Loveisfallacy剧本

1、Love is a FallacyAmerican Max ShulmaMain CharactersDobie Gillis - Luo Xiaodong Petey Burch- Zhang MinanPolly Espy- Wu JiayuanSettingCampus of a Law School The First Scene DormitoryOne afternoon Polly found Petey lying on his bed with an expression of such distress on his face that he immediately dia

2、gnosed appendicitis.D: “Dont move”, “Dont take a laxative. Ill get a doctor.”Pe:“Raccoon,”( he mumbled thickly.)D:“Raccoon?” (pausing in my flight).Pe:“I want a raccoon coat,”( he wailed.)D: “Why do you want a raccoon coat?”Pe:“I should have known it,” (he cried, pounding his temples.) “I should hav

3、e known theyd come back when the Charleston came back. Like a fool I spent all my money for textbooks, and now I cant get a raccoon coat.”D:“Can you mean that people are actually wearing raccoon coats again?”Pe:“All the Big Men on Campus are wearing them. Whereve you been?”D:“In the library,”(He lea

4、ped from the bed and paced the room.) “Ive got to have a raccoon coat,” (he said passionately). “Ive got to!”D:“Petey, why? Look at it rationally. Raccoon coats are unsanitary. They shed. They smell bad. They weigh too much. Theyre unsightly. They”Pe:“You dont understand,”( he interrupted impatientl

5、y). “Its the thing to do. Dont you want to be in the swim?”D:“No,”Pe:“Well, I do”, “Id give anything for a raccoon coat. Anything!” D: “Anything?”(looking at him narrowly.)Pe:“Anything,” (affirmed in ringing tones.)D:“Petey,” “are you in love with Polly Espy?”Pe:“I think shes a keen kid,” “but I don

6、t know if youd call it love. Why?”D:“Do you,” “have any kind of formal arrangement with her? I mean are you going steady or anything like that?”Pe:“No. We see each other quite a bit, but we both have other dates. Why?”D:“Is there any other man for whom she has a particular fondness?”Pe:“Not that I k

7、now of. Why?”D:(I nodded with satisfaction.) “In other words, if you were out of the picture, the field would be open. Is that right?”Pe:“I guess so. What are you getting at?”D:“Nothing , nothing,”( said innocently and took my suitcase out the closet.)Pe:“Where are you going?” D:“Home or weekend.” (

8、 threw a few things into the bag.)Pe:“Listen,” (clutching my arm eagerly,) “while youre home, you couldnt get some money from your old man, could you, and lend it to me so I can buy a raccoon coat?”D:“I may do better than that,”( with a mysterious wink and closed my bag and left.)Dobie got back Mond

9、ay morningD:“Look,” ( threw open the suitcase）Pe:“Holy Toledo!” (He plunged his hands into the raccoon coat and then his face.) “Holy Toledo!” (repeated )D:“Would you like it?” Pe:“Oh yes!”( clutching the greasy pelt to him. Then a canny look came into his eyes.) “What do you want for it?”D:“Your gi

10、rl.” Pe:“Polly?” ( said in a horrified whisper.) “You want Polly?”D:“Thats right.”Pe:(He flung the coat from him. )“Never,”( stoutly.)D:( shrugged. )“Okay. If you dont want to be in the swim, I guess its your business.”( Dobie sat down in a chair and pretended to read a book, but out of the corner o

11、f his eye he kept watching Petey. Petey was a torn man. First he looked at the coat with the expression of a waif at a bakery window. Then he turned away and set his jaw resolutely. Then he looked back at the coat, with even more longing in his face. Then he turned away, but with not so much resolut

12、ion this time. Back and forth his head swiveled, desire waxing, resolution waning. Finally he didnt turn away at all; he just stood and stared with mad lust at the coat.)Pe:“It isnt as though I was in love with Polly,” “Or going steady or anything like that.”D:“Thats right,” Pe:“Whats Polly to me, o

13、r me to Polly?”D:“Not a thing,” Pe:“Its just been a casual kickjust a few laughs, thats all.”D:“Try on the coat,” (He complied. The coat bunched high over his ears and dropped all the way down to his shoe tops. He looked like a mound of dead raccoons. )Pe:“Fits fine,” D:(rose from my chair.) “Is it

14、a deal?”( extending my hand.)Pe:( swallowed.) “Its a deal,” ( shook my hand.)The Second Scene KnollPolly was a beautiful、charming and gracious girl with erectness of carriage, an ease of bearing and exquisite table manners. However, she was not intelligent. So Dobie decided to give Polly logic lesso

15、ns in order to make her learn to think. Thus, Polly would be a perfect wife for him. D:“Poll ,tonight we are going over to the Knoll and talk.”Po:“Oh, terrif,” (We went to the Knoll, the campus trysting place, and we sat down under an old oak, and she looked at me expectantly. )Po: “What are we goin

16、g to talk about?”D: “Logic.”Po:(She thought this over for a minute and decided she liked it). “Magnif,”D:“Logic is the science of thinking. Before we can think correctly, we must first learn to recognize the common fallacies of logic. These we will take up tonight.”Po:“Wow-dow!” (clapping her hands

17、delightedly.)D:(winced). “First let us examine the fallacy called Dicto Simpliciter.”Po:“By all means,” (urged, batting her lashes eagerly.)D:“Dicto Simpliciter means an argument based on an unqualified generalization. For example: Exercise is good. Therefore everybody should exercise.”Po:“I agree,”

18、 “I mean exercise is wonderful. I mean it builds the body and everything.”D:“Polly,”( gently) “the argument is a fallacy. Exercise is good is an unqualified generalization. For instance, if you have heart disease, exercise is bad, not good. Many people are ordered by their doctors not to exercise. Y

19、ou must qualify the generalization. You must say exercise is usually good, or exercise is good for most people. Otherwise you have committed a Dicto Simpliciter. Do you see?”Po:“No,” “But this is marvy. Do more! Do more!”D:“It will be better if you stop tugging at my sleeve,”( when she desisted, he

20、continued) “Next we take up a fallacy called Hasty Generalization. Listen carefully: You cant speak French. Petey Bellows cant speak French. I must therefore conclude that nobody at the University of Minnesota can speak French.”Po:“Really?” (amazed). “Nobody?”D: “Polly, its a fallacy. The generaliza

21、tion is reached too hastily. There are too few instances to support such a conclusion.”Po:“Know any more fallacies? This is more fun than dancing even.”D: “Next comes Post Hoc. Listen to this: Lets not take Bill on our picnic. Every time we take him out with us, it rains.”Po:“I know somebody just li

22、ke that,” “A girl back homeEula Becker, her name is. It never fails. Every single time we take her on a picnic”D: “Polly,” (sharply) “its a fallacy. Eula Becker doesnt cause the rain. She has no connection with the rain. You are guilty of Post Hoc if you blame Eula Becker.”Po:“Ill never do it again,

23、” “Are you mad at me?”D：（ sighed） “No, Polly, Im not mad.”Po:“Then tell me some more fallacies.D:“All right, lets try the next fallacy called Poisoning the Well.”Po:“How cute!”D: “Two men are having a debate. The first one gets up and says, My opponent is a notorious liar. You cant believe a word th

24、at he is going to say. . Now, Polly, think. Think hard. Whats wrong?”Po: Its not fair,” “Its not a bit fair. What chance has the second man got if the first man calls him a liar before he even begins talking?”D: “Right!” ( cried exultantly.) “One hundred per cent right. Its not fair. The first man h

25、as poisoned the well before anybody could drink from it. He has hamstrung his opponent before he could even start . Polly, Im proud of you.”Po:“Pshaws,” (blushing with pleasure.)D:“You see, my dear, these things arent so hard. All you have to do is concentrate. Thinkexamineevaluate. Come now, lets r

26、eview everything we have learned.”Po:“Fire away,” (she said with an airy wave of her hand.)The Third Scene KnollHeartened by the knowledge that Polly was not altogether a cretin, I began a long, patient review of all I had told her. Five grueling nights with this took, but it was worth it. I had mad

27、e a logician out of Polly; She was worthy of me, at last. She was a fit wife for me. I decided to acquaint her with my feelings at our very next meeting. The time had come to change our relationship from academic to romantic.D:“Polly,” “tonight we will not discuss fallacies.”Po:“Aw, gee,”( disappoin

28、ted.)D:“My dear,” ( favoring her with a smile) “we have now spent five evenings together. We have gotten along splendidly. It is clear that we are well matched.”Po:“Hasty Generalization,” D:“I beg your pardon,”Po: “Hasty Generalization,” “How can you say that we are well matched on the basis of only

29、 five dates?”D: ( chuckled with amusement.) “My dear,” (patting her hand in a tolerant manner ) “five dates is plenty. After all, you dont have to eat a whole cake to know that its good.”Po:“False Analogy,”D:(chuckled with less amusement). “Polly, I love you. You are the whole world to me. Please, m

30、y darling, say that you will go steady with me, for if you will not, life will be meaningless. I will languish. I will refuse my meals. I will wander the face of the earth, a shambling, hollow-eyed hulk.”(folding my arms)Po：“Ad Misericordiam,” D:“Well, Polly,”( forcing a smile）“you certainly have learned your fallacies.”Po:“Youre darn right,” ( said