The mock trial that was created for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in accusation that Mark Twain was a racist was really interesting. It was a new experience to see what it was like to be in “court” even only as a simulation. By being on the prosecution side and fighting against the great American novelist, I got to view the book from a whole new prospective. For as a reader, I never thought or even viewed Mark Twain as a racist at all in the book. Then later after going over key points and looking beyond the printed word, I actually saw how harmful Twain’s words could have been to others. How he could have had racial views and truly be racist. By the end of the trial, I truly believed that to an extent, Mark Twain was a racist.
While working on the trial, I was able to bond more with others in the class and work with a group of lawyers for the” trial” that were talented and help me see the book in a new view. They saw the book in a new way that I didn’t see it and showed me details I wouldn’t have been able to recall or see on my own. The case created was really good and it couldn’t have been better or more persuasive. It was fun making up a case and presenting it. It was interesting to even question others and fighting against another team in our English class. I don’t believe the jury was paying attention to the trial as much as the lawyers and witnesses though. I think that the jurors based their final decision not on the case, but on the book and previous opinions and views on the book. I think it wasn’t as fun or challenging for them, so they didn’t participate or pay attention as much.
So as my opinion changed from Mark Twain not being racist to being racist, I believed the verdict should have been in the prosecution’s favor. Not because I was on it and it was the side I was arguing for, but because I truly believed we had the strongest case. Our closing argument was powerful, moving, and completely denied everything the defense had on us. We came up with great arguments and made a clear point of everything that said Mark Twain was a racist. Granted, the Mark Twain questioning really wasn’t in our favor, but I don’t believe it was a fair to even have him there to begin with. No reader truly knows what the author is thinking when they write a piece and don’t know their personal views as a person. Even if Mark Twain stated in some piece his views and why he wrote the book, he easily could have lied and said that just so no one would judge him. He could have secretly been racist without anyone knowing really. So I didn’t think his testimony was fair and not our best questioning, but I still believed we had the strongest case.
In the end, I believe the prosecution should have won or at least should have come in a very close second. It was a great case prepared and I wish others could have seen it as well. I wish the jury would have opened up their eyes more and seen it from the prosecution perspective. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and it was not in our favor. But even with the ending result not going as I wanted, it was a great trial. I finally got to try being a lawyer as I have always wanted. It was challenging, new, and hard, but I really had a fun time doing it. I really hope we get to do another trial again.
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