take revenge on someone
Teased on air, Lipsky jokes that he has twenty years to get even.
What? Hey. You do a really mean job with this, Yeah? I got, like, 20 years to get you back.The End of the Tour · 2015 — 第 11 / 17 章 · 5'02" · C1
Wallace on Being Shy and Egotistical, Explained：self-absorbed
The radio host asks about Wallace's own description of himself — 'a combination of being incredibly shy and being an egomaniac too.' Wallace reframes it: shyness, he says, is really being self-absorbed, 'to the extent that it makes it difficult to be around other people.' After the show, the talk moves to the Mall of America and turns to loneliness.
あらすじ
Wallace and Lipsky arrive in Minneapolis for a radio interview, where the host raises Wallace's line about being 'incredibly shy and being an egomaniac too.' Wallace says shyness is really being self-absorbed and hard to be around. After the show they head to the Mall of America, and the talk turns to writing, loneliness, and what happens when a serious book suddenly sells.
注目の表現
amanuensisburst on the sceneself-absorbedget someone back
00:00 / 05:02Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
self-absorbed
obsessed with oneself
Asked how shyness and egotism fit together, Wallace argues shyness is really self-focus.
He was too self-absorbed to notice she was upset.
このシーンの他の表現
- amanuensis
a literary assistant
- burst on the scene
suddenly become prominent
- get someone back
take revenge on someone
- applaud his taste and discernment
praise his judgment
- gotta be shit
must be worthless
このシーンのメモ一覧
88 行のセリフに 24 件のメモ
going to — Everyday speech; avoid it in formal writing.
You remember that. You're gonna be fine.suddenly become prominent
The host introduces Wallace with the classic line that he has burst onto the literary scene.
My guest today is David Foster Wallace, who has burst on the literary scene...obsessed with oneself
Asked how shyness and egotism fit together, Wallace argues shyness is really self-focus.
I think being shy basically means being self-absorbed...gerund phrases: Both gerund phrases act as nouns, letting two actions be equated like definitions.
I think being shy basically means being self-absorbed...degree clause: To the extent that measures how far the previous claim goes, spelling out the degree.
to the extent that it makes it difficult to be around other people.some of each
Ah. I suppose a little bit of both.the entire program
I listened to the whole show. It was so interesting. Thanks.the remaining time
Oh, my gosh. So, you have the rest of the day free.Rest of the links together, with of reduced.
Oh, my gosh. So, you have the rest of the day free.The g drops in comin', and at you blurs into one sound.
- This tsunami of stuff just comin' at you. - Right.studious and awkward — Can be self-mocking or mildly insulting.
It's a fairly nerdy book, too, about loneliness.read with real effort
You also can expect that someone who's willing to read... and read hard...touch something deep
speak to their nerve endings a little bit. Mm-hmm.do me a kindness
If you quote any of this, by the way, you'd do me a great favor by saying...not be commercially successful
When you're used to doing heavy-duty literary stuff that doesn't sell well, being human animals with egos,relative clause: The relative clause narrows literary stuff to the kind that does not sell.
When you're used to doing heavy-duty literary stuff that doesn't sell well, being human animals with egos,come to terms with it
you accommodate that fact by the following equation.The t in gotta nearly disappears before be.
If something sells really well, gets a lot of attention, it's gotta be shit, right? Right. Of course.worthless stuff — Crude; fine among friends, never in formal speech.
If something sells really well, gets a lot of attention, it's gotta be shit, right? Right. Of course.prop oneself up
Wallace explains that the defense you used while ignored collapses the moment you succeed.
gets a lot of attention, the very mechanism you used to shore yourself up...doomed — Spoken for being doomed; keep it out of writing.
It's now part of the darkness nexus when it does, so you're totally screwed.a direct route
I mean, it's a straight shot. Yeah. Of course.the mall dining area
Right, just past the food court.「Wallace on Being Shy and Egotistical」を読み解く
What's really going on
What looks like a friendly radio segment is Wallace dismantling his own image. He is introduced as the writer who 'has burst on the literary scene,' but the moment the host quotes his self-description, he starts taking it apart: shyness, he argues, is just being self-absorbed — 'to the extent that it makes it difficult to be around other people.' When pressed on whether the difficulty is his or theirs, he answers, 'a little bit of both.' The Mall of America section carries the same self-audit into ordinary life: he calls his own novel 'fairly nerdy' and about loneliness, then explains the trap where a book selling well turns into 'part of the darkness nexus.' Admitting you can't win is, for him, the honest position.
Theme
IdentityWallace refuses the flattering label of literary star and redefines himself as self-absorbed, auditing the gap between image and person.
LonelinessHe says his book is 'about loneliness,' written for readers who also have loneliness issues.
このチャプターで学べること
- Shyness gets redefined as a form of self-focus.
- A book can be praised and dismissed for the same reason.
- Selling well can undo the defense you built while ignored.
- You can't win sums up the no-win literary logic.
発音のポイント
- rest of the — Rest of the links together, with of reduced.
- comin' at you — The g drops in comin', and at you blurs into one sound.
- gotta be — The t in gotta nearly disappears before be.
I think being shy basically means being self-absorbed...Wallace's counterintuitive definition on air: shyness is not modesty but a self-focus that makes you hard to be around.
All I know is this is absolutely the best I could do between 1992 and 1995.His standard for the book: not whether it wins awards, but whether it was the best work he could produce in those years.
It's now part of the darkness nexus when it does, so you're totally screwed.His joke about success: once your book sells well, it joins the commercial machinery you had defined yourself against.
It's a fairly nerdy book, too, about loneliness.How he describes his own novel to the interviewer: bookish, male, and ultimately about loneliness.
このシーンについての質問
Why does Wallace say shyness means being self-absorbed?
He treats shyness as a form of self-focus so intense that it makes it hard to be around other people, and when asked whether that difficulty is his or theirs, he says it is a little of both.
Why does Wallace refuse to enjoy the good review?
He says he applauds the reviewer's taste but won't pretend the praise changes anything; all he knows is the book was the best he could do between 1992 and 1995, and he would not have been devastated if everyone had hated it.
Why does Wallace say 'you can't win'?
Because a serious writer props himself up by assuming that anything popular must be bad, so if his own book becomes popular, that support breaks down and he is left with nothing.
Who calls Wallace 'a combination of being incredibly shy and being an egomaniac'?
It is Wallace's own earlier description of himself, which the radio host quotes back at him on air, prompting him to explain what he meant by shyness.
Where do Wallace and Lipsky go after the radio interview?
They drive to the Mall of America, where Wallace wants to go, and spend the rest of the day walking and talking about writing, readers, and loneliness.
人生はローリングストーン · 全 17 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 12 章come on to someoneWallace Tells Lipsky to Stay Away
第 1 章once in a generationLipsky Pitches the Wallace Story
第 2 章out of respectDave Wallace Doesn't Drink
第 3 章shape the impressionWallace and Lipsky First Meeting
第 4 章channel surfingWallace on Why We Feel Empty
第 5 章comes with the territoryWallace on Why He Isn't Married
第 6 章in a heartbeatDave Wallace Offers Lipsky a Room
第 7 章security blanketLipsky Asks About the Bandanna
第 8 章about as sexy asWallace Recalls His Eight Days
第 9 章all downhill from hereWallace Reads at The Hungry Mind
第 10 章make eyes at someoneWallace Calls Lipsky's Girlfriend
再生中 · 第 11 章self-absorbedWallace on Being Shy and Egotistical
第 12 章come on to someoneWallace Tells Lipsky to Stay Away
第 13 章fauxWallace and Lipsky's Parking Lot Fight
第 14 章sleepwalk throughWallace Fears Liking the Attention
第 15 章autobiographicalLipsky Asks Wallace About Heroin
第 16 章spiritual crisisDavid Foster Wallace on Depression
第 17 章put my foot downWallace Dances at a Baptist Church第 11 / 17 章 · 残り約 22 分