ipl-logo

12 Angry Men Essay

700 Words3 Pages

Sidney Lumet's 1957 drama classic "12 Angry Men" is regarded as a masterpiece of American cinema. The entire movie takes place in one room as twelve jurors decide the fate of a young man who has been charged with murder. The jurors must cooperate to reach a unanimous decision even though they are all very different from one another and have their own biases and prejudices. As the jury continues to deliberate, tensions increase, and disagreements arise. Henry Fonda's character on the jury raises concerns about the case's evidence and some of the other jurors' motivations. He gradually persuades the other jurors to take the evidence, their assumptions, and biases into account. The director employs a variety of strategies to convey meaning throughout …show more content…

The use of sound can also be used to increase anxiety and tension, with the sound of the clock adding to the sense that time is running out. To explore the themes of prejudice and group dynamics and to build a sense of drama and tension, the director employs a variety of techniques. The filmmaker can give the audience a powerful and thought-provoking experience by emphasizing the characters' feelings and reactions in the story using film as a form of expression. After reading chapters 1 and 2, we can connect some useful terms from the book to the movie. I've selected 5 words that, in my opinion, accurately and conceptually describe the film. Protagonist is the first word I came across in chapter 2. The protagonist is "often referred to as the hero," as the book states. (Benshoff and Griffin). Henry Ford, Juror 8—who I have already mentioned—is the protagonist and hero in the story. Juror 8 is the only one to initially vote "not guilty" in the case of a young man who is charged with the murder of his father.. The film follows his attempts to persuade the other jurors to reexamine the evidence and consider the

Show More
Related
997 Words | 4 Pages

In his play Twelve Angry Men, Reginald Rose brings us back in time to 1957, to a jury room of a New York Court of Law where one man, Juror #8, confronts the rest of the jury to look at a homicide case without prejudice, and ultimately convinces Juror #2, a very soft-spoken man who at first had little say in the deliberation. Throughout the play, many of the jurors give convincing arguments that make one think about whether the boy is “guilty” or “not guilty.” Ultimately, one is convinced by ethos, logos, and pathos. We can see ethos, logos, and pathos having an effect on Juror #2 as he begins as a humble man and changes into someone brave at the end. Although all three modes play a part in convincing Juror #2, pathos was the most influential

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

In Twelve Angry Men, the playwright uses dialogue and stage directions to demonstrate the differing personalities and opinions of each juror. Each juror had a different perception of jury duty and the case. The 3rd Juror did not put much thought into the case. The 7th Juror did not take it seriously and just wanted it to be over. However, the 8th Juror was unlike the others and wanted to give the boy a fair trial because his life was on the line.

Read More
1964 Words | 8 Pages

After watching 12 Angry Men, I was very inspired by juror 8 ' argument techniques. His eye contact, body language, tone, the persuasive techniques he used like induction, pathos, ethos and logos should be studied and analyzed in a very detailed, precise way. These factors were strong enough to change 11 angry men 's mind and to vote not guilty, even juror 3 who is the most stubborn. 12 Angry Men 's message toward individuals and the society as a whole is to think once and twice before judging, how to have a successful, convincing argument and most importantly, it encourage everyone to stand up for your opinion. One of the reasons why everyone should speak up is sometimes other people are thinking the same way, but they are not brave enough to express their opinion.

Read More
755 Words | 4 Pages

Daja McLaurin Benton TA: Yiwen Dai Communications: 250 1 April, 2016 12 Angry Men Assessment After viewing the movie 12 Angry Men the group was able to implement the ideas of group think immediately during the start of the movie. Since the men briefly established a relationship from the time of witnessing the trial to start of deliberation n the empty room and reaching a unanimous decision, they found that all of the men initially achieved a verdict of guilty accept for juror 8. After this surprising decision the men began to show their true colors and distinguish how one may believe something and another juror may believe another. The group takes time in pleading individual opinions while deciding on the guilt or innocence of a young boy

Read More
432 Words | 2 Pages

Name: Ethan Lang Teacher: Sasha King Subject: ELA Date Completed: N/A "A jury verdict is just a guess—a well-intentioned guess, generally, but you simply cannot tell fact from fiction by taking a vote." This quote from William Landay, the author of two award-winning crime novels, shows how jury verdicts can be wild guesses that aren’t always accurate. In Reginald Rose's play 12 Angry Men, 12 jurors debate whether to convict a boy of first-degree murder. A few of the jurors start to show signs of aggression toward one another, and things get heated very quickly, partially because of the hot conditions in the room. The jurors can’t come to a unanimous decision, which leads them to examine how the boy and the witnesses might have seen or done the murder.

Read More
499 Words | 2 Pages

At the end of act two juror 8 want juror 3 to say his argument on why he thinks the kid is guilty, he restates the statement given by the two neighbors who testified. When he proceeded with his argument he kinda got emotional specifically when he brought up the son stabbing his own father “the phrase was “i’m gonna kill you.” That’s what he

Read More
171 Words | 1 Pages

In Twelve Angry Men, the award winning three act drama written by Reginald Rose, each juror is told to reconsider a reasonable doubt in deciding the fate of a young man accused of murdering his own father. With little exception, each juror bring his own personal biases and preconceptions. However, in this rollercoaster of a drama, no other juror stands out as much as Juror Three. Though other jurors may occasionally admit a reasonable doubt, Juror Three is strictly motivated by his superiority complex, impatience, and personal grudges. Juror Three often believes his opinions matter more than others and only appreciates those who agree with him.

Read More
1690 Words | 7 Pages

12 Angry Men, which was released in 1957, is about twelve jurors who are deciding whether an 18-year old boy will lose his life. The boy was accused of murdering his father, and if he was found guilty, he would be charged with first degree murder and executed as a result. The movie consists of several themes, but one of the main themes that stands out to me is stereotyping. Most of the men in the room appear to be wealthy, one even brags about a company that he owns. At the beginning of the jurors meeting, many of the jurors agreed that “people like him” (referring to the boy) are awful and needed to be taken out a long time ago.

Read More
1186 Words | 5 Pages

Many of the jurors use logos, logic and reasoning, to lay out the evidence in a rational and concrete manner to convince him. An example is when 4th Juror lays out all of the evidence of the knife to convince 8th Juror with seven, linear, factual points. The reader and audience is meant to connect a sense of ethos, reliability or competence, to 8th Juror, as he is the only one who doesn’t, at first, seem to be clouded by ignorance, racism, disinterest, or any other characteristic that might cloud

Read More
1458 Words | 6 Pages

Mobashshir Arshad Ansari DM 16230 The movie “12 Angry Men” is a court drama based movie. The entire film takes place within a small New York City jury room, on "the hottest day of the year," as 12 men debate the fate of a young defendant charged with murdering his father. Most courtroom movies feel it necessary to end with a clear-cut verdict. But "12 Angry Men" never states whether the defendant is innocent or guilty if innocent then who is guilty.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

Jury duty is often seen as an option people are seeking to avoid at times. However, jury duty should not be seen as a negative, but rather jury duty should be seen as a chance for a civilian to do their part in contributing to justice. Twelve Angry Men is mainly about twelve men coming together to discuss and argue whether a young man should be put on the death penalty, the play continuously makes it a point to make the jurors have a hard time deciding a final verdict. Jurors argued their side of what occurred with the defendant and the victim, some would change their answers or few would make a point of trying to convince the other jurors why the defendant is guilty. As the act progresses, the jurors finally realize one important detail of

Read More
803 Words | 4 Pages

In 12 Angry Men, the movie begins in a courtroom where the case is being discussed by the judge, who seems fairly uninterested. The jurors are then instructed to enter the jury room to begin their deliberations. They take a vote and all but juror 8 vote guilty. The jurors react violently to the dissenting vote but ultimately decide to go around the table in hope of convincing the 8th juror.

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

‘Twelve Angry Men’ written by Reginald Rose, is based on the story of a jury who have to come together to determine the fate of a young boy accused to have murdered his own father. Initially, eleven of the jurors vote not guilty with one of the juror being uncertain of the evidence put before them. As the men argue over the different pieces of evidence, the insanity begins to make sense and the decision becomes clearer as they vote several other times. Rose creates drama and tension in the jury room, clearly exploring through the many issues of prejudice, integrity and compassion, in gaining true justice towards the accused victim. These aspects have been revealed through three character who are Juror 10, Juror 8 and Juror 3.

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

The movie “Twelve Angry Men” illustrates lots of social psychology theories. This stretched and attractive film, characterize a group of jurors who have to decide the innocence or guiltiness of an accused murder. They are simply deliberating the destiny of a Puerto Rican teenaged boy accused of murdering his father. Initially, as the film begins, except the juror Davis (Henry Fonda), all other jurors vote guilty. Progressively, the jurors begin trying to compromise on a point that everybody agree because the decision of the jury has to be unanimous.

Read More
1404 Words | 6 Pages

The script introduces the viewers to the typical behavior and the state of mind of these jurors, who surprisingly turn out to be the last to change their opinions from “guilty” to “not guilty”. Juror#3 the frustrated father whose personal conflicts and experiences influence his view of the accused’s crime is very desperate to make it clear that his mind is already made up before the deliberations even start. Similar

Read More

More about 12 Angry Men Essay

Open Document