A few expressions from 'Catch-22'

[Haihao]

Hi,

Could you help me with the following?

[Jamie (K)]

1. "Hollows" refers to his eye sockets. He had deep-set eyes.

2. "To sever" means to divide by cutting, so the veins in and near his eye sockets wiggled around like small pieces of a snake that had just been cut up.

3. He didn't have black skin. He was a white person with skin that was blackened by soot. I think that "with care" means that he liked being dirty from his job, so he tried to look sooty more than to look clean. I think it's like an art student who likes to wear old clothes that are spattered with paint. Or he could be like a young woman who spends hours rummaging through the used clothing store to find just the right old clothes that will make her look chic and give the impression that she doesn't care about clothes. (We had girls like this in my college, and at first I thought they just wore any old clothes, but my girlfriend told me, "No, it takes a lot of work to put that look together.)

So, anyway, I think this character liked to look like a man who did dirty work with his hands, so he tried to look dirty with soot.

[Haihao]

Hi Jamie,

Nice to have your paraphrases again, which are so inspiring! The 3rd one also reminds me of those young people who like old, shabby, chewed-up jeans that are actually new.

Thank you!

Haihao