there was no way to run away

[Boris Tatarenko]

There was no way to run away.

I think the sentence above makes sense, but it seems like a bad translation to me.
Is there any good expression in English which means the same thing? I couldn't find anything in the Net.

 

[Jill Dorchester]

It depends upon the context. If the speaker is trapped in a desperate situation (say, for example, a prison camp) and he dreams of nothing but escaping, he might say "I wanted nothing more than to run away. But there was no way to run away."

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

Is there such an expression as "there was no way back"?

 

[emsr2d2]

That's a perfectly good expression but it doesn't mean the same as the original. What language was the original in before it was translated? Can you give us the original wording?

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

The context is: When the strange flying object landed, the oval door opened and two creatures appeared. Mr. Burton squinted to see who they were. He was absolutely shocked when he realized that they were extraterrestrial. Unfortunately, there was no way to run away, that’s why he kept standing and staring at the aliens.

Is it enough?

 

[emsr2d2]

It depends on the reason for the "no way to run away". Was it because there was no route he could take to escape? Was it because he physically couldn't run away?

 

[Tarheel]

It seems to me that the individual had thoughts of running away (thinking the strange creatures might be dangerous), but he was so fascinated with what he was seeing that he couldn't make himself do that. I can totally understand how he might feel. After all, I have never seen any extraterrestrials (that I know of). Of course, I could be wrong in my interpretation.

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

In my interpretation he couldn't run away because it was in vain. They would catch him anyway.

 

[bhaisahab]

In mu interpretation he couldn't run away because it was in vain. They would catch him anyway.

In that case, I would use "it was impossible (for him) to escape".

 

[Tarheel]

How do we know they even knew he was there?

(Is this a story that is in progress, or has it already been written?)

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

Actually, it's in progress. :-D

 

[Tarheel]

Actually, it's in progress. :-D

In that case, I like my interpretation. Have you ever seen any extraterrestrials? If you saw some landing nearby would you be able to leave the scene, or would you stand there watching (not wanting to miss a thing)? Maybe they can't see you. It is the experience of a lifetime. You will want to see everything. (Even if you are visible to them, why assume they are dangerous? (Would you travel a long way from home to kill the residents of another planet?))