Defense’s Opening Statement:

Lord of the Flies

Mock Trial: The People vs. Jack Merridew

Portfolio for the Defense

Defense’s Opening Statement:

Let me begin by saying that the defendant, Jack Merridew cannot be held responsible for any of the events that were said to have occurred during the boys "stay" on the island. To say that he alone is the cause of said events is completely unjust, and moreover, absolutely ridiculous. Given the situation that the children found themselves placed in it is unsurprising to learn of the level that they were forced to sink to, and the acts that the boys committed. Once again, let me say that the children engaged in unlawful and immoral acts on their own account, not because Jack Merridew forced them to.

It is because of the sad truth that one man, or should I say child, should be held responsible for acts that he himself did not wholly commit or perpetrate, that we are here today. As the defense, it is our job to establish the fact that Jack Merridew is indeed innocent in the hopes of dropping the alleged charges against our client, Jack Merridew.

Defense’s Direct Questioning:
Jack:

Tell us, how did you come to be stranded on the island?

Plane crashed
War going on

Can you tell us a little about your life before you arrived on the island?

English boys school
Leader of choir
I had an immaculate record in school so I was elected head choir boy
I rarely got in trouble because I always obeyed the teachers and adult figures

How did you feel directly after your arrival?

Excited that there was no adult supervision
Realized that we needed some sort of order for the time being
Anxious to be chief or in charge
Soon enough, it was clear to me that without adult direction our tasks seemed meaningless and failed

How did you react the first time you saw a pig?

Couldn’t bring myself to kill it because I still had a sense of the behavior that was instilled in me by society

How did you start to feel after some time on the island?

Wanted to hunt
Bloodlust
Primal instincts

Why do you think you never felt like this back at home?

There was adult supervision
Setting of civilization, order, and following examples
Not in nature
Instincts and impulses were checked by the obligation to behave well
In that surrounding, my civilizing instinct was deeply rooted in my psyche, however, when my environment changed, my barbarizing instinct became predominant

When did you decide to leave Ralph’s democracy, and in what manner did you go about doing so?

Left at assembly
Went by myself
Invited others to join, didn’t pressure them
Others ended up following me because I had been a previous leader and I knew what everyone needed

What did you do in your "new tribe"?

Hunted for meat, which is essential for health
Invited everyone to the feast and to join the tribe
Everyone indulged in primal urges
Retreated to natural ways, much like playing Indians in a game

Can you please describe how you felt about the so-called "beast"?

I was afraid of the beast but wanted to protect the rest of the boys from it
It intrigued me and brought out wild instincts
Even though I was afraid I felt that the beast had to be respected, and in a way worshipped so that we would be spared from it
My primal urges lead me to be inclined to accept that the beast also represented a gory aspect of humanity

What did you and your tribe do with the sow?

Killed it for food because we needed meat
Left the head as an offering for the beast
I left the offering to protect my tribe from the beast
I simultaneously venerated and feared the beast

Can you please describe what happened at the feast?

Tribal dance
Went into "pig game"
The beast appeared so we all surrounded it, including Ralph and Piggy, and some people at the feast took part in beating it until it was dead
I did not actually stab or poke Simon
The beast could come in any form, so we all thought it was the beast but it was really just Simon
All the boys dancing were enamored and controlled by savage instincts

Can you please describe Piggy’s death?

Without my instructions and without me even knowing, Roger rolled boulder down the Castle Rock and I moved out of the way so that I wouldn’t get hit and so that I would not be part of whatever he was doing

Boulder hit and killed Piggy

How did you treat Roger after Piggy’s death?

Normally
I had the same primitive instincts as him, so to punish him for reacting according to his instincts would be hypocritical

Can you please tell us about how at the end of your stay on the island, your tribe searched for Ralph?

Didn’t have a pact or agreement
We all just wanted to find Ralph and even if we wanted to harm him, no one can be punished for something they think or want
We had devolved so much over the course of our stay on the island that we no longer knew right from wrong

What happened when you were rescued?

An officer appeared on the beach
Ralph started to cry and we all joined in
Events of the island were overwhelming when being faced with civilization again

How have you adjusted back to civilization?

Awkward to go from having no restraints back to the order of civilization
Not in the jungle surrounded by nature anymore and I’m back under the control of adults so I am fitting in as I used to
I’ll always remember what went on during our stay on the island but I don’t feel those primal instincts now that I’m surrounded by order again and I have matured because of everything that happened and I’m moving on with my life

Psychologist:

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself.

Dr. Henry Travers
Grew up in London, England
Lived in Boston while attending Harvard Medical School
MD/PhD in adolescent psychology from Harvard Medical
Specialize in society’s imposition of moral behavior and character devolution

Dr. Travers, how did you come to learn about this case?

I read the exact accounts of what happened on the island that the boys were stranded on
My studies and theses pertain exactly to the events of the island

You say you specialize in society’s instilling of moral conduct in children? Can you please explain how the boys might have been affected by society before they arrived on the island?

Society imposes good moral behavior as an obligation rather than being good and reasonable naturally
Children are influenced by what they are taught when there are figures of authority enforcing the correct way to behave and act
Children internalize their parents behavior and learn to act for reward or lack of punishment

There was a war going on before the children landed on the island. How could this have affected them?

Children and adolescents follow the example of adults
Adults are at war, hurting and murdering, and the children are brought up seeing this and being influenced by this

How do you feel about the behavior of the boys on the island?

Not at all abnormal
Scientifically proven that without sufficient adult supervision, adolescents can devolve and act how the boys did on the island
Isolated from setting of their usual society and structure and in jungle, which could easily eventually cause a change in their mindset

Roger:

Roger, tell us about yourself and your life before arriving on the island.

Part of the choir at a boys school
Ordinary young English boy

Did what I was told by adults and authorities

What was your role in the group of boys once you were stranded on the island?

Hunter because I had been part of the choir
Ralph was chief, and Jack was the leader of the hunters, but I still had a say in things because I was one of the older boys

How did you interact with the younger boys, or as you would say "littluns" towards the beginning of your stay on the island?

Teased and kind of tormented them
Crushed sand castles
Threw rocks near a boy

Why did you throw the rocks near him, and not directly at him?

More at the beginning of my stay on the island, I still felt the restraints that had been imposed on me in the "real world"
I thought about parents, school, policemen, and laws that were part of my society in civilization
Even though there were no boundaries on the island, I felt a sense of obligation to reason and not to impulse because the effects of civilization had not worn off by that time

What happened when Jack left the group at one of the assemblies to form his own tribe?

He invited anyone who wanted to join him to leave with him
I agreed with Jack and followed his lead
Slowly but surely more and more boys came to join Jack’s tribe

What did Jack offer at his tribe?

Offered meat, which is essential, even to those who didn’t hunt
Offered protection from the beast
Offered the chance to hunt if we wanted, which many of us did

Why did you want to hunt?

After a while, the feeling of order instilled by society and civilization disappeared
We were in the wilderness and the jungle
Urge for blood and violence
Primal and savage instincts took over because there were no authorities to keep these feelings in check

What happened at Jack’s feast?

He invited everyone to eat as much meat as they could, including Ralph and Piggy whom everyone knew disagreed with Jack’s desire for hunting
We chanted and danced willingly
Started enacting our hunting game, and I played the pig being hunted but they basically just chased me and pretended to poke and kill me
We saw what we truly believed to be the beast so many of the boys in the tribe beat it until it was dead
After the creature was dead we saw that we had mistaken Simon for the beast and had killed him
No one had wanted to hurt or kill Simon, we just wanted to kill the ever-feared beast

What was Jack’s role in Simon’s murder?

He was dancing and chanting, but not everyone who was dancing and chanting actually stabbed Simon
Some of the boys were simply lost in the clutter of the tribe and never actually came in contact with Simon
At no point in time did I see Jack or any possible "weapon" of his come in contact with Simon
Everyone was wrapped up in the chaos and in a frenzy that no one really realized what was going on

What was your role in Piggy’s death?

I was standing atop the Castle Rock where there was a lever set up with a boulder on it as a means of defense for our tribe
Ralph and Piggy marched up to our camp to demand Piggy’s glasses and try to convince us to once again join their side and be orderly and under Ralph’s rule
Piggy was blubbering like an idiot as usual and even tried to foolishly reinstate power in the conch, which had lost all value to the rest of us
Without any instructions or signals from anyone, I released the boulder and sent in tumbling down the hill
Jack, by reflex, not wanting to get hurt and not wanting to aid in whatever it was that I was up to, moved out of the way of the boulder
The boulder hit and killed Piggy, who couldn’t see it coming because he didn’t have glasses on
I had indulged so much in evilness that it was overwhelming to others

Can you please tell us about how at the end of your stay on the island, Jack’s tribe searched for Ralph?

Didn’t have a pact or agreement
We all just wanted to find Ralph and even if we wanted to harm him, no one can be punished for something they think or want

What happened when you were rescued?

An officer appeared on the beach
Ralph started to cry and we all joined in
Events of the island were overwhelming when being faced with civilization again

How have you adjusted back to civilization?

Awkward to go from having no restraints back to the order of civilization
Not in the jungle surrounded by nature anymore and I’m back under the control of adults so I am fitting in as I used to
I’ll always remember what went on during our stay on the island but I don’t feel those primal instincts now that I’m surrounded by order again and I have matured because of everything that happened and I’m moving on with my life

Cross Questioning of the Prosecution Witnesses:

Ralph:

Isn’t it true that you were appointed leader of the group?

However, isn’t it true that you chose to give Jack a position of leadership?

And isn’t it true that you allowed Jack to be the leader of the hunters?

Isn’t it true that you participated in the hunt for the pig?

Isn’t it true that when the pig came barreling towards you, you hit it with your spear?

Isn’t it true that after this event, you bragged to the littluns?

Isn’t it true that you were glorifying your violence?

Isn’t it true that you visited Jack’s feast?

Isn’t it true that when the boys began the rituals, you danced and chanted along, on the fringes of the group?

Isn’t it true that you participated in the reenactment of the hunt?

Isn’t it true that you participated in the murder of Simon?

Isn’t it true that you would not have murdered a peer under normal circumstances?

Isn’t it true that you experienced brutal intuitions during this ceremony?

Isn’t it true that these savage impulses led to your participation in Simon’s murder?

Isn’t it true that similar savage impulses could have led to Jack’s participation in Simon’s murder?

Isn’t it true that as soon as Jack returned from his hunt, you engaged in a brawl with him?

Isn’t it true that you refused to leave Jack’s camp until he returned Piggy’s glasses?

Isn’t it true that in response to this request and its denial, you and Jack began wrestling?

Isn’t it true that this grapple was a mutual struggle, with neither you nor Jack trying to terminate the fight?

Isn’t it true that wrestling is a violent activity?

So isn’t it true that you engaged in a violent activity?

So clearly, these aggressive instincts existed in you?

And clearly given the circumstances of your argument, these physically hostile instincts surfaced?

Samneric:

Isn’t it true that you saw the silhouette of the dead parachutist and mistook it for a monster?

Isn’t it true that after this incident, you came to believe fully in the existence of the beast?

Isn’t it true that this fear of the beast led you to join Jack’s clan?

Isn’t it true that you participated in the hunt for the sow?

Isn’t it true that you participated in the raid on Piggy and Ralph?

Under normal circumstances, you would not have engaged in these activities, correct?

However, some primal instinct led you to partake in these vicious acts?

Isn’t it true that once with your new clan the remaining power of civilization and culture begins to diminish rapidly, as you engaged in wild escapades such as those you admitted to earlier?

Isn’t it true that in Jack’s tribe’s world the beast was real and morals become weak and utterly dispensable?

Isn’t it true that you guarded the entrance at Castle Rock for Jack?

Isn’t it true that you refused to join Ralph’s clan?

Isn’t it true that the massive pandemonium = governing the island along with your primitive instincts compelled you to act in ways you would not have previously?

Simon:

Isn’t it true that before the raid, you slipped into the jungle glade?

Isn’t it true that once in the open clearing, you viewed the sow’s head impaled on a stake?

Isn’t it true that the head mesmerized you, even seeming to come to life?

Isn’t it true that pig’s heads do not talk?

Isn’t it true that this delusion could have resulted from fear that human savagery was embedded within you as well?

However, you regarded that statements made by the beast as true?

Isn’t it true that the beast stated, " I'm the Beast ... Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill" implying that hunters' behavior is not inspired by any monstrous beast but by a principle of savagery embedded deep within all of them?

Isn’t it true that Simon will never be able to escape him, for he lies within all human beings. And doesn’t the beasts promise to have some "fun" with Simon?

Isn’t it true that this statement insinuates that these vicious senses will/did lead to your death?

Isn’t it true that the other boys had similar delusions when they thought Robert was actually a pig?

Piggy:

Isn’t it true that while in England, you lived with your aunt?

Isn’t it true that your aunt coddled you?

Isn’t it true that your aunt had several rules for you, such as not to swim or run?

Initially, you obeyed these rules, true?

However, after some time, you became more lenient, correct?

Perhaps this leniency demonstrated a character devolution?

Isn’t it true that when the boys began the rituals, you joined them?

Isn’t it true that you participated in the reenactment of the hunt?

Isn’t it true that you contributed to the murder of Simon?

Isn’t it true that you felt very guilty afterwards, to the point that you denied this occurrence?

Isn’t it true that you experienced brutal intuitions during this ceremony?

Isn’t it true that these savage impulses led to your participation in Simon’s murder?

Isn’t it true that subsequently, you could not understand or accept the savage feeling you sensed?

Isn’t it true that you perceived a growing sense of brutality in the group?

Isn’t it true that Jack also possessed these aggressive instincts?

Isn’t it true that Jack’s impulses could have compelled him in Simon’s murder?

Isn’t it true that Jack was engaged in a quarrel at the time of your death?

Isn’t it true that Roger had often exhibited depravity, harassing the littluns and taunting many?

Isn’t it true that Roger possessed these wicked instincts?

Isn’t it true that Roger was the actual culprit in your murder?

Pilot:

Isn’t it true that you observed Ralph, lying exhausted on the ground?

Isn’t it true that you observed several boys pursuing him streaked with clay, and holding "weapons?"

Isn’t it true that you regarded this as "fun and games?"

Isn’t it true that you thought this way because young boys often embrace violent recreation, such as wrestling or fencing?

Isn’t it true that a sadistic instinct leads to this desire for violence?

Isn’t it true that Ralph told you that the boys were engaged in a war?

As a soldier, you must know that the rules of War differ from the rules of a secure civilization?

Isn’t it true that in war, actions such as killing a deception are justified?

Isn’t it true that Ralph told you that two were dead?

Isn’t it true that his comment was made casually using a tone that was blasé?

Isn’t it true that one child, tried to recite an incantation, but could not remember it?

Isn’t it true that this shows the children’s departure from their previous ways?

Isn’t it true that when you asked who was the leader, Ralph declared that he was and everyone else remained silent?

Isn’t it true that you witnessed the boys crying?

Defense’s Closing Statement:

Before the Jury makes any decision pertaining to the verdict of this trial, I would like to remind you all that in order to convict a man of any crime there must be evidence provided that may disprove any reasonable doubt that the defendant is innocent. This evidence should come in the form of strong testimony in addition to physical evidence establishing a link between the crimes committed and the defendant in question. Fortunately for our client, Jack Merridew, there is neither evidence nor testimony linking Jack to the alleged crimes that is strong enough to convince anyone that he is guilty. It is extremely important that as the jury you realize that there is no way to convict Jack of the murder of Simon, as well as inciting the mob that caused this murder.

Personal Reflection for Defense Lawyer Shelby:

Today, the verdict of The People vs. Jack Merridew came in pronouncing my client, Jack Merridew, guilty of all charges and sentenced him to life in prison. Initially, I was disappointed with the defense’s loss, but soon I realized that we generally put up a strong fight and did not let the prosecution condemn Jack too effortlessly. First of all, I must say that it is not easy to defend someone being charged for murder, or at least for being very involved in not one, but two murders! Second, this was a team effort, so the two other lawyers and I were forced to incorporate everyone’s ideas into our case, and had to hope that the others held up their part of the assignment. I personally find group projects difficult because in my experiences, most likely not everyone will agree, and I do not like depending on other people to represent me. Unfortunately, I cannot say that the defense made a perfectly agreeable team, making the trial all the more challenging. Consequently, we had to spend more time and effort synchronizing our defense, which I feel could have been much more coordinated. With my help as the lawyer responsible for direct questioning, our sole witness was well-prepared for the directs, but I regret not preparing her more for responses to the prosecution’s cross examination. I had hoped for a much smoother and speedier trial, but for the most part I did not contribute to the chaos of the court. Finally, it bothers me that most of the class, myself included, had preconceived notions about Jack being evil and blameworthy from reading the novel, and it is quite possible that the outcome of the trial was based on this prior dislike of him.