Frankenstein on Trial: AP Literature 12 Brings the Courtroom to Life

 

Before the official proceedings, students were encouraged to engage the School community in discussions about their case. Wearing advocacy buttons crafted by Ms. Manuel (e.g., "Victor Created Him – Then Betrayed Him!" "The real monster is hubris!"), they earned bonus points for their team if they provided photographic or video evidence of debating the culpability of their client with other students or staff. This engagement built anticipation for the trial and expanded the discussion of moral responsibility beyond the AP classroom.

 

With Ms. Manuel presiding as judge and six staff members serving on the jury – Mr. Michael Andoh, Ms. Michelle Bartlett, Mrs. Teisha Murdy, Mr. Clay Panga, Mrs. Andrea Carballo, and Mrs. Cari Bell – the trial was no mere class exercise: it was an intellectual battle. The class teaching assistant, Desi S., an AP Lit student from the previous year, played the dual roles of Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature, taking the stand to face cross-examination from both prosecution and defence. Having mastered the novel in her own studies, she provided thoughtful, in-character responses under pressure, deepening the realism of the proceedings.

 

To maintain order in the courtroom, Mrs. Rayna Hyde-Lay took on the role of court bailiff, ensuring decorum was upheld as impassioned arguments and dramatic testimonies unfolded.

 

After intense deliberation, the jury reached its verdicts:

 

 

Mrs. Bell, who served as foreperson of the jury and who taught the novel for years in AP Lit, was overheard to have said: "Every time I read the novel, I always felt sympathy for the Creature, but something about the prosecution's argument completely flipped my thinking." 

 

Yet, as any good trial proves, the verdict was not the whole story. Throughout the trial, students engaged in deep ethical and philosophical debates, wrestling with themes at the heart of Frankenstein:

 

 

The prosecution and defense teams – armed with textual evidence, eloquent rhetoric, and strategic argumentation – delivered opening and closing statements that electrified the courtroom. Every witness was cross-examined with precision and intensity, and the legal teams exhibited a level of gravitas and persuasive ability that elevated this from a simple class project to an unforgettable intellectual experience.

 

 

In what may be the first trial on record to use artificial intelligence to summon a witness from the dead, the legal teams faced a unique challenge: how to call Henry Clerval – a victim of the Creature – to the stand. The solution? A combination of ChatGPT and Speechify, a text-to-speech app, broadcast through a speaker.

 

Since Clerval had already been murdered in the events of the novel, the trial "Zoomed him in from the afterworld" using AI. A carefully designed ChatGPT prompt, with the full novel uploaded for reference, allowed Clerval to answer questions exactly as he would have based on textual evidence. His responses were then read aloud via Speechify, giving the courtroom an interactive, immediate experience in questioning a witness who, under normal legal circumstances, would have been unavailable due to tragic circumstances.

 

This creative use of AI not only solved the problem of missing witnesses but also demonstrated the intersection of technology and literature, reinforcing the enduring relevance of classic texts in a modern world.

 

 

More than just an assignment, this Frankenstein trial was a showcase of student critical thinking, literary analysis, and performance under pressure. Students did not just read Frankenstein – they lived it, engaging with its deepest questions and moral dilemmas in a way that will stay with them long after the verdicts were read.

 

Some might say justice was served. Others are still arguing otherwise. But more importantly, learning was alive and thriving in the courtroom.