[QUOTE=xquadrophenia;1122403]what does the whole.. "in a broadway theatre, announcing "elvis has left the building" means a fire

in a grocery store, paging mr. cash is a call for an armed security guard. paging
freight check to women's clothing" means somebody is shoplifting in that department" thing means?[/QUOTE]

alert codes.

Instead of announcing over the loud speaker, "OMG THE BUILDING IS ON FIRE!!!" and inviting chaos, there is a code.

mm yeah i know its alert codes, but is there a meaning behind it?

I don't know about any of that, but its good to know you aren't as dense as I thought you were.

It's been a few years since I read [I]Choke[/I], but isn't there a payoff later in the book where he applies that same formula to the character's own situation somehow in a metaphor? That would be the Chuck tradition, anyway. The "I am Jack's broken heart" chorus kind of thing.

In the 1990s at least, either Shopko or Kmart used what were called "Caroline Codes" to alert employees to emergencies or spills. "Caroline Red to gardening" would mean someone was injured in the gardening dept, and so on.

[QUOTE=xquadrophenia;1122408]mm yeah i know its alert codes, but is there a meaning behind it?[/QUOTE]WTF dude?

[QUOTE=xquadrophenia;1122408]mm yeah i know its alert codes, but is there a meaning behind it?[/QUOTE]

are you wondering what those codes refer to? Elvis has left the building was what they would say at his concerts when he left so people wouldn't stick around hoping he'd come back for encores. So if there's a fire and "Elvis has left the building" then everyone else should get out too. Mr Cash/ security guard means someone is stealing some cash from them? Freight Check means the need to have someone make sure their "freight" isn't being looted?

Or are you wondering [i]why[/i] they were using codes? It's just a way to show how people can say one thing and mean something else.

I respect you for taking the time to do that Nate. I couldn't find it in me.

I'm still kinda bewildered about that. Seemed like kind of obvious stuff to me but who knows. At least he didn't ask "What's with all the choking?"

ass butt

Exactly.

Dude, I think he gets it.

Ass butt.

nono, i meant why did Chuck use it them the book? i should really start expressing myself better.

[QUOTE=xquadrophenia;1124721]nono, i meant why did Chuck use it them the book? i should really start expressing myself better.[/QUOTE]

why not use them? It's just part of the style he uses in most of his books, choruses.
Like the "I am Jack's ___" from Fight Club or the "Give me _____, Flash" from Invisible Monsters.
Nothing particularly profound about them, just a way to tell a more interesting story.

i actully don't see shrimp. he's blocked.

oh thanks.

 its so the people inside the building do not get alarmed, but the staff can be notified in a calm way.

Those codes are frequently mentioned in the book to get across the idea that so many life aspects are sugarcoated. Nothing is confronted like it should be. Things are hidden. Some things are either unknown, or discriminated against. So, we use codes to disguise the few unpleasantries that we don't bury as life goes on.

ding ding ding, miss linsey wins. that's exactly why they're there. Just like the main character never confronted his "mother" about his past and his family, or his problem with the beads, or the people he tricked into saving him ... and in the end they all blow up (or blow out for one) on him and shatter everything he THOUGHT was his life.

When I worked at Menards, if you thought someone was shoplifting you paged Mr. Green to the department.

Whenever I explain the premise of Choke to people they don't get it, I always get "Why would people send him money?"

"Whenever I explain the premise of Choke to people they don't get it, I always get "Why would people send him money?""

Same here, I think it's far-fetched myself, but it doesn't really detract from the story for me. Same as why would anyone watch someone beat themself up in a parking lot, then ask, "Can I be next?"

The thing about them sending him money, well, it does make sense. To me anyways.

Only Victor (and Denny) knows that he is repeatedly pulling this stunt.

Let's just say, one time, you are in a restaurant and the guy next to you starts choking. You help him out, you stop him from choking, you dislodge the food, YOU SAVE HIS LIFE! People are so self-absorbed that they would consider this to be a personal victory, that they managed to save another human being. They wouldn't think "How terrible for that man, he nearly choked" they would think "Go me! I am the fuckin bomb! I saved that guy!"

So then, that man, that guy you saved, he represents your victory, he is the measure of your own success. So then what happens when you success story becomes.....unsuccessful? You want to keep that guy happy because it means his life was worth saving. Not because you want him to be happy but because it makes your story better. Because you can then add to the end of the story "And then he got a little down on his luck, so I sent him a few bucks" so that, reading between the lines, what you are really saying is, "Not only did I save his LIFE, I am also such a good guy that I'm sending him money too!"

And so that's what Victor does, over and over. Cashing in on other people's over-inflated ego's. Genius! Haha!

Dr. Stupid is knitting a sweater.
Get it?

marla_singer's got it completely right there
its summed up with this quote (page 78):
"It’s a homegrown version of those overseas children’s charities. These are the ones where for the price of a cup of coffee, you could save a child’s life. Be a sponsor. The hook is you can’t just save somebody’s life one time. People are having to save me again and again. The same as real life, there is no happily ever after."

that coupled with marla's answer is why people would send him money

that is the one part about fight club that i find completely far fetched. the part where he beats himself up in his bosses office gives the whole book a lot more validity. but people seeing a guy beat himself up in a parking lot then wanting to join? not gonna happen.

Oh, but it makes perfect sense in the context of a bar. Some drunken asshole stumbles out, sees an unhinged guy punching himself and says "hey, can I go next?".

or something like" Hey, I'd like to beat the shit out of that guy too"