0
Pructus Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
A quote from “Catch 22”
Hi! A quote from “Catch 22”. This is not an easy one to read........
In a way the C.I.D. man was pretty lucky, because outside the hospital the war was still going on. Men went mad and were rewarded with medals. All over the world, boys on every side of the bomb line were laying down their lives for what they had been told was their country, and no one seemed to mind, (a) least of all the boys who were laying down their young lives. There was no end in sight. (b) The only end in sight was Yossarian’s own, and he might have remained in the hospital until doomsday had it not been for that patriotic Texan with his infundibuliform jowls and his lumpy, rumpleheaded, indestructible smile cracked forever across the front of his face (c) like the brim of a black ten-gallon hat. The Texan wanted everybody in the ward to be happy but Yossarian and Dunbar. He was really very sick.
1. The underlined (a); Is it to be understood as, “no one seemed to mind the boys who were laying down their young lives”?
Or is it to be understood as, “the boys who were laying down their young lives, did not seem to mind about their dying”?
2. (b), Yosarian’s end ; Does mean the life of Yosarian?
3. (c) “like the brim of a black ten-gallon hat”; Does this mean that his face looked like the brim of a hat? Or does it mean that “the smile cracked in the shape of the brim of a hat”?
In a way the C.I.D. man was pretty lucky, because outside the hospital the war was still going on. Men went mad and were rewarded with medals. All over the world, boys on every side of the bomb line were laying down their lives for what they had been told was their country, and no one seemed to mind, (a) least of all the boys who were laying down their young lives. There was no end in sight. (b) The only end in sight was Yossarian’s own, and he might have remained in the hospital until doomsday had it not been for that patriotic Texan with his infundibuliform jowls and his lumpy, rumpleheaded, indestructible smile cracked forever across the front of his face (c) like the brim of a black ten-gallon hat. The Texan wanted everybody in the ward to be happy but Yossarian and Dunbar. He was really very sick.
1. The underlined (a); Is it to be understood as, “no one seemed to mind the boys who were laying down their young lives”?
Or is it to be understood as, “the boys who were laying down their young lives, did not seem to mind about their dying”?
2. (b), Yosarian’s end ; Does mean the life of Yosarian?
3. (c) “like the brim of a black ten-gallon hat”; Does this mean that his face looked like the brim of a hat? Or does it mean that “the smile cracked in the shape of the brim of a hat”?
Top answer
Hi, Pructus. ). 1.
- Hi, Pructus.
- ).
- 1.
- Your second option: the boys themselves minded it the least .
- 2.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
12 Answers
0
Hi, Pructus. I'll be thinking of you and CJ on my birthday (2 Aug.).
1. Your second option: the boys themselves minded it the least.
2. Yes. Yosarian's end.
3. Again, your second option. An exaggeration, of course.
The brim of a ten-gallon hat is huge, and goes all the way around.
Best wishes, - A.
1. Your second option: the boys themselves minded it the least.
2. Yes. Yosarian's end.
3. Again, your second option. An exaggeration, of course.
The brim of a ten-gallon hat is huge, and goes all the way around.
Best wishes, - A.
00
Thanks a lot, Avangi!!
I see your birthday and CJ’s are close to mine.... ^^
1. least of all the boys who were laying down their young lives. ; So this one means that “of all the people, the boys themselves minded the least”?
3. indestructible smile cracked forever across the front of his face (c) like the brim of a bla
00
I may be a little confused. I've never read the original novel. I'm assuming the text you quote here is original.
So you're saying that a respected Korean translator rendered the "patriotic Texan" in Korean as having a face that looked like the brim of a ten-gallon hat, and the smile cracked across it.
If I could picture a face looking like the brim of a ten-gallon hat, I'd gladl
So you're saying that a respected Korean translator rendered the "patriotic Texan" in Korean as having a face that looked like the brim of a ten-gallon hat, and the smile cracked across it.
If I could picture a face looking like the brim of a ten-gallon hat, I'd gladl
00
For what it's worth, I agree with Avangi, especially with regard to your first question. Though the sentence could be written more clearly, it is most likely your second inference.
00
indestructible smile cracked forever across the front of his face (c) like the brim of a black ten-gallon hat
Does this mean that his face looked like the brim of a hat?
Does this mean that his face looked like the brim of a hat?
00
Oh! I joined on the 2nd of August..... I didn't know that.....
[Actually, "like the brim etc." modifies the verb "cracked." ] ....... I guess this one of yours settles all.
Thanks a lot, Avangi~~
00
My guess is that "the only end is sight was Yossarian's own" is a pun, meaning that he is wearing a hospital gown that's open in the back so that his naked "end" is visible.
00
0
0
I have a Master's degree. I will tell you the answers, even though I do not have the whole "Catch 22" book or movie to refer to.
a) The first question is a little bit unusual. Both meanings are sensible, but the second meaning is correct. The boys themselves, who were dying, were apparently not showing that they minded. If you wanted to say no one else minded, you would just put a
a) The first question is a little bit unusual. Both meanings are sensible, but the second meaning is correct. The boys themselves, who were dying, were apparently not showing that they minded. If you wanted to say no one else minded, you would just put a
0
Related Questions