carrying enough of a burden
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Hi.
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Masao was running away from his uncle, Teruo Sato, who was trying to kill Masao.
He was a fugitive from his uncle.
Finally he reached Los Angeles, California, to see his friend, Kunio Hidaka.
(Quote)
He bought another pair of shorts and jeans and a tee-shirt and a handkerchief and socks, but he left his old clothes in the dressing room of the store. He was carrying enough of a burden.
(from THE CHASE by Sidney Sheldon)
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I'm not sure about the meaning of the last sentence.
"A burden" is not a material, but his mental pressure. He had just the new clothes he wore, and he had to be as light as possible. He had to be ready to run away from his uncle's men and from police.
Is my interpretation of the sentence correct?
Thank you.
.......................................................................................................
Masao was running away from his uncle, Teruo Sato, who was trying to kill Masao.
He was a fugitive from his uncle.
Finally he reached Los Angeles, California, to see his friend, Kunio Hidaka.
(Quote)
He bought another pair of shorts and jeans and a tee-shirt and a handkerchief and socks, but he left his old clothes in the dressing room of the store. He was carrying enough of a burden.
(from THE CHASE by Sidney Sheldon)
.......................................................................................................
I'm not sure about the meaning of the last sentence.
"A burden" is not a material, but his mental pressure. He had just the new clothes he wore, and he had to be as light as possible. He had to be ready to run away from his uncle's men and from police.
Is my interpretation of the sentence correct?
Thank you.
Finally he reached Los Angeles, California, to see Kunio Hidaka, (who was) a friend of his. [Alternative: "... to see his friend Kunio Hidaka."]
I'm not for sure about (the meaning of) the last sentence.
It's very hard to guess what's implied by the sentence without knowing more details from the story.
It's possible that the sentence has the literal meaning that he needed to be carrying as little as possible, to have as little as possible "holding him down", especially if there is something else "weighty" that he's carrying, such as a gun. However, the metaphorical meaning seems more likely. It may also be the author trying to make something sound big and ominous without any clear idea in mind about what he means by it; Sidney Sheldon is not one of the most sophisticated writers in the world. Clothing is not very heavy, so the suggestion that it would be a burden if he took the old clothing along with him is weak to begin with, and the metaphorical comparison doesn't work very well without this.
"......, but he left his old armor in the dressing room of the Army Base Camp" might sound more reasonable. ?? ^^
The word "armor" conveys an image of the heavy metal suits worn by medieval knights, which encased the entire body, rather than something like a bullet-proof vest.
Then,
"......, but he left his old Snoopy suit in the dressing room of the Universal Studio" might sound a little more reasonable. ?? ^^
マサオの逃亡劇であるという文脈は度外視して、
「脱ぎ去った衣服の重量が、相当に重く、比喩としてのburdenではなく、実際の重荷になるような衣服であって、かつ、鎧兜のような中世に使うものではなく、現代でももちいるものは何か」を考えて、「着ぐるみ」を思いついたにすぎません。
おかげさまで、最初の疑問は解決しましたので、このへんが潮時かと存じます。
ありがとうございました。