Why does someone intend to die in this JLPT question?


This is a question in my JLPT practise book:

> 手遅{ておく}れかもしれないが、死{し}んだ＿＿になってやれば、間{ま}に合{あ}うかもしれない。
>
> **A** もの **B** わけ **C** つもり **D** はず

None of the answers made sense to me, so I didn't even choose one.

The book says the answer is **C**. I didn't choose that one because it seems
to be saying, "if you intend to die, you might make it."

I get that there could be a metaphorical meaning here, something like "try so
hard you might die", but I'm still having trouble parsing the sentence so that
it conveys the sense of "as if". I'm just not used to seeing `つもり` used in a
hypothetical way.

What would be an accurate translation of this sentence, and does `つもり` have a
broader meaning than just, "intend to"?

* * *

**Bonus question:** Is `死{し}んだつもり` the same as saying `必死{ひっし}`?




[goo.ne.jp](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/je2/50468/m0u/)'s definition for
`つもり` is:

  1. An intention (of doing)
  2. Expectation, plans
  3. `そうなった気持ち` which I might translate to "the feeling as if (something) has become that way."

I believe some more natural translations for definition 3 might be:

  * As if you think.../As if someone thinks...
  * I think.../I feel as if...

Some examples:

> 死んだつもりになって働きます。  
> "Work as if (you think) you'll die."
>
> あれで歌手のつもりだ。  
> "It's as if he thinks he's a singer."
>
> 分かっているつもりだ。  
> "I think I understand."

See also: [the different usages of
つもり?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1822/796)




死んだつもりになって is a set expression that means to frantically 頑張る (and maybe even
with reckless abandon and power). If my understanding is correct, it has a
really great flavor. I wouldn't say it's interchangeable with 必死に, but I think
it's safe to say they have similar nuances.

Sources (girlfriend and Weblio)-->
その例文はな。。。もう今からしても遅いかもやけど、死に物狂いになって頑張れば大丈夫かも、です。笑 (^_^)

類語 from Weblio >> 捨て身でかかる ・ 死んだつもりになって～ ・ クソ度胸で～ ・ 火事場のバカ力で～

