Imperialism on Trial Reflection
Throughout the first semester of sophomore year as well as the start of the last semester, we learned about colonialism and how it affected many people in Africa and Britain. We started off by reading a book called, “Things Fall Apart,” which was about a man named Okonkwo and his journey through life until the British came and flipped it all upside-down, causing him immense grief and to commit suicide. In the book, Okonkwo was a strong willed, defiant man who strove for greatness but was easy to succumb to anger and despair. By the time the British came and started to colonize Africa, Okonkwo was at his edge. Through the British's use of Imperialism, by spreading their power through diplomacy but often military means, Africa quickly fell under British rule and ruined the lives of many tribesmen. After we read the book and learned about British imperialism, we then moved on to learning about mock trials and how we would present one on a wrongful death lawsuit for Okonkwo, claiming that the British caused him to commit suicide. For the trial, we learned about objections, the plaintiff and defense roles, and how to address the court. We went through practice sections in order to get our roles dialed, as well as give the witnesses practice on how to respond to questions from the other team of attorneys. Overall we learned a ton about Africa’s tribes and how Britain impacted them, as well as learning about important events that shaped the world we live in today.
For the mock trial that we put on, we were each given a role to play in order to show how a real trial would work. There were attorneys, witnesses, and jurors who were each given specific instructions on what to do. I was an attorney for the witness Uchendu, Okonkwo’s uncle, and I had to help write a testimony, questions and help my witness come up with answers that would help our case instead of hinder it any farther. For the testimony, we had to incorporate writing that justified how Okonkwo was and what type of person he was, such as, “I could see that Okonkwo was a good man, he build a huge home for his three wives and many children. He worked harder than anyone else to establish his farm.” This tried to show that Okonkwo was a good man and wouldn’t have killed himself. While we were writing the questions that I would ask, we tried to incorporate as much of the testimony as we could so that the defense wouldn’t be able to object to the answers. In the end writing a testimony and questions really opened my eyes to how a real court case works.
At the start of this project, I already had plenty of skills that were useful, and going into the project I wanted to see how I could strengthen them for future projects. However, after we worked on the testimonies for a little while as well as the questions, I didn’t feel like I was being challenged very much as it was simply writing. But, one thing that I often have trouble with is public speaking, and that was a skill that I wanted to work on during this project. I knew that during the trial I would have to speak into a microphone in order to question the witness. However, I did find that I was having to use my critical thinking skills during the trial because we had to know the objections and when to say them. Although I didn’t get the chance to object to anyone, I felt that is was a chance to grow and think while under pressure to do good. One thing that I think went really well was questioning the witness as Peter, the witness, had everything memorized and under control.
I think that I will take away many things from this project as it was very enlightening to know what happened during the colonization in Africa and how it affected many people. In the beginning, I thought that Africa wasn’t very populated and the British simply inhabited it until the colonies grew, but now I realize that there were a ton of tribes with beliefs and customs that the British destroyed for their own purposes. After reading the book I realize that many people in the country that I live in today are ignorant of the crisis that happened in Africa and I also realize that there are other countries in the world that I have no clue of. I think that moving on, I will always think about the country that we are studying and try to figure out its history. Another thing that I will take away from this project is respect for attorneys and the intense jobs they take on every day in order to prove or disprove a point. Overall I have great respect for the countries in our world as well as the people in it.
For the mock trial that we put on, we were each given a role to play in order to show how a real trial would work. There were attorneys, witnesses, and jurors who were each given specific instructions on what to do. I was an attorney for the witness Uchendu, Okonkwo’s uncle, and I had to help write a testimony, questions and help my witness come up with answers that would help our case instead of hinder it any farther. For the testimony, we had to incorporate writing that justified how Okonkwo was and what type of person he was, such as, “I could see that Okonkwo was a good man, he build a huge home for his three wives and many children. He worked harder than anyone else to establish his farm.” This tried to show that Okonkwo was a good man and wouldn’t have killed himself. While we were writing the questions that I would ask, we tried to incorporate as much of the testimony as we could so that the defense wouldn’t be able to object to the answers. In the end writing a testimony and questions really opened my eyes to how a real court case works.
At the start of this project, I already had plenty of skills that were useful, and going into the project I wanted to see how I could strengthen them for future projects. However, after we worked on the testimonies for a little while as well as the questions, I didn’t feel like I was being challenged very much as it was simply writing. But, one thing that I often have trouble with is public speaking, and that was a skill that I wanted to work on during this project. I knew that during the trial I would have to speak into a microphone in order to question the witness. However, I did find that I was having to use my critical thinking skills during the trial because we had to know the objections and when to say them. Although I didn’t get the chance to object to anyone, I felt that is was a chance to grow and think while under pressure to do good. One thing that I think went really well was questioning the witness as Peter, the witness, had everything memorized and under control.
I think that I will take away many things from this project as it was very enlightening to know what happened during the colonization in Africa and how it affected many people. In the beginning, I thought that Africa wasn’t very populated and the British simply inhabited it until the colonies grew, but now I realize that there were a ton of tribes with beliefs and customs that the British destroyed for their own purposes. After reading the book I realize that many people in the country that I live in today are ignorant of the crisis that happened in Africa and I also realize that there are other countries in the world that I have no clue of. I think that moving on, I will always think about the country that we are studying and try to figure out its history. Another thing that I will take away from this project is respect for attorneys and the intense jobs they take on every day in order to prove or disprove a point. Overall I have great respect for the countries in our world as well as the people in it.