fronted adverbial: Putting the standard first frames the boast as a bitter joke.
By the standards of a mindless, barbaric civilization, I've been pretty lucky.Whatever Works · 2009 — 第 2 / 16 章 · 5'02" · B2
Boris Panics and Jumps Out the Window, Explained：eke out a living
Boris wakes in the night convinced he is dying and refuses to go back on his medication, insisting he is the only one who sees the world clearly. The argument with Jessica turns into a verdict on their marriage, and it ends with him going out the window.
あらすじ
Late at night, Boris has a panic attack and refuses his medicine, then picks a fight with his wife, Jessica, about their marriage and her past affair. He climbs out the window and falls, and the film jumps ahead to his new life giving chess lessons, which he treats with open contempt.
注目の表現
a garden of roseseke out a livingthe whole picturean object lesson
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
eke out a living
barely make enough to survive
After the divorce Boris scrapes by teaching chess; he calls it eking out a meager living.
She eked out a living as a part-time translator.
このシーンの他の表現
- a garden of roses
a smooth, happy life
- the whole picture
the full view of things
- an object lesson
a practical warning or example
- patzer
a weak, clumsy chess player
- goddamn
a swear used for emphasis
このシーンのメモ一覧
95 行のセリフに 22 件のメモ
sudden fits of intense fear
Your panic attacks are getting more frequent and more intense.the full view of things
When Jessica urges his pills, Boris claims he alone sees the whole picture.
I won't have my mind befuddled by chemicals when I'm the only one who sees the whole picture for exactly what it is.relative clause: The clause describes the only one, spelling out what he alone can see.
I won't have my mind befuddled by chemicals when I'm the only one who sees the whole picture for exactly what it is.the wealthiest one percent
to fill it full of art and expensive possessions, so they can flaunt their money and be in the top 1% of this shameful, violent, prejudiced,a smooth, happy life
In the middle of a 4 a.m. fight, Boris sums up the marriage as no garden of roses.
Our marriage hasn't been a garden of roses.in theory, by the numbers
On paper we're ideal.We're is reduced almost to a light syllable before ideal.
On paper we're ideal.The t in hit the often becomes a quick flap.
Can you believe I hit the canopy? I hit the goddamn canopy.a stupid person — An insult; never use it in formal talk.
Months in the hospital! Moron doctors! Look. Look at this limp.stop trying
Meanwhile, I divorced Jessica, moved downtown and gave up.barely make enough to survive
After the divorce Boris scrapes by teaching chess; he calls it eking out a meager living.
I eke out a meager living teaching chess to incompetent zombies.a weak chess player — Chess slang; teasing among players, not for strangers.
Checkmate, you little patzer.earn enough to live on
More important than how I make my living, is why I bother to live at all.comparison clause: The comparison sets earning a living against the reason to live.
More important than how I make my living, is why I bother to live at all.Link live at all so it sounds like li-va-tall.
More important than how I make my living, is why I bother to live at all.lift something with your hand
Did you pick up a chessboard full of pieces and hit my son with it at his lesson today?a very stupid person — A heavy insult; keep it private.
Do me a favor. Don't send that cretin to me anymore.a practical warning or example
Challenged about the chessboard, Boris calls dumping the pieces an object lesson.
as an object lesson to shake him out of his vegetable torpor.the US student holiday in spring
He's probably hanging out with naked coeds on spring break.female college students — Dated US slang, usually joking or leering.
He's probably hanging out with naked coeds on spring break.a work-related journey
He tells her it's a business trip.「Boris Panics and Jumps Out the Window」を読み解く
What's really going on
The chapter introduces Boris as a man who has decided the world is beneath him. His fear of death is real, but he converts it into superiority, insisting he cannot let anything dull his mind because he is "the only one who sees the whole picture for exactly what it is." That conviction is also what makes him impossible to live with, and the marriage argument is less a fight than an audit: "Our marriage hasn't been a garden of roses." When he calls Jessica a Venus flytrap, the joke is cruel, and the film lets it be cruel. The jump out the window is the punchline to the whole outlook, and the later chess scenes show the cost of it: he is clever, and he is alone.
Theme
PhilosophyBoris turns his fear of death into a worldview that places him above everyone, at the cost of every relationship.
LonelinessHis intelligence isolates him: he wins every argument and ends up teaching chess alone, hating the company he keeps.
このチャプターで学べること
- A marriage can be perfect on paper and still die.
- Boris turns refusing medicine into a boast.
- The chess scene replays the argument on a child.
発音のポイント
- we're ideal — We're is reduced almost to a light syllable before ideal.
- hit the — The t in hit the often becomes a quick flap.
- live at all — Link live at all so it sounds like li-va-tall.
I won't have my mind befuddled by chemicals when I'm the only one who sees the whole picture for exactly what it is.Boris refusing his medication, turning a mental-health decision into proof of his superiority.
Botanically speaking, you're more of a Venus flytrap.A cruel joke at Jessica's expense, wrapping an insult in a botanical flourish.
Can you believe I hit the canopy? I hit the goddamn canopy.Boris recounting his fall with perverse pride, making the accident another grievance.
More important than how I make my living, is why I bother to live at all.His summary of the real question, said with the certainty of a man who has already answered it.
You know, you should open the Boris Yellnikoff Charm School.A friend's dry joke about how rude he is, the only kind of comment that lands on him.
このシーンについての質問
Why does Boris refuse to take his medicine?
He believes the medication would dull his mind, and he cannot accept that because he thinks he is the only person who sees the world as it really is.
Why does Boris jump out the window?
He is in the middle of a panic attack and an argument at the same time. He climbs out and falls onto a canopy, which leaves him with a permanent limp.
Why did Boris and Jessica divorce?
He says he married her for the wrong reasons, they had an affair between them, and he is impossible to live with. He describes the marriage as no garden of roses.
How does Boris treat his chess students?
With open contempt. He calls them zombies and patzers, and he empties a chessboard over one boy's head, claiming it was an object lesson.
人生万歳！ · 全 16 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 3 章get on my feetBoris Takes Melodie In
第 1 章whatever worksBoris Breaks the Fourth Wall
再生中 · 第 2 章eke out a livingBoris Panics and Jumps Out the Window
第 3 章get on my feetBoris Takes Melodie In
第 4 章spare me the detailsBoris's Runaway Tells Her Past
第 5 章out of the questionBoris Rejects Melodie's Crush
第 6 章bark is worse than your biteBoris Refuses to Marry Melodie
第 7 章play one's cards rightMelodie Meets Perry
第 8 章What possessed me?Boris on a Year of Marriage
第 9 章plain as the nose on your faceMelodie's Mother Shows Up
第 10 章the long and short of itMarietta Argues and Plays Matchmaker
第 11 章down the toiletLeo Discovers Marietta's Photos
第 12 章out of spiteRandy Pursues Melodie
第 13 章toothpaste back in the tubeRandy Takes Melodie to His Boat
第 14 章of all peopleMelodie's Father Shows Up
第 15 章look what the cat dragged inJohn Shows Up at Marietta's Opening
第 16 章wind downBoris and Melodie Break Up第 2 / 16 章 · 残り約 65 分