Did you often smashes into didja.
Did you see Sally, take cigarettes, and actually burn Sylvia with them?An American Crime · 2007 — 第 12 / 16 章 · 2'21" · B1
The Children Testify Against Gertrude, Explained：tie someone up
One by one, the neighborhood children answer the prosecutor's questions about what was done to Sylvia, and the details are damning: cigarettes, hoses, a basement. What makes it chilling is the flatness — "I just thought, we were punishing her" — and the silence of the adults who watched.
あらすじ
With the jury watching, the prosecutor walks a series of children through the abuse of Sylvia Likens at the Baniszewski house. A witness describes Sally burning Sylvia with cigarettes; Sally admits she told no one except her father, who only warned her not to behave like Sylvia. Shirley confirms her mother stood by while others hurt the girl.
注目の表現
wash someone downpunishing hertie someone upan awful whipping
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このシーンの表現
tie someone up
bind someone
The prosecutor lists each act and asks if anyone tied her up; the boy says no.
The workers tied the boxes up with strong rope.
このシーンの他の表現
- wash someone down
rinse someone all over
- punishing her
disciplining her
- an awful whipping
a severe beating
- Not really
not exactly
- order someone
command someone
このシーンのメモ一覧
49 行のセリフに 26 件のメモ
visit
She would do it, every time she came over.Came and over link up, the m sliding into over.
She would do it, every time she came over.Stress Sir with a falling tone, the sound of courtroom respect.
on most days
The child says they went to the house most days after school, making it sound routine.
We go most days after school.after classes
We go most days after school.in the slightest
Did you do anything at all to help her?At all runs together after anything in fast speech.
Did you do anything at all to help her?in the home
What were the other children, be doing around the house?goof off
Playing around.goofing off — Casual; too loose for formal settings.
Playing around.object clause: The that-clause spells out exactly what he told the other kids.
Did you ever tell some of the other kids that they should come over...children — Casual speech; use children in formal writing.
Did you ever tell some of the other kids that they should come over...rinse someone all over
In court the prosecutor asks where John stood while washing Sylvia down.
Where was John standing, when he was washing her down.past continuous: The past continuous shows the washing was in progress when he stood there.
Where was John standing, when he was washing her down.The t in not is often dropped before really.
Not really.not exactly — A soft hedge, common in casual talk.
Not really.told nobody
So, you told no one, what was happening at the Baniszewski's house?a severe beating
A child reports that Gertrude gave Sylvia a terrible whipping, as if it were ordinary.
Gertrude gave Sylvia, an awful whipping.a beating — Spoken for a beating; rare in formal prose.
Gertrude gave Sylvia, an awful whipping.nominal clause: Whatever she did works as the object of do and means anything she had done.
But, he just told me, I shouldn't do whatever she did...ever there
Shirley, was your mother ever present...time clause: The while-clause sets the time frame for what the mother did.
while some of the other people were doing these things, to Sylvia?command someone
The prosecutor asks whether anyone ordered the boy to hit Sylvia, pushing blame upward.
Did anyone order you, to hit Sylvia?bind someone
The prosecutor lists each act and asks if anyone tied her up; the boy says no.
- Or, tie her up? - No, Sir.go up
You two, go upstairs.「The Children Testify Against Gertrude」を読み解く
What's really going on
What the testimony exposes is not just violence but the machinery that let it continue. The children treated the abuse as routine: one says Sally would burn Sylvia "every time she came over," and another explains, "I just thought, we were punishing her." When the prosecutor asks whether anyone helped, the answer he is steering toward is silence, and Sally confirms it — she told no one. Shirley's answers are even flatter: her mother was present "just about all the time" and said "Nothing." The scene's power is cumulative. No single line is a confession; together they describe a neighborhood that watched.
Theme
JusticeThe courtroom turns private cruelty into public record, one flat admission at a time.
GuiltWitnesses describe the abuse while denying responsibility, and the gap between the two is the point.
このチャプターで学べること
- Flat answers make the cruelty sound routine.
- How many times turns a question into an accusation.
- A soft Not really can dodge a direct admission.
- Calling an act punishment hides what it really is.
発音のポイント
- Did you — Did you often smashes into didja.
- came over — Came and over link up, the m sliding into over.
- Yes, Sir — Stress Sir with a falling tone, the sound of courtroom respect.
- at all — At all runs together after anything in fast speech.
Did you do anything at all to help her?The prosecutor's hardest question, aimed at bystanders: not whether they hurt Sylvia, but whether they lifted a finger. The phrase 'at all' leaves no room for a comfortable answer.
I just thought, we were punishing her.A child's explanation for joining the abuse. 'Just thought' minimizes it, and casting it as punishment reframes cruelty as discipline the group believed was deserved.
She was there, just about all the time.Shirley's answer about her mother's presence during the abuse. Saying it plainly, without excuse, makes the adult's silence as damning as the violence itself.
So, you told no one, what was happening at the Baniszewski's house?The prosecutor confirms the silence he has just established. Rephrasing it as a statement pressures the witness to own the inaction rather than soften it.
このシーンについての質問
Why did Sally finally tell her father?
Sally says she did report the whipping, but her father's response was to warn her not to behave like Sylvia or she'd get the same. So the one adult she told turned the abuse back into a lesson, which is why nothing changed.
Was Gertrude present during the abuse?
Shirley's testimony says yes — her mother was there 'just about all the time' and said nothing while others hurt Sylvia. That claim matters because it puts Gertrude in the room, not on the edge of events.
Why did the children hurt Sylvia?
Teddy is asked exactly that and answers that no one ordered him, tied her, or washed her down. The closest motive comes from another child: 'I just thought, we were punishing her.' They treated it as group discipline rather than violence.
Why does the prosecutor ask whose hose was used?
The hose belonged to a neighbor's child, which ties an ordinary household object to the abuse and shows how many people were involved. It also pins down the witness's own participation instead of letting him describe the scene from a distance.
アメリカン・クライム · 全 16 章
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次のチャプター · 第 13 章know what it's likeGertrude's Basement Confession
第 1 章have a chance toSylvia Meets Friends at Church
第 2 章for a livingPaula Brags About Her Married Boyfriend
第 3 章make a differenceGertrude Takes In the Likens Girls
第 4 章take them inSylvia and Jennie Move In
第 5 章none of your businessPaula Reveals Her Pregnancy
第 6 章knows bestBradley Shows His True Face
第 7 章narrow gatePaula Accuses Sylvia of Spreading Lies
第 8 章long-distance callSylvia and Jennie's Long-Distance Call
第 9 章nothing but troubleGertrude Catches Sylvia's Call
第 10 章come betweenGertrude Lays Down the Rules
第 11 章learns her lessonGertrude Says Sylvia Went to Juvenile
再生中 · 第 12 章tie someone upThe Children Testify Against Gertrude
第 13 章know what it's likeGertrude's Basement Confession
第 14 章get to the bottom of somethingReverend Collier Visits Gertrude
第 15 章faking itSylvia Dies While No One Acts
第 16 章take the standJennie and Gertrude Take the Stand第 12 / 16 章 · 残り約 12 分