Vasily Grossman: Zhilitsa - some remarkable word play

[Olga Meerson]

Laura:
>Perhaps, then, the word "sdavat'" refers not only to turning in the paper, but to turning people in to the police. The preceding line "Chego zhe eto my sidim" could also be seen as a reference to imprisonment. 

Unlikely: the meaning of sdavat' as turning in A PERSON seems to have appeared later. On the other hand, the syntax and context do not suggest that the people playing cards are IN prison. If they are (which sounds far-fetched to me even as an allegory for all Soviet citizens being imprisoned already, by virtue of being on the SU territory), turning anyone in won't help. In that context, it would be more plausible if the double-entendre were, for example, "чего же мы не сдаем? Ведь сидеть же будем"--or--"ведь не сидеть же нам!" Double-entendres are not just puns on separate words but analogous syntactic constructions. Here, if one sentence works for one meaning, for the other meaning, a totally different sentence is needed. So won't do. While for what Grossman has in mind, acc. to Robert, the same PHRASE/SENTENCE works for both meanings. It is not through separate words but through the phraseology that double entendres work.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------