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Storytelling for Lawyers

Page 31

by Philip Meyer


  static, 77–78, 81–82

  theme and, 113–14

  transformation of, 77

  voice and, 118

  child neglect, 145–47

  The China Syndrome (movie), 37, 207

  chronology. See also sequence of events

  ellipsis, 195–97

  flashback, 192–94

  flash-forward, 194–95

  narrative time and, 188–92

  pacing and, 197–99

  rhythm and, 197–99

  Cimarron Syndrome, 37, 38, 55, 56, 141, 207

  cinema noir, 62

  climax

  Donovan and, 101–3

  Failla and, 101–3, 111

  in The Hand, 15–16

  in High Noon, 22, 26–27, 82

  in Jaws, 26

  closing argument

  character development in, 90–114

  characterization in, 90–114

  characters in, 4–5, 90–114

  in criminal case, 90–114

  by Donovan, 90–114

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 28–68

  movies and, 5–7

  by Spence, 28–68

  in torts, 28–68

  Clutter family. See In Cold Blood

  Coblyn v. Kennedy, 9

  Cochran, Johnnie

  aphorisms by, 35

  betrayal and, 18

  theory of the case of, 18

  coda, 13, 16

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 56–57

  in High Noon, 27

  of meaning, 2, 209

  coerced confession cases, briefs in, 164–75

  Cohen, Leonard, 159

  complications. See progressive complications

  computer simulations, 6

  confrontation

  by Donovan, 93–100

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 45, 49–52

  Failla and, 93–100

  between good and evil, 24

  in High Noon, 78

  in Jaws, 54

  conspiracy theory, 51

  Donovan and, 104

  constraints

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 29

  on plot trajectory, 12–13

  content, form and, 3

  Cooper, Gary, 78, 79–80

  corporations, depictions of, 41–43

  criminal case. See Donovan, Jeremiah; Failla, Louis “Louie”

  danger

  description and, 164–75

  environment and, 164–75

  settings and, 158–64

  Davis, Peggy Cooper, 203

  death penalty mitigation

  in Atkins v. Virginia, 153

  audience in, 65

  mental retardation and, 134

  story in, 65

  description, 155–84

  of characters, 83, 85

  danger and, 164–75

  for events, 156

  Lodge, 155

  for plot, 156

  for theme, 156

  detachment, 123

  with omniscient perspective, 148

  dialogic relationship, with jury, 52, 58–59

  dialogue

  of characters, 83–84, 85, 103–7

  Donovan and, 103–7

  Failla and, 103–7

  Didion, Joan, 157, 158–64

  directors, 6

  for High Noon, 21

  discourse time

  in High Noon, 197

  narrative time and, 187–200

  ordering of, 187–200

  disillusionment plot, 61

  Doctorow, E.L., 70

  Donovan, Jeremiah P., 4–5, 6, 20, 73–74, 84, 202, 206, 207, 208

  actions and, 103–7

  beginning by, 93–100

  character actions and, 95

  climax and, 101–3

  closing argument by, 90–114

  confrontation by, 93–100

  conspiracy theory and, 104

  dialogue and, 103–7

  ending by, 200

  first-person perspective by, 139

  flashback by, 193–94

  hook by, 93–95

  irony by, 104

  judges and, 103

  jury and, 95–98, 103

  motivation and, 95

  opening by, 94

  pacing by, 197, 198

  perspective by, 138, 148, 149–50

  plot and, 91, 101–3

  progressive complications by, 92, 111

  rhetorical questions by, 104

  steady state and, 96–100

  stretch by, 127

  strict liability and, 94–95

  summary by, 127

  trouble and, 96–100

  Double Indemnity (movie), 62–63

  Dreyfuss, Richard, 24

  Dwight (fictional character), in This Boy’s Life, 85–89

  Dylan, Bob, 72, 159

  Eddings, Monty, 175–84

  Eddings v. Oklahoma

  brief for, 175–84

  flashback in, 193

  efforts

  in The Hand, 15

  in plot, 13

  Eighth Amendment, 134

  ellipsis, 195–97

  Ellroy, James, 119, 120–23, 121f, 140, 143

  The Emigrants (Sebald), 164–75

  Emma (Austen), 60–63

  flashback in, 192

  empathy, perspective and, 147–52

  ending, 202–9. See also coda

  beginning and, 57–64

  Brooks on, 58

  of The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 57–64

  Gardner on, 58

  of The Hand, 14

  hero in, 64

  in High Noon, 26–27

  of melodrama, 64

  narrative time and, 199–200

  plot and, 12–13

  purposeful motion toward, 64

  sequence of events in, 13, 64

  villain in, 64

  environment, 155–84

  danger and, 164–75

  for events, 156

  for Jaws, 156–57

  for plot, 156

  for theme, 156

  as villain, 175–84

  The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 118–19, 207

  anecdotes in, 33, 56–57

  antagonist in, 35, 59, 64–68

  audience in, 32–33

  backstory in, 30–31

  burden of proof in, 33

  closing argument in, 28–68

  coda for, 56–57

  confrontation in, 45, 49–52

  constraints in, 29

  corporations in, 41–42

  ending of, 57–64

  Failla and, 101

  genre of, 37–38

  good and evil in, 37–38, 42, 54

  hero in, 36, 38–41, 46–48

  High Noon and, 45

  hooks in, 59

  Jaws and, 41–42, 45

  jury in, 32–33, 51, 55–59

  melodrama of, 28–68

  ministory in, 33–35

  movies and, 29–30

  myth in, 68

  past-tense story in, 54

  perspective in, 141

  plot in, 64

  present-tense voice in, 29, 38–39, 52

  proem in, 58–59

  progressive complications in, 41–43

  punitive damages in, 31, 35

  rebuttal in, 38, 40, 52–55

  sequence of events in, 46

  steady state in, 37–38, 59

  strict liability in, 33–34

  theme for, 33–36, 64

  theory of the case for, 33–36

  trouble in, 37–38, 67

  villain in, 35, 41–46, 49–50

  voice in, 118–19

  zigzagging in, 46

  events. See also sequence of events

  description for, 156

  environment for, 156

  perspective and, 152–53

  in plot, 11, 12, 13

  settings for, 15
6

  evidence, into story, 20

  evil. See good and evil

  Executioner’s Song (Mailer), 119, 128–30, 141

  perspective in, 147–48

  expectations

  of audience, 18

  genre and, 18

  of jury, 6, 38

  facts, for arguments, 2–3

  Failla, Louis “Louie,” 4–5, 6, 73–74, 84, 207, 208

  actions and, 99, 103–7

  audience and, 111–12

  beginning and, 93–100

  cartoons of, 107, 108f 109f

  character actions and, 95

  character arc of, 108–9

  characterization of, 90–114

  climax and, 101–3, 111

  closing argument in, 90–114

  confrontation and, 93–100

  dialogue and, 103–7

  flashback and, 193–94

  hook and, 93–95

  inner contradiction of, 113

  motivation of, 95, 107

  movies and, 110–14

  opening and, 94

  pacing and, 197, 198

  perspective and, 138, 148, 150

  plot and, 101–3

  as protagonist, 92, 96–97

  sentences and, 90

  steady state and, 96–100

  strict liability and, 94–95

  summary for, 127

  trouble and, 96–100

  false imprisonment, 9–10

  Farrell, Jack, 99, 105, 113

  Field, Syd, 8

  on hero, 36

  Finn, Huckleberry (fictional character), 139

  first-person perspective, 138–39

  Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 72

  “Five Key Terms of Dramatism,” 4–5

  flashback, 192–94

  flash-forward, 194–95

  flat characters, 75–76

  Failla as, 92

  in High Noon, 81–82

  Ford, Ford Madox, 60–63

  Foreman, Carl, 21

  form, content and, 3

  Forster, E.M., 75

  The Foundations of Screenwriting (Field), 8

  framing story

  at beginning, 9

  for The Hand, 14

  in melodrama, 65–66

  narrative time and, 201

  free will, 73

  Freud, Sigmund, 74

  Frye, Northrop, 19

  Gagliano, Anthony C., 182–83

  Gardner, John, 12

  on ending, 58

  on perspective, 138, 139

  on setting, 155

  on theme, 16, 17

  Geertz, Clifford, 69

  genre. See also melodrama

  of The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 37–38

  expectations in, 18

  of High Noon, 21

  in Jaws, 20–21

  theme and, 17

  Gilley, Billy Frank, 176–84

  Gilmore, Gary, 128–30, 142–43

  pacing and, 197

  perspective of, 147–48

  good and evil

  audience and, 23–24

  Brooks on, 81–82

  confrontation between, 24

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 37–38, 42, 54

  in High Noon, 81–82

  in Jaws, 21, 81–82

  in melodrama, 19

  Roemer on, 42

  struggle between, 24

  in torts case, 65

  The Good Soldier (Ford), 60–63

  grading law school examinations, 115–17

  Grasso, Billy “The Wild Guy,” 91, 93, 104–6, 111, 114

  flashback and, 193

  subplots and, 92

  as villain, 92, 97–100

  Greenstreet, Sydney, 71

  The Hand (Michaels)

  framing story for, 14

  plot of, 14–16

  Harrison, Kathryn, 157, 175–84

  “Helter Skelter” (The Beatles), 159

  Hendricks, Larry, 131–33

  pacing and, 198

  Heraclitus, 71

  hero

  antagonist and, 36

  character of, 36

  in ending, 64

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 36, 38–41, 46–48

  in Jaws, 20, 21, 24–25

  jury as, 38–41

  Kane, Will, as, 78–80

  in melodrama, 19

  protagonist as, 78–80

  rebuttal and, 40

  Roemer on, 79

  Silkwood as, 36

  theme of, 20

  villain and, 66

  Wharton on, 79

  High Noon (movie)

  backstory in, 75, 78

  betrayal in, 22, 26, 79

  character development in, 22

  characters in, 75–82

  climax in, 22, 26–27, 82

  coda in, 27

  confrontation in, 78

  discourse time in, 197

  ending in, 26–27

  The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee and, 29, 45

  Failla and, 97, 101, 110

  flashback in, 192–93

  flat characters in, 81–82

  genre of, 21

  good and evil in, 81–82

  Kane, Amy, in, 21, 77, 80–81

  Kane, Will, in, 78–79, 110

  loyalty in, 22

  Miller, Frank, in, 23, 25–26, 79–82

  plot in, 20–27

  progressive complications in, 25–26

  Ramirez in, 77

  round characters in, 80–81

  setting for, 156

  static characters in, 81–82

  steady state in, 23, 25

  subplots in, 25–26

  theme of, 22

  townspeople in, 21–22, 26, 37, 41, 43–46, 75

  transformation in, 26–27

  trouble in, 23

  villain in, 20

  Hitchcock, Alfred, 19, 24

  “The Honeymooners” (TV program), 93, 98

  hook

  in Angela’s Ashes, 143–44

  by Donovan, 93–95

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 59

  Failla and, 93–95

  human agency, 14

  identification, of audience, 29, 74–75

  illocutionary act, 30

  In Cold Blood (Capote), 119, 130–33

  pacing in, 198

  inner contradiction

  of Failla, 113

  of protagonists, 112

  irony

  of characters, 72

  by Donovan, 104

  in Jaws, 27

  Jaws (movie)

  backstory in, 21

  climax in, 26

  confrontation in, 54

  environment for, 156–57

  The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee and, 29, 41–42, 45

  Failla and, 97, 101, 110

  genre in, 20–21

  good and evil in, 21, 81–82

  hero in, 20, 21, 24–25

  irony in, 27

  melodrama in, 20

  Moby Dick and, 21

  motivation in, 41

  plot in, 20–27

  Roemer on, 21

  sequence of events in, 24

  setting for, 156–57

  steady state in, 23

  theme in, 20–21

  trouble in, 23

  villain in, 24–25

  Jensen, Max, 128–30, 141

  pacing and, 197

  Johns, Jackie, 104, 110, 111

  Jones, William, 134–37

  judges

  characters and, 74

  Donovan and, 103

  sentences by, 74

  jury

  Bruner on, 40

  characters and, 74

  confusion of, 38–39

  dialogic relationship with, 52, 58–59

  Donovan and, 95–98, 103

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 32–33, 51, 55–59

  expectations of, 6, 38

>   as hero, 38–41

  story and, 6

  Kane, Amy (fictional character), in High Noon, 21, 77, 80–81

  Kane, Will (fictional character), in High Noon

  Failla and, 110

  as hero, 78–80

  Kerr-McGee. See The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee

  King, Rodney, 127

  language of money, 63, 66

  law school examinations, grading, 115–17

  Lawyering Theory Colloquium, 202–4

  “Lay Lady Lay” (Dylan), 159

  legal rules, theme and, 17

  Lenny (fictional character), in Of Mice and Men, 135

  Leventhal, Brad, 150–53

  Lewis, John L., 102

  liability. See strict liability

  lifelikeness. See verisimilitude

  Lodge, David, 13, 14–16

  The Art of Fiction by, 123–24

  on beginning, 60–63

  on characters, 72

  on description, 155

  on perspective, 140

  on rhythm, 119

  on summary, 127

  logic. See narrative logic

  loyalty, in High Noon, 22

  Mafia. See Failla, Louis “Louie”

  Mahony, Edmund, 103

  Mailer, Norman, 119, 141, 142–43, 147–48

  pacing by, 197

  on scene, 128–30

  Malcolm, Janet, 150–52

  The Maltese Falcon (movie), 71

  Mamet, David, 8, 176

  Manson murders, 157, 158–69

  markers, for steady state, 38

  Marvel Comics, 20

  McCourt, Frank, 119, 143–44

  McKee, Robert, 66

  meaning

  coda of, 2, 209

  in High Noon, 22

  of ministory, 146

  narrative logic with, 14

  perspective and, 142–47

  in plot, 13

  Mehring, Margaret, 80

  on characters, 112

  Mellaril, 124–26

  melodrama, 18–19

  antagonism in, 20

  betrayal in, 26

  Brooks on, 68

  ending of, 64

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 28–68

  framing story in, 65–66

  good and evil in, 19

  in Jaws, 20

  past-tense story of, 54

  plot trajectory in, 65, 66

  premature ending in, 24

  Roemer on, 19

  in torts, 19, 118

  villain in, 36, 65–66

  mental retardation, 134

  Michaels, Leonard, 14–16

  Miller, Frank (fictional character), in High Noon, 23, 25–26, 79–82

  setting for, 156

  Miller, Henry, 1, 3, 117

  Minding the Law (Amsterdam and Bruner), 203

  ministory

  in The Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 33–35

  meaning of, 146

  Miranda, Ernesto, 174–75

  Miranda v. Arizona, 174–75

  Moby Dick, 21

  money, language of, 63, 66

  Morales, Tito, 91, 93, 102, 103, 104–6, 113, 150

  pacing and, 197, 198

  morals, by Aesop, 13

  motivation

  causality and, 74

  of characters, 74

  Donovan and, 95

  of Failla, 95, 107

  in Jaws, 41

  in movies, 112

  in novels, 74

  movie directors, 6

  for High Noon, 21

 

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