AP Literature Students Put Dr. Frankenstein and Creature on Trial

The multi-day trial for the two class sections asked students to determine whether Victor Frankenstein was guilty of the murders committed by the creature as a result of gross abandonment and neglect or whether the creature itself is guilty. The mock trial served as a hands-on learning project that allowed the students to bring the novel Frankenstein authored by Mary Shelley to life in a collaborative way.

“I always envision that the trial is an animated version of a literary analysis as it requires students to incorporate learned skills of critical thinking, developing a thesis, supporting claims with evidence, anticipating counterarguments, inference, appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos, and thinking on your feet,” said Ms. Dowcett. “It is also a fun and engaging project for students to think how the characters would respond and act outside of the novel.”

To prepare for the assignment, students were divided into the Defense Team representing Victor Frankenstein and the Prosecution Team representing the “People” using the textual evidence from the novel for key arguments. Each student was given a role as it pertained to their team, which included defense/prosecution attorney with opening statement, defense/prosecution attorney with closing statement, and cross examiners. Other students were chosen to be witnesses who provided testimony from the perspective of key characters to support either the defense or the prosecution. All students were required to prepare a one-and-a-half to two-page position paper representative of their role for the trial that featured a thesis, statements that address and rebut opposing views, direct quotations as evidence, and a deep understanding of character and motivation. 

Court was now in session with Ms. Dowcett presiding as the judge and student and faculty volunteers serving as the jury. The trial began with opening statements from the prosecution who argued that the creature’s actions were a direct result of Victor’s neglect followed by the defense who argued that Victor was not responsible. Each side had two minutes before it was time to call witnesses to testify. Aside from Victor Frankenstein and the creature, the witness characters included Victor’s wife Elizabeth Lavenza, his father Alphonse Frankenstein, his childhood friend Henry Clerval, the de Lacey family, and other minor characters. The teams were able to cross-examine each witness before offering their closing statements for the jury to deliberate.

Ms. Dowcett shared that jury deliberation took a few days, but a verdict was ultimately reached for each class section. The jury for the A period class ruled that Victor was innocent of the crime of murder; however, they added that he is morally culpable, and that in this regard, the prosecution had the better argument. The jury for the B period class ruled in favor of the prosecution.

 

The People vs. Victor Frankenstein mock trial and other projects related to the novel have been a staple in the AP Literature class over several years. Ms. Dowcett shared that the students for both classes were extremely prepared and the arguments were thoughtfully researched and presented. She further elaborated that students were able to think carefully and understand the novel themes of personal responsibility, the nature of science, ethics and moral responsibility, and human behavior through the assignment.