitalist youth. - Say, y'all. Y'all got some change.turn someone's life around
Granted giving the man a quarter isn't gonna change his life around.better ways to do it
I do realize that. There are better ways to help.investigate something
- I've been looking into these groups. - That's what I'm talking about.passive voice: The passive we're conditioned to marks how upbringing shapes what we assume.
That's exactly what I'm talking about. See, we're conditioned to assume...What I'm links into something like wha-dime.
That's exactly what I'm talking about. See, we're conditioned to assume...real capacity
You can't see any true potential.come from
They all stem from a certain weakness.vulgar word for junk — Vulgar; only in casual or heated talk.
It's like you're just pulling these things from the shit you read.assemble from pieces
It's like you just pasted together these bits and pieces...grounded in
So what? At least what is there is based on good sources.relative clause: The that-clause describes the morality and carries the accusation.
At least I'm not chained to this slave morality that seems to rule your life.a strong insult — A heavy insult; it can end a friendship.
Thank you very much. You know, everyone else just thinks you're an asshole.give it up; drop it
We missed the beginning. Hang it up. I'm gonna go look at some books.escape for a while
I just need to get away for a little bit. I need some quiet.「An Argument About Giving Change」を読み解く
What's really going on
The scene is a friendship breaking down in real time over a quarter. It starts as an argument about charity, and the disagreement is genuinely interesting: one of them argues that giving change is condescending, and that "helping everyone else out is easier" than working on yourself. But the argument stops being about the beggar at all. When one says, "I'm beginning to suspect maybe there's nothing really in there," the debate becomes a judgement of the other person's mind. From there it is all ad hominem: borrowed ideas, an empty head, slave morality, and finally the claim that everyone thinks he is an asshole. They never resolve it; they just agree to meet at the next show.
Theme
FriendshipA small disagreement about charity escalates into insults, and the two only patch it up by agreeing to meet later as if nothing happened.
PhilosophyThe pair trade ideas about pity, suffering and self-improvement, quoting half-digested theory until it turns into an argument.
このチャプターで学べること
- A hedge like beginning to suspect can cut deeper than a flat insult.
- Charity can carry contempt when it is performed for an audience.
- Quoting a book is not the same as thinking it through.
- The fight turns personal the moment each side names a motive.
発音のポイント
- We've gotta — We've gotta blurs into we-gotta in fast speech.
- got it — The t in got flaps into a d and joins it.
- what I'm — What I'm links into something like wha-dime.
I don't know. I'm beginning to suspect maybe there's nothing really in there.The line that ends the argument as a conversation: it stops being about ideas and becomes a verdict on the other person's mind.
At least I'm not chained to this slave morality that seems to rule your life.His defence, borrowing a big philosophical phrase to say that he is free and the other is not. It is the argument at its most pompous.
You know, psychologically, helping everyone else out is easier.His theory of charity as avoidance: helping others is a way of not working on yourself, said with the confidence of a lecture.
Oh, that's rich. That's really rich.His response when accused of borrowing his ideas: a short, sarcastic line that shows the fight has turned purely personal.
このシーンについての質問
What are the two arguing about?
Whether to give a man on the street some change. One says charity is condescending and that real help comes through groups, while the other says he sees potential in people.
Why does the argument become personal?
It starts with an idea and ends with a judgement about the other person. One says he suspects there is nothing in the other's head, and from there it is insults about borrowed ideas and being an asshole.
What does 'that's rich' mean here?
It is a sarcastic phrase meaning the accusation is funny because it is so hypocritical. He says it when told his ideas are not his own, which is exactly the charge he resents.
What does one of them say about helping others?
He argues that helping everyone else is easier than working on yourself, and that it is an escape from perfecting yourself.
How does the argument end?
It does not get resolved. They realise they are late for the film, agree to meet at the next showing, and part with a plan instead of a conclusion.
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