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Essay on Twelve Angry Men (Norms, Roles, Process)

Decent Essays

Norms:
· Respect elders (e.g., the laborer is the self-appointed enforcer of good manners)
· The jurors had come to value a case based on facts, not prejudice or stereotypes. Those who upheld this value (Juror 8 and the Juror 4) were respected and became leaders that were looked to for guidance. The jurors that maintained arguments based on stereotypes alienated themselves from the others.
· The decision has to be unanimous (hung jury was something nobody liked)
· No racial prejudices were tolerated (everybody turned their backs to juror 10 when he started saying that "he knew people of these kind very well")
Processes:
The group initially started with a process of arriving at a decision by voting and there was a groupthink causing …show more content…

The jurors are transformed by the process of deliberating. Eleven men voted guilty because of their prejudices, fears, laziness and insecurities, but they are eventually persuaded by reason to give up these limiting beliefs, to see the potential in the facts, and to find justice. The critical turning points in the jury votes occur, not when there is passion and anger, but when there is reasoned discussion, as the rational Juror 8 triumphs over the prejudices of his fellow jurors. The facts of the case do not change, but the jurors come to see the facts differently, and change by the process they go through. Despite the hostility and tension created in this process, the twelve men end up reconciled, and justice is done.
Roles:

Role Explanation Portrayed by Reasons
Task Oriented Roles initiator-contributor suggests new ideas to solve group problem or new ways for the group to organize the task Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) Suggested that the jury deliberate for at least and hour information giver/seeker deals with information and facts about the group's task Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) · Produced an identical knife· Asked for the floor plan opinion seeker/giver deals with the group's values regarding its tasks Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) Presented an in-depth analysis of the facts of the case rather than a superficial viewpoint
Energizers tries to keep up the group's energy level
Elaborator goes into detail about how group plans

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