Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” has recently jumped off the page and into the “courtroom” of Freeport High School. FHS juniors in American Studies (a combined English and history class) held a mock trial regarding the classic American novel. The prosecution argued it should be banned for its racial content, and the defense’s position was for its preservation in classrooms. Kathleen Jones, an American Studies teacher at Freeport High School, created this realistic project to challenge students to think on their feet, gather evidence, and think in a very critical way to persuade others of an assigned position, whether the student personally agrees or not. She voices, “I think this format has an extra level of accountability that we can’t provide everyday”

The main points of contention in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” are its infamous racial slurs and stereotypical depiction of slaves during the 1850s. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” may be a beloved classic, but it certainly has quite a bit of controversy within its pages. Since the 1950s, particularly in the southern United States, there has been a movement to ban the novel in classrooms and school libraries. Why? Many people find the novel’s content to be offensive to African-Americans, primarily due to the novel’s use of the n-word, and the concern that its portrayal of slaves is inauthentic, in that the hardships in the life of a slave are not prominently enough displayed.

The prosecution argued that slavery can be taught through other novels; no one must feel uncomfortable in a classroom, and that the n-word in particular still packs an emotional punch to African-Americans. The defense countered with the ideas that history cannot be overlooked, and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a tool with which to teach students about this country’s past, regardless of how awful it may be. The defense also argued that the n-word in the book is displayed in a realistic context, and that the portrayal of slaves is realistic to the time period and location.

The book for which Mark Twain is most famous has been challenged for decades. As early as the 1950s, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” began garnering controversy, most notably in the African-American community and in the southern United States. Twain’s work is considered one of the great satires of American literature, utilizing scintillating irony to make its points. Twain himself was a staunch supporter of civil rights; this is one piece of evidence in favor of the defense. One idea to quell the controversy surrounding the book (although one could argue it has just given the argument a third dimension) is the NewSouth Books version. In this reprint of the classic novel, the n-word is replaced all 219 times it’s used, by the word “slave.”

The hope of Alan Gribben and NewSouth Books was to remove one of the most controversial components out of the book, therefore making it more tolerable for some people to read. It instead caused an outcry from many in the general population, who felt that this tactic was a form of censorship. Although the trial about which this article is written didn’t specifically focus on the NewSouth version of the book as an alternative to the controversial original, the idea of censorship turned out to be a deciding factor in the jury’s decision to rule in favor of the defense.

The trial itself took place over two days. The students had approximately one week to be placed onto teams, get background information, pick which witnesses they wanted to put on the stand, and form their main points were to be. An overwhelming number of students wanted to take the roles of defense attorneys, meaning that nearly all the prosecution attorneys were not on the side of their personal choice for the argument.

The other students were split into witnesses for both teams (including a “quotation expert,” who found numerous quotes from the book that they believed went to their side’s argument); a judge to preside over the proceedings; lead journalists who were to take notes throughout the trial and subsequently write an article to be published; juror/journalists who helped the lead journalists research background information on the controversy of the book and sit on the jury with other parents and members of the community who volunteered to be jurors for the trial; and a crew of movie-makers to document the process.

After rigorous questioning, deliberation and testing of the critical mind, the “court” adjourned. The jury came to a unanimous decision that the defense produced a stronger argument and persuaded them to keep “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in classrooms. The class ended with a thorough reflection on the project and a deeper understanding of this great American novel.

Elizabeth Kolle, Madison Fleenor and Jasmine Olins are juniors at Freeport High School.