Room 103 Memorization Projects

Tom Sawyer:

We went to a clump of bushes and Tom made everybody swear to keep the secret, and then he showed us a hole in the hill, right in the thickest part of the bushes. We lit the candles and got down on our hands and knees. We went about 200 yards, and then the cave opened up. Tom poked amongst the passages, and pretty soon ducked under a wall where you wouldn’t notice there was a hole. We went along a narrow passage and came up into a room, all damp and sweaty and cold. There we stopped.

“Now we’ll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's gang, anyone that wants to join has to take the oath and write there name in blood.      

Everybody was willing, so Tom took out a sheet of paper that he had wrote the oath on and read it. It swore every boy to stick to the band, and if any boy don't anything to any boy in the band, whichever boy was ordered to kill that person and his family must do it. And he mustn't sleep and he mustn't eat until he had killed them, and hacked a cross in their breasts. And if anybody that didn’t belong to the band used that mark he must be sued, and if he done it again he must be killed. And if anybody told the secrets he must have his throat cut and his carcass burn’t up and the ashes scattered all around, and have his name blotted off the list with blood and never be spoken of again, but have a curse put on it to forgot forever.

Everybody said it was a real beautiful oath, and asked Tom if he got it out of his own head. He said some of it, but the rest was out of pirate books and robber books and every gang that was high toned had it.

Some thought it would be good to kill the families of the boys that told the secrets. Tom said it was a good idea, so he took a pencil and wrote it in.

Here's huck finn, he ain’t got no fam fam, what you gonna do bout him?

“Well ain’t he got a father?”

Yes he's got a father, but you never see him in these parts for a year or more. he used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard.

They was gonna rule me out, cause they said every boy must have somebody to kill, or it wouldn’t be fair and square for the others. Everybody was stumped, and set still. I was most ready to cry, but all at once I thought of a way. So I offered them Miss Watson, they could kill her.

oh, she'll do. that's` all right. huck can come in.

Now what’s the line of business of this gang?

“Nothing only robbery and murder.”

but who we going to rob? houses of cattle or -

“Stuff! stealing cattle and such things ain't robbery it’s burglary and that ain't no sort of style. we are high-waymen. we stop stages and carriages on the road and kill the people and take their watches and money.”

Must we always kill the people?

“Oh certainly it’s best to kill the people. some authorities think otherwise but mostly it’s considered best to kill the people except some you bring to the cave here and keep em till they're ransomed”

Ransomed? what's that?

“Well I don’t know but it’s in the books so we've got to do it!”

Oh, thats all very fine to SAY tom sawyer. but how in the nation are these fellows going to be ransomed if we don’t know how to do it to them? Thats the thing I want to get at. now, what do you reckon it is?

“Maybe if we keep em till they're ransomed it means we keep em till they're dead”

Well that's something like. that’ll answer. And a bothersome lot the’ll be to. eating up everything and always trying to get loose.

“How you talk Ben Rogers how can they get away when there's a guard sitting over them ready to shoot them down if they move a peg?”

So somebody's got to set up all night never to get any sleep. I think that's foolishness. why can’t a body take a club and ransom them as soon as they get here?

“Because  it an’t in the book that's why! do you want to go doing things differently than in the books and get things all muddled up don’t you think that the people that made the books knows what's the correct thing to do!? Do you reckon you can learn em anything no not by a good deal No sir well just go on and ransom them in the regular way.

Are we gonna kill the woman?

“Kill the woman?!? No no one ever saw anything in the books like that! You bring em to the cave here and you're always as polite as pie to them and by and by they fall in love with you and never want to go home no more.”

Soon we’ll have the cave so cluttered up with woman and fellows waiting to be ransomed there won’t be any place for the robbers.

Little Tommy Barnes was asleep now, and when they waked him up he was scared, and he wanted to go home to his ma, he didn’t want to be a robber no more.

So they all made fun of him, and called him a crybaby, and that made him mad. He said he would go straight and tell all their secrets. But Tom gave him 5 cents to keep quiet. He said we would all go home and meet sometime next week and rob somebody and kill some people.

Ben Rodgers said he couldn’t get out much, only Sundays, and so he wanted to meet next Sunday. But all the boys said it would be wicked to do it on Sunday, and that settled the thing. We all agreed to fix a day as soon as we could, and so started home.

I clumb the shed and into my window just as day was breaking. My new clothes was all greased up and clayey, and I was dog tired.

De-lovely:

I feel a sudden urge to sing the kind of ditty that invokes the spring

So, control your desire to curse while I crucify the verse

This verse I've started seems to me the "tin pan-tithesis" of melody

So to spare you all the pain, I'll skip the darn thing and sing the refrain

The night is young, the skies are clear

And if you want to go walkin', dear

It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely

I understand the reason why

You're sentimental, 'cause so am i

It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely

You can tell at a glance what a swell night this is for romance

You can hear, dear mother nature murmuring low "let yourself go"

So please be sweet, my chickadee

And when I kiss ya, just say to me

"it's delightful, it's delicious, it's delectable, it's delirious,

It's dilemma, it's de limit, it's deluxe, it's de-lovely"

You can tell at a glance what a swell night this is for romance

You can hear dear mother nature murmuring low "let yourself go"

So please be sweet, my chickadee

And when I kiss ya, just say to me

"it's delightful, it's delicious, it's delectable, it's delirious,

It's dilemma, it's de limit, it's deluxe, it's de-lovely"

Death By Poison:

Vizzini:  So, it is down to you, and it is down to me if you wish her dead, by
all means keep moving forward.
Man in black:  Let me explain...
Vizzini:  There's nothing to explain. You're trying to kidnap what I have
rightfully stolen.
Man in black:  Perhaps an arrangement can be reached?
Vizzini:  There will be no arrangements...and you're killing her.
Man in black:  But if there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse.
Vizzini:  I'm afraid so.  I can't compete with you physically, and you're no
match for my brains.
Man in black:  You're that smart’?
Vizzini:  Let me put it this way:  Have you ever heard or Plato, Aristotle,
Socrates?
Man in black: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons!
Man in black:  Really! In that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits.
Vizzini:  For the princess? To the death? I accept!
Man in black:  Good, then pour the wine.  [Vizzini pours the wine]  Inhale this
but do not touch.
Vizzini: [taking a vial from the man in black] I smell nothing.
Man in black:  What you do not smell is Iocaine powder.  It is odorless,
tasteless, and dissolves instantly in liquid and is among the more
deadly poisons known to man.
Vizzini: [shrugs with laughter] Hmmm.
Man in black:  [turning his back, and adding the poison to one of the goblets]
Alright, where is the poison?  The battle of wits has begun.  It ends
when you decide and we both drink - and find out who is right, and who
is dead.
Vizzini:  But it's so simple.  All I have to do is divine it from what I know of
you.  Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own
goblet or his enemies? Now, a clever man would put the poison into his
own goblet because he would know that only a great fool would reach for
what he was given.  I am not a great fool so I can clearly not choose
the wine in front of you...But you must have known I was not a great
fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine
in front of me.
Man in black:  You've made your decision then?
Vizzini:  [happily] Not remotely!  Because Iocaine comes from Australia.  As
everyone knows, Australia is entirely peopled with criminals.  And
criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not
trusted by me. So, I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.
Man in black:  Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
Vizzini:  Wait 'till I get going!!  ...where was I?
Man in black:  Australia.
Vizzini:  Yes! Australia!  And you must have suspected I would have known the
powder's origin,so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
Man in black:  You're just stalling now.
Vizzini:  You'd like to think that, wouldn't you!  You've beaten my giant, which
means you're exceptionally strong...so you could have put the poison in
your own goblet trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly
not choose the wine in front of you.  But, you've also bested my
Spaniard, which means you must have studied...and in studying you must
have learned that man is mortal so you would have put the poison as far
from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front
of me!

Man in black:  You're trying to trick me into giving away something.  It won't
work.
Vizzini:  It has worked!  You've given everything away! I know where the poison
is!
Man in black:  Then make your choice.
Vizzini:  I will, and I choose...[pointing behind the man in black] What in the
world can that be?
Man in black:  [turning around, while Vizzini switches goblets] What?! Where?! I
don't see anything.
Vizzini:  Oh, well, I...I could have sworn I saw something. No matter. [Vizzini
laughs]
Man in black:  What's so funny?
Vizzini:  I...I'll tell you in a minute.  First, lets drink, me from my glass
and you from yours.

[They both drink]

Man in black:  You guessed wrong.

Vizzini:  You only think I guessed wrong!  That's what's so funny!  I switched
glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha, you fool!! You fell victim to
one of the classic blunders.  The most famous is never get involved in a
land war in Asia; and only slightly less well known is this:  Never go
in against a Sicilian, when death is on the line!

[Vizzini continues to laugh hysterically.  Suddenly, he stops and falls right
over.  The Man in black removes the blindfold from the princess]

Buttercup:  Who are you?
Man in black:  I'm no one to be trifled with.  That is all you'll ever need
know.
Buttercup:  And to think, all that time it was your cup that was poisoned.
Man in black:  They were both poisoned.  I spent the last few years building up
immunity to iocaine powder.

Polonius

Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame! 55 The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail, And you are stay’d for. There; my blessing with thee! And these few precepts in thy memory See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. 60 Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch’d, unfledged comrade. Beware 65 Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee. Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, 70 But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man, And they in France of the best rank and station Are of a most select and generous chief in that. Neither a borrower nor a lender be; 75 For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. 80 Farewell: my blessing season this in thee! 

The Art of Negotiation

Mattie steps to the doorway of an office set in a corner of the stable.

MATTIE

How much are you paying for cotton? Stonehill looks up from his desk. He eyes the girl up and down.

STONEHILL

Nine and a half for low middling and ten for ordinary.

MATTIE

We got most of ours out early and sold it to Woodson Brothers in Little Rock for eleven cents.

STONEHILL

Then I suggest you take the balance of it to the Woodson Brothers.

MATTIE

We took the balance to Woodson. We got ten and a half.

STONEHILL

Why did you come here to tell me this?

MATTIE

I thought we might shop around up here next year but I guess we are doing all right in Little Rock. I am Mattie Ross, daughter of Frank Ross. Stonehill sets his pen down and leans back.

STONEHILL

A tragic thing. May I say your father impressed me with his manly qualities. He was a close trader but he acted the gentleman.

MATTIE

I propose to sell those ponies back to you that my father bought.

STONEHILL

That, I fear, is out of the question. I will see that they are shipped to you at my earliest convenience.

MATTIE

We don't want the ponies now. We don't need them.

STONEHILL

Well that hardly concerns me. Your father bought those five ponies and paid for them and there is an end of it. I have the bill of sale.

MATTIE

And I want three hundred dollars for Papa's saddle horse that was stolen from your stable.

STONEHILL

You will have to take that up with the man who stole the horse.

MATTIE

Tom Chaney stole the horse while it was in your care. You are responsible. Stonehill chuckles.

STONEHILL

I admire your sand but I believe you will find that I am not liable for such claims.

MATTIE

You were custodian. If you were a bank and were robbed you could not simply tell the depositors to go hang.

STONEHILL

I do not entertain hypotheticals, the world as it is is vexing enough. Secondly, your valuation of the horse is high by about two hundred dollars. How old are you?

MATTIE

If anything my price is low. Judy is a fine racing mare. She has won purses of twenty-five dollars; I have seen her jump an eight-rail fence with a heavy rider. I am fourteen.

STONEHILL

Hmm. Well, that's all very interesting. The ponies are yours, take them. Your father's horse was stolen by a murderous criminal. I had provided reasonable protection for the creature as per our implicit agreement. My watchman had his teeth knocked out and can take only soup. We must each bear his own misfortunes.

MATTIE

I will take it to law.

STONEHILL

You have no case.

MATTIE

Lawyer J. Noble Daggett of Dardanelle, Arkansas may think otherwise——as might a jury, petitioned by a widow and three small children. Stonehill stares.

STONEHILL

I will pay two hundred dollars to your father's estate when I have in my hand a letter from your lawyer absolving me of all liability from the beginning of the world to date.

MATTIE

I will take two hundred dollars for Judy, plus one hundred for the ponies and twenty-five dollars for the gray horse that Tom Chaney left. He is easily worth forty. That is three hundred twenty-five dollars total.

STONEHILL

The ponies have no part of this. I will not buy them.

MATTIE

Then the price for Judy is three hundred twenty-five dollars.

STONEHILL

I would not pay three hundred and twenty-five dollars for winged Pegasus! As for the gray horse, it does not belong to you! And you are a snip!

MATTIE

The gray was lent to Tom Chaney by my father. Chaney only had the use of him. Your other points are beneath comment.

STONEHILL

I will pay two hundred and twenty-five dollars and keep the gray horse. I don't want the ponies.

MATTIE

I cannot accept that. (she stands) There can be no settlement after I leave this office. It will go to law.

STONEHILL

This is my last offer. Two hundred and fifty dollars. For that I get the release previously discussed and I keep your father's saddle. I am also writing off a feed and stabling charge. The gray horse is not yours to sell. You are an unnatural child.

MATTIE

The saddle is not for sale. I will keep it. Lawyer Dagget can prove ownership of the gray horse. He will come after you with a writ of replevin.

STONEHILL

A what? Alright, now listen very carefully as I will not bargain further. I will take the ponies back and keep the gray horse which is mine and settle for three hundred dollars. Now you must take that or leave it and I do not much care which it is.

MATTIE

Lawyer Daggett would not wish me to consider anything under three hundred twenty-five dollars. But I will settle for three hundred and twenty if I am given the twenty in advance. And here is what I have to say about the saddle——