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Rita Joe is a young Indigenous woman who leaves her reservation for the city in hopes of a better life. She has been arrested multiple times and keeps appearing before the same Magistrate. In this scene, Rita Joe appears before The Magistrate in court once again. This time, The Magistrate makes it clear that he no longer has any pity for Rita Joe and declares that he has finally given up on trying to help her. Rita Joe is no longer scared of The Magistrate. She fights back at The Magistrate,
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MAGISTRATE: I sentence you to thirty days in prison.
RITA: (angry, defiant) Sure, sure . . . anything else you know?
MAGISTRATE: I sentence you to thirty days in prison, with a recommendation you be examined medically and given all necessary treatment at the prison clinic. There is nothing . . . there is nothing I can do now.
[ … … …]
RITA: You don’t know nothin’!
MAGISTRATE: I know . . . I know . . . It’s a struggle just to stay alive. I know . . . I know . . . I understand. That struggle is mine, as well as yours Rita Joe! The jungle of the executive has as many savage teeth ready to go for the throat as the rundown hotel on the waterfront . . . Your days and hours are numbered, Rita Joe . . . I worry for the child I once saw . . . I have already forgotten the woman!
Ryga, George, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, Talonbooks, 1967, pp 123-125.
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Per the publisher, Talonbooks, the rights to produce The Ecstasy of Rita Joe in whole or in part, in any medium by any group, amateur or professional, are retained by the author's estate.
Interested persons are requested to apply to
George Ryga & Associates Inc.
65 Aspen Place
Half Moon Bay
Alberta, Canada T4S 1S1
www.georgeryga.com
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