Section 7 (through page 208) Summary

The official transcript of Oscar's deposition opens with Basie and Jawaharlal Mahdar Pai, counsel for the defendants, sparring over expediting matters. Basie objects frequently to the form of Pai's questions and preventing Oscar from answering fully. Their first confrontation is over the occupation from which Oscar derives the majority of his income; finally Oscar states he has taught American History at Lotusville Community College for 12 years, more as a hobby than as an occupation. The attorneys argue over the pejorative sense of "amateur." Pai suggests that if such contention continues, he will move the hearing before a federal magistrate. They examine Defendants' Exhibit 1, the script of "Once at Antietam." Oscar agrees the title evokes the death scene at the end of Shakespeare's Othello, which would strike a chord in educated audiences.

Pai, with rising exasperation, turns to Plaintiff's Exhibit...