The Great Gatsby — Page 2
Most of the confidences were unsought—frequently I have feigned sleep, preoccupation, or a hostile levity when I realized by some unmistakable sign that an intimate revelation was quivering on the horizon; for the intimate revelations of young men, or at least the terms in which they express them, are usually plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions.
La maggior parte delle confidenze non erano ricercate—spesso ho simulato sonno, preoccupazione, o una levità ostile quando mi rendevo conto, da qualche segno inequivocabile, che una rivelazione intima stava tremando all'orizzonte; poiché le rivelazioni intime dei giovani, o almeno i termini in cui le esprimono, sono di solito plagiarie e guastate da evidenti omissioni.
Reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope.
Sospendere i giudizi è una questione di speranza infinita.
I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth.
Ho ancora un po' paura di perdermi qualcosa se dimentico che, come mio padre suggerì snobisticamente, e io snobisticamente ripeto, il senso delle decenze fondamentali viene distribuito in modo disuguale alla nascita.
And, after boasting this way of my tolerance, I come to the admission that it has a limit.
E, dopo aver vantato in questo modo la mia tolleranza, arrivo ad ammettere che essa ha un limite.
Conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes, but after a certain point I don't care what it's founded on.
La condotta può essere fondata sulla roccia dura o sulle paludi umide, ma oltre un certo punto non mi importa su cosa sia fondata.
When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart.
Quando tornai dall'Est lo scorso autunno sentii che volevo che il mondo fosse in uniforme e in una sorta di attenzione morale per sempre; non volevo più escursioni sfrenate con scorci privilegiati nel cuore umano.
Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.
Solo Gatsby, l'uomo che dà il nome a questo libro, era esente dalla mia reazione—Gatsby, che rappresentava tutto ciò per cui ho un disprezzo sincero.
If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away.
Se la personalità è una serie ininterrotta di gesti riusciti, allora c'era qualcosa di magnifico in lui, una sensibilità esaltata verso le promesse della vita, come se fosse imparentato con uno di quei meccanismi intricati che registrano i terremoti a diecimila miglia di distanza.
Vocabulary
- maggior
- Greater or largest, comparative form of 'grande'
- parte
- Part, portion, or share of something
- confidenze
- Confidences, personal secrets shared with someone
- ricercate
- Sought after, researched, or deliberately pursued
- spesso
- Often, frequently; also can mean 'thick'
- simulato
- Simulated, feigned, or pretended falsely
- sonno
- Sleep, the state of rest and unconsciousness
- preoccupazione
- Worry, concern, or anxiety about something
- levità
- Lightness, frivolity, or lack of seriousness
- ostile
- Hostile, unfriendly, or showing opposition
- rendevo
- First person singular imperfect of 'rendersi', meaning 'I realized'
- conto
- Account or bill; in 'rendersi conto' means 'to realize'
- qualche
- Some, any, a few; used before singular nouns
- segno
- Sign, signal, or indication of something
- inequivocabile
- Unequivocal, unmistakable, leaving no room for doubt
- rivelazione
- Revelation, disclosure of something previously hidden
- intima
- Intimate, personal, deeply private or close
- tremando
- Trembling, shaking; gerund of 'tremare'
- orizzonte
- Horizon, the line where sky meets earth
- poiché
- Since, because; causal conjunction explaining a reason
- rivelazioni
- Revelations, plural disclosures of hidden personal information
- intime
- Intimate, personal; plural feminine form of 'intimo'
- giovani
- Young people, youth; plural of 'giovane'
- almeno
- At least, indicating a minimum condition or quantity
- termini
- Terms, words, or expressions used to convey meaning
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which', 'whom', or 'whose'
- esprimono
- They express; third person plural present of 'esprimere'
- solito
- Usual, customary; 'di solito' means 'usually'
- plagiarie
- Plagiarized, copied without originality or acknowledgment
- guastate
- Spoiled, ruined, or corrupted; feminine plural past participle
- evidenti
- Evident, obvious, clearly apparent to anyone
- omissioni
- Omissions, things left out or not mentioned
- Sospendere
- To suspend, withhold, or defer judgment or action
- giudizi
- Judgments, opinions, or verdicts about people or things
- questione
- Question, matter, or issue requiring attention
- speranza
- Hope, the feeling that something desired may happen
- infinita
- Infinite, endless, without limits or boundaries
- ancora
- Still, yet, or again; also means 'anchor'
- po'
- A little, a small amount; short form of 'poco'
- paura
- Fear, fright, or dread of something
- perdermi
- To lose myself, miss out; reflexive infinitive of 'perdere'
- qualcosa
- Something, anything; an unspecified thing
- dimentico
- I forget; first person singular present of 'dimenticare'
- padre
- Father, male parent
- suggerì
- Suggested; third person singular past of 'suggerire'
- snobisticamente
- Snobbishly, in a manner showing superiority or disdain
- ripeto
- I repeat; first person singular present of 'ripetere'
- senso
- Sense, meaning, or feeling about something
- decenze
- Decencies, standards of proper and respectful behavior
- fondamentali
- Fundamental, basic, essential to understanding something
- distribuito
- Distributed, spread out, or allocated among people
- modo
- Way, manner, or method of doing something
- disuguale
- Unequal, uneven, not distributed uniformly
- nascita
- Birth, the moment or event of being born
- dopo
- After, later; preposition or adverb of time
- vantato
- Boasted about, bragged; past participle of 'vantare'
- tolleranza
- Tolerance, acceptance of differing views or behaviors
- arrivo
- I arrive, I come to; also means 'arrival'
- ammettere
- To admit, acknowledge, or concede something is true
- limite
- Limit, boundary, or restriction beyond which one cannot go
- condotta
- Conduct, behavior, or manner of acting
- fondata
- Founded, based upon, or grounded in something solid
- roccia
- Rock, hard stone or solid geological formation
- dura
- Hard, tough, difficult; feminine form of 'duro'
- paludi
- Marshes, swamps; wet, muddy, low-lying areas
- umide
- Damp, moist, humid; feminine plural of 'umido'
- oltre
- Beyond, past, over; indicates exceeding a limit
- certo
- Certain, sure; also used as 'a certain' before nouns
- punto
- Point, dot, or moment in time or space
- importa
- It matters, it is important; from 'importare'
- cosa
- Thing, object, matter; also used in 'che cosa' (what)
- sia
- Subjunctive of 'essere', meaning 'be' or 'may be'
- tornai
- I returned; first person singular past of 'tornare'
- Est
- East; cardinal direction opposite to west
- scorso
- Last, past; used to indicate the most recent period
- autunno
- Autumn, fall; the season between summer and winter
- sentii
- I felt, I heard; first person singular past of 'sentire'
- mondo
- World, earth; the totality of human existence
- fosse
- Subjunctive imperfect of 'essere', meaning 'were' or 'might be'
- uniforme
- Uniform, consistent, the same throughout
- sorta
- Sort, kind, type; 'una sorta di' means 'a kind of'
- attenzione
- Attention, care, or careful consideration given to something
- morale
- Moral, ethical; relating to principles of right and wrong
- sempre
- Always, ever; indicating continuity or habitual action
- escursioni
- Excursions, outings, or wandering explorations
- sfrenate
- Unbridled, unrestrained, wild; feminine plural adjective
- scorci
- Glimpses, foreshortened views, or partial perspectives
- privilegiati
- Privileged, exclusive, enjoyed by few people
- cuore
- Heart; center of emotions or a physical organ
- umano
- Human, relating to people or humanity
- Solo
- Only, alone, just; indicating exclusivity or solitude
- uomo
- Man, adult male human being
- nome
- Name, the word used to identify someone or something
- libro
- Book, a written or printed literary work
- esente
- Exempt, free from, not subject to something
- reazione
- Reaction, response to an event or stimulus
- rappresentava
- Represented; third person singular imperfect of 'rappresentare'
- tutto
- Everything, all; indicating completeness or totality
- ciò
- That, this; demonstrative pronoun for abstract things
- disprezzo
- Contempt, scorn, disdain for someone or something
- sincero
- Sincere, genuine, honest in feeling or expression
- personalità
- Personality, the combination of traits defining a person
- serie
- Series, sequence, or uninterrupted succession of things
- ininterrotta
- Uninterrupted, continuous, without breaks or pauses
- gesti
- Gestures, actions, or expressive movements of the body
- riusciti
- Successful, well-executed; plural past participle of 'riuscire'
- allora
- Then, at that point; temporal or consequential conjunction
- magnifico
- Magnificent, wonderful, splendid in quality or appearance
- sensibilità
- Sensitivity, heightened awareness or responsiveness to things
- esaltata
- Exalted, heightened, intensified beyond normal levels
- verso
- Toward, towards; preposition indicating direction
- promesse
- Promises, commitments or assurances about future actions
- vita
- Life, the state of being alive and experiencing existence
- imparentato
- Related to, akin to, having a connection with something
- meccanismi
- Mechanisms, devices or processes that operate systematically
- intricati
- Intricate, complex, entangled, or highly detailed
- registrano
- They record, register; third person plural of 'registrare'
- terremoti
- Earthquakes, seismic events causing ground trembling
- diecimila
- Ten thousand; the number 10,000
- miglia
- Miles; plural of 'miglio', unit of distance
- distanza
- Distance, the space between two points or places
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