He had the feeling that everything he saw was a broken-off piece of some giant blank thing he had forgotten had happened to him.

他有种感觉,觉得他看见的一切都是之前发生过的,他已经忘记的,某件大而无用的事掉落的碎片。

耶鲁公开课 - 1945年后的美国小说课程节选

And then you get that sort of lyrical moment of interpretation: "He had the feeling that everything he saw was a broken-off piece of some giant blank thing he had forgotten had happened to him."

然后你就能看到那句抒情的解释：,“他有种感觉,觉得他看见的一切都是之前发生过的,他已经忘记的,某件大而无用的事掉落的碎片，“

耶鲁公开课 - 1945年后的美国小说课程节选

A piece of chalk can be broken.

一根粉笔可以被破坏。

耶鲁公开课 - 死亡课程节选