Movies
He went out and shot that poor pony, and, for a minute, I thought he was gonna shoot himself.
— Mammy ‧ Gone with the Wind
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker reports a man shooting a pony, then recalls briefly fearing he would shoot himself. The movement from an observed act to an imagined next step creates the alarm. The words distinguish what happened from what the speaker feared might follow.
Context reviewed