"Is Andrew Christopher still alive?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since we were in school together."
"Is Andrew Christopher a Negro?"
"Yes."
"Is the character Morley a Negro?"
"Yes."
"And a sergeant?"
"Yes."
"D'Agostino is also a sergeant, and a member of a minority group. How do you explain this similarity?"
"Sergeant D'Agostino is only accidentally a member of a minority group. Sergeant Morely is deliberately a Negro, for valid plot and character purposes."
"What are these valid plot and character purposes?"
"To further the conflict between the squad and the lieutenant."
"In what way?"
"By having Morley suspect the lieutenant of bigotry."
"Mr. Constantine has testified that there is a recurring thread of suspected prejudice in his play as well. Did you find this so?"
"No, sir."
"You did not find a recurring thread of suspected prejudice?"
"I did not."
"But there are references to D'Agostino being Italian, the lieutenant being white Protestant?"
"Yes, there are. But these are oblique and tangential and could not have been intended as development in a—"
"Objection, your Honor."
"Mr. Brackman?"
"We are getting into intent here, are we not?"
"Well, I won't know until I've heard the rest of his sentence," McIntyre said.
"If your Honor please, the witness has already used the word 'intended.' "
"Well, let's hear the rest of the sentence."
"I was only going to say that Mr. Constantine knows how to write a play, and there is ample evidence throughout that he knows how to sustain a thought and build it to a dramatic payoff. But he has not done this with D'Agostino's Italian background. The oblique references there seem intended only as incidental information."
"That's what I mean, your Honor," Brackman said. "I do not see how Mr. Driscoll can possibly know or even surmise what Mr. Constantine's intentions were."
"Yes," McIntyre said. "Well." He was silent for a moment. Then he said, "I think we will have to strike both the question and the answer, Mr. Willow."
Willow sighed and then said, "Mr. Driscoll, it has been alleged that the character called Kenworthy in your novel is based upon the character called Franklin in Catchpole? Is this in fact so?"
"No, sir."
"Both these men are addicted to the use of obscene language, are they not?"
"No. Again, we come to intent." Driscoll paused. "I really don't know how I can explain this without talking about why these characters are in the separate works."
"Your Honor?"
"Yes, Mr. Willow."
"May the witness proceed?"
"I have heard no objection."
"I most strenuously will object, your Honor, if he plans to analyze the thought processes of another man."
"He only plans to compare the characters, your Honor."
"That's not what he said."
"Mr. Driscoll?"
"I would have to go into intent."
"In that case, I would object," Brackman said.
"Well now," McIntyre said, and again was silent. "Will this take the same form as the testimony you just gave concerning bigotry and so on?"
"I would imagine so."
"It does seem to me, Mr. Brackman, that we allowed your witness a similar latitude in his testimony."
"We did not permit him to testify as to intent, your Honor."
"Not in the strictest meaning of the word, perhaps. But was he not, for example, when discussing the reversal of Colonel Peterson's name to form Peter Colman's name, was he not then really analyzing Mr. Driscoll's intent?"
"He was basing his analysis on the actual works, your Honor, and not on what was intended."
"He may not have used the word 'intent,' but surely he was telling us that Mr. Driscoll intended an anagram."
"If your Honor please, I feel we are beginning to confuse execution with intent. We are here to compare the two works. In that manner alone can we determine whether or not an act of piracy was committed."
"But wouldn't it be helpful if we knew the intent as well?"
"Your Honor, it seems to me that a man can state in print that white is white, and then later claim he really intended to state that black is white, and the intent and the execution would be in direct contradiction."
"But isn't it important for us to know what both these men were trying to accomplish?"
"Not in a court of law, if your Honor please. We are not, after all, professional book or play reviewers."
"I think we are reviewing these works, nonetheless, Mr. Brackman."
"Only in an attempt to prove or disprove similarities. I know your Honor recognizes the gravity of this contest, and I'm certain the Court would not wish to compare these proceedings to something as trivial as the reviewing of books and plays."
"On the contrary, Mr. Brackman, we may be getting very close to the heart of the matter here."
"Which is what, if your Honor please?"
"What both these men were trying to do."
"It is our contention, your Honor, that James Driscoll was trying to do nothing more nor less than steal Mr. Constantine's play."
"And what was Mr. Constantine trying to do?"
"He was trying to write a wholly original work. Your Honor, in all frankness, I must say that anyone's comments — mine included — concerning this matter can only confuse the issue beyond understanding."
"You mean the matter of author's intent?"
"Yes, your Honor. It seems to me that it is the author's burden to make his intent clear in the execution."
"And it is the judge's burden to try for an understanding of both execution and intent."
"If that is your ruling…"
"That is my ruling."
"Will the record note my exception?"
"It will be noted. Proceed, Mr. Driscoll."
"I've forgotten the question," Driscoll said.
"Are both Franklin in the play and Kenworthy in your novel addicted to the use of obscene language?"
"No, sir, they are not."
"Do you accept the use of the word bug or its variations as a substitute for an obscenity?"
"I do."
"And you still maintain that Franklin in the play does not use obscenity?"
"He does use obscenity, but not excessively."
"On what do you base this?"
"On an actual count of the number of times the words bug or bugging are used in the play."
"How many times are they used?"
"The play runs one hundred and twenty pages, and is divided into three acts. Throughout the length of the play, Private Franklin uses this word a total of seven times. Compare this to The Eve of Saint Mark, where the word ruttin' is used a total of twenty-eight times during the course of the play…"
"Objection, your Honor," Brackman said. "We are not here to compare Catchpole with The Eve of Saint Mark."
"Overruled, Mr. Brackman. The comparison is being made only to clarify this matter of excessive obscenity."
"How often does your character Kenworthy use obscene language in The Paper Dragon?"
"Every time he speaks."
"Did you count the times?"
"No."
"Moving to Plaintiff's Exhibit 5, Plot Similarities, it is alleged that in both your novel and the play the lieutenant falls in love with an Army nurse. Is this so?"