One common theme in 12 Angry Men is prejudice affecting a jury. In the play, a boy is arrested and placed on trial for the murder of his father. Due to prejudice, most of the jurors immediately think he is guilty because of his race and where he is from. 12 Angry Men truly exhibits what the 1950s justice system looked like. Through the storyline, prejudice is seen as a way of using stereotypes to explain how people behave. Reginald Rose shows how prejudice can affect the way people think. Throughout the play, the jury plays the role of prejudice in the courtroom and how preconceptions can sway whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty. Juror #10 says such things like, “They’re violent, they’re vicious, they’re ignorant, and
Twelve angry men by Reginald Rose is an intriguing play that explores the idea of personal experience affecting ones decision. Indeed Rose shows that decision-making is based on personal experiences. This is evident in the play when the 3rd Juror’s personal experience with his own son influences his decision and as a result he votes for guilty, the 9th Jurors old age becomes one of the greatest factors which influences his judgement of the boy ; when the 5th Jurors personal experience in a slum causes further doubts to form in his mind It is clear throughout the play that personal
During the time Reginald Rose wrote the play Twelve Angry Men America was not an equal place for all people. A democracy is founded on the ideology that all Americans should be given a fair trial in court before being declared guilty. The twelve jurors in the play come from various backgrounds but initially, all but one vote in favor of the boy’s unforgivable sentence; while two other jurors lift two strong social stigmas and overcome their bias. One juror decided to stand up and take the time out for proper reasoning that resulted in teaching the others two jurors a lesson. Final verdicts should be made on justifiable grounds or the foundation of America’s society could be left at risk for collapse. Justifiable final verdicts are skewed
People's bias and predispositions can affect their opinion of different circumstances and different people. This is very evident throughout the play. After the first group vote and juror 8 votes not guilty, a discussion ensues. It is there that
12 Angry Men is about 12 men who are the jury for an 18 year old accused of murder. The judge states in the opening scene that it is a premeditated murder in the 1st degree, if found guilty will automatically receive the death penalty. The 18 year old male is accused of killing his father with a “one of a kind” switch blade, in their home. The prosecutors have several eye witness testimonies, and all of the evidence that they could need to convict the 18 year old male. In the movie it takes place on the hottest day of the year in New York City. There are 12 jurors whom are to decide if the evidence is enough to convict the teen of murder in the first degree. In the first initial vote it is 11-1. The only way that the jurors could turn in
Prejudice can often be formed without one even realize they are prejudiced, many of the characters in 12 Angry Men, have done as such, allowing their prejudice to not allow them fully evaluate the case unbiasedly. Jurors three, ten and seven are swayed by their prejudiced beliefs against the accused, as the deliberate the accused fate, juror ten states “his type are no good”(12 Angry Men). This prejudice which all of them share, justifiers their neglecting to inspect the evidence and testimony given rather than simply accepting it at face value. The film 12 Angry Men conveys how difficult it can be to set aside prejudiced views through jurors three, seven, and ten. The film also enables the reader to see how prejudice such as past experiences, ingnorance or misinformation, and stereotyping can cloud ones judgement.
With this prejudice, the juror was putting a boy’s life at risk. Instead of seeing an innocent boy, he saw his son, and this was prejudice, blinding him. With no real points to defend why the boy is guilty, the juror was reminded that the boy on trial was not his son. “‘It’s not your
Twelve Angry Men, is a play written by Reginald Rose. The play is about the process of individuals and a court case, which is determining the fate of a teenager. It presents the themes of justice, independence and ignorance. Rose emphasises these three themes through the characters and the dialogue. Justice is the principle of moral rightness or equity. This is shown through juror number eight who isn’t sure whether or not the boy is actually innocent or guilty, but he persists to ask questions and convinces the other jurors to think about the facts first. Independence is shown through both juror number three and ten. They both believe that the defendant is guilty until they both realise that they can not relate there past experiences with
There are many significant views and values that Reginald Rose demonstrates in 12 Angry Men the most important one being that prejudice constantly affects the truth and peoples judgement. As the jurors argue between themselves as to whether a young boy is guilty of stabbing his father it is shown that “It’s very hard to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this.” This is most evident in the way juror #3 and juror #10 come to their decision that the young man is guilty as they bring in there prejudice against young people and people from the slums to make their judgement without considering the facts of the case. Rose uses juror #8 who can see the whole trial because he is calm, reasonable and brings no prejudice as a prime example
The play showed the theme of “Stereotyping in the World” through the characters’ proper reasoning, communicating, and believing in good faith. Twelve Angry Men allowed the views of many different men to see past the outside of a person and look at who they actually are. The play will put the test of each of the jurors’ character and show that the clear theme in the play is “Stereotyping in the World.” The boy has been out in a life where he has no other way out of the setting and must live in. Even though he lives in the area does not mean that he is that category and so does the
Set in the 1950’s post depression America and written by world renowned playwright Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men has become a much loved classic within the drama playwright genre. With an abundance of audacious themes skillfully displayed throughout the feature length play, Rose has pushed the boundaries of the overly oppressive era from which the play was first published. The two main themes that were explored to great lengths throughout the play were prejudices and stereotypes. These themes were both highlighted through the use of three key literary devices; structure, setting and interactions of characters.
In Reginald Rose’s play, Twelve Angry Men, Rose’s play makes an argument against the jury system in the United States. This is shown when Juror #12 changes his vote and when Juror #10 talks about his prejudice towards the defendant .
As the play begins a throng of 12 jurors are faced with what most jurors at first seem to think is an easy ruling to a very difficult case. During this time, Reginald Rose exemplifies the theme of difference of option and starts to show the weakness of the American justice system. For instance, at the beginning of the play, the jurors go into the deliberating room thinking that there's only one possible outcome and most of them agree, except for one juror, Juror #8. The jurors deliberate:
Juror 4 is able to remain calm and composed throughout the most stressful of situations. While Juror 10 exhibits racial outbursts; “They get drunk”, “That's the way they are!”, “VIOLENT!”, “These people are dangerous. They're wild. Listen to me. Listen.” Juror 4 sat through this entire scene without saying a word. It is only until Juror 10’s monologue is finished that Juror 4 speaks, calmly asking Juror 10 to “Shut [his] filthy mouth.” Juror 4 never discredits or implies anything towards the defendant and is always careful of what he says. After Juror 10’s tirade, Juror 4 tries to soften the impact created by 10; “Slums are potential breeding grounds for criminals.” He never attacks or hypes the situation at hand. He draws around ‘potential’ possibilities. Juror 4 initially had his doubts at the start of the case but was the only character that overcame his predisposition based on the analysis of facts and evidence. Rose’s character and only this character had the intelligence, confidence and persistence to keep his head in the tense moment Juror 10 created.
Through Twelve Angry Men Flim, the author, Reginald Rose, paints a picture of a small portion of American society in the mid-1950s. At this time, the United States was envolving into an internal struggle, the Civil Rights Movement, which was concerned with ending racism discrimination and promoting freedom, respect and equality. Rose’s movie presents domestic conflicts which exist in a stereotypical American society and politic in 1950s in America. 12 Angry Men is the story of 12 jurors who must decide if a boy is guilty or not guilty of killing his father. It takes place in New York City Court of Law jury room where 12 jurors must come a unanimous conclusion. A great deal of logical fallacies were presented by jurrors in attempt to prove that the defendent as guilty.
Prejudice is shown throughout history and in this movie; Juror #6 has a prejudice against Hispanics and wishes to rid the streets of them while Juror #12 was attacked by his teenage son and believes all teenagers are evil. As Niebuhr said, mans capacity for injustice is demonstrated through his prejudices against others. Democracy