Twelve Angry Men
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Transcript of Twelve Angry Men
ThemesCharactersBackground
Twelve Angry Men
•Reginald Rose: born December 10, 1920 – died April 19, 2002•He was an American film and television writer most widely known for his work in the early years of television drama. •Rose is known for writing about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach helped create the genre of television drama of the 1950’s.
Reginald Rose
Twelve Angry MenWas originally written for television by
Reginald Rose.Reginald originally got the idea to write the
show after he served on the jury of a murder case. Some of the events that take place in the story actually happened.
The play, written by Sherman Sergel, is an adaptation of the television production.
Historical Context1950’s
A socially conservative time.People were very materialistic. The
American Dream had turned into the dream of owning things.
Juvenile delinquency was said to be at an all-time high
African Americans were subject to racial discrimination.
Comics were published and growing in popularity.
Television sales were booming.
DiscriminationSome of the jurors think the boy is guilty
because of his background and ethnicity.Slum: A thickly populated area marked by
poverty and dirty or deteriorating houses.(No.8) “I don’ t think it was a very strong move.
This boy has been hit so many times that violence is practically a normal state of affairs with him. I just can’t see two slaps in the face would have provoked him into committing murder.”
Justice
The administration of the lawFairnessRighteousness
IntegrityAdherance to a code of values.
o Juror # Eight
Important terms to know:Burden of proof: the necessity of proof always lies
with the person who lays charges.Due process of law: the state must allow all of the
legal rights that are owed to a person under the law.
Presumption of innocence: the defendant is legally assumed to be innocent until he or she is proven guilty.
Circumstantial evidence: evidence used which may or may not be true.
Reasonable doubt: doubt of a person’s guilt based on evidence or reason.
Vocabulary
VocabularyAbstain: Refrain from an actionAntagonize: To provoke hostilityCoroner: Doctor who investigates causes of
death.Deliberate: Carefully think through.Drab: DullPetty Jury: A jury of twelve peopleRapport: RelationshipSubservient: Passive and obedient
VocabularyDialogue: Conversation between two or more parties.Naïve: Someone who is inexperienced in the ways of
the world.Unanimous: The agreement of all.Hung Jury: A jury that cannot agree.Sadist: Someone who enjoys seeing other people
suffer.Reasonable doubt: Doubt based on evidence or
reason.Premeditated: Planned before an act is performed.Homicide: Murder.Bigot: Someone who is racist and discriminates
against people.
Act 1Takes place in a jury room where most of
the jurors think the defendant is guilty of murder.
Jurors 7 and 10 ridicule the defendants story.
Juror 8 votes “not guilty”The jurors discuss the facts of the caseThere is a call for a secret vote.The result of the vote is 10 guilty and 2 not
guilty
Act 2We find out that juror 9 cast the second not
guilty vote.The jurors discuss the case further taking a
close look at the facts of the case.Juror 3 becomes enraged and swears to kill
juror 8
Act 3The jurors take another vote the results of the
vote are 6 to 6.The jurors discuss the case moreThe jurors take another vote the results are 11
to 1.Juror 3 stands alone in his conviction that the
defendant is guilty.Eventually, juror 3 gives in to the pressure and
votes not guilty.The jury gives their recommendation to the
court and the defendant is set free.
Characters
Foreman
Juror two
Juror three
Juror four
A small, petty man who holds authority over jury. He is formal and not overly bright.
A meek hesitant man who finds it difficult to maintain any opinions of his own.
A very strong, forceful, opinionated man with whom can be detected a streak of sadism.
A man of wealth and position. He presents himself as a little bit above the rest of the jurors.
Characters
Juror five
Juror six
Juror seven
Juror eight
A naïve, frightened young man who takes the case very seriously.
An honest man who makes decisions slowly and carefully.
A loud, flashy salesman who has more important things to do than to sit on a jury.
A quiet, thoughtful, gentleman who sees all sides of the story and constantly seeks the truth.
Characters
Juror nine
Juror ten
Juror eleven
Juror twelve
A mild, gentle, old man who has been defeated by life, and now simply waits to die.
An angry, bitter, antagonistic man. He is a bigot and places no value on human life.
A refugee from Europe. He speaks with an accent and seeks justice.
A slick, bright advertising man who thinks of human beings in terms of percentages, graphs, and polls.
Witness #1The old man who lived on the
second floor under the room where the murder took place.
The old man heard loud noises and then heard “I’m going to kill you” in the upstairs apartment . A second later, he heard a body falling.
He saw the kid running down the stairs and out of the house.
Witness #2“Here’s a woman who’s lying in
bed. She can’t sleep. It’s hot.And right across the street, she sees the kid stick his knife into his father’s chest. Look, she has known the kid all his life. And she swore she saw him do it. “