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12 Angry Men Essay

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Have you ever been in a situation where you want to fit into the crowd by disguising who you truly are? 12 Angry Men by Sidney Lumet shows the crime and drama going on in a jury room. In this play there are twelve jurors that have to decide whether or not an 18 year old kid is guilty or not. There is only one juror that believes that the kid is not guilty so he must single handedly try to convince the rest of the jurors to change their minds. The theme of this play is that you should stand for what you believe with courage even if people don’t agree with you. Juror eight believes that the kid is innocent but the rest do not agree. He has to try to convince the others while they keep putting him down and telling him that it's obvious that the kid is guilty. Juror ten says, “Look, we’re all grown-ups here. We heard the facts, didn’t we? Now, you’re not going to tell us that we’re supposed to believe that kid, knowing what he is. Listen, I’ve lived among ’em all my life. You can’t believe a word they say. I mean, they’re born liars” (Lumet). Juror ten says this very …show more content…

Juror nine realizes that juror eight has just been trying to protect the kid's life not knowing for sure if he is guilty or not. Juror nine says, “Thank you. This gentleman has been standing alone against us. He doesn’t say the boy is not guilty. He just isn’t sure. Well, it’s not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others. He gambled for support and I gave it to him. I respect his motives. The boy on trial is probably guilty. But I want to hear more” (Lumet). Juror nine sees how caring of a man juror eight is and recognizes it. Juror nine also says, “It takes a great deal of courage to stand alone even if you believe in something very strongly” (Lumet). Juror nine says this which lets the others see that Juror eight just wants to care for a life. Juror nine’s lines show what the theme of the play

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When asked why he voted not guilty, juror eight stated “Look, this boy has been kicked around all his life. You know---living in a slum, his mother dead since he was nine. He spent a year in and a half in an orphanage while his father served a jail term for forgery. That’s not a very good head start. He’s had a pretty terrible sixteen years.

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Some of the arguments and issues with the case that he seems to care most about are the knife Juror #8 bought that is similar to the murder weapon and how fast it took the old man to get to the door. In Act 1, Juror #4 begins to explain that the knife used is very unusual. That even the store-keeper that sold the knife had never seen a weapon like that before. Juror #8 then argues that someone could have possibly gotten a knife similar to the one the boy had and then “reaches into his pocket and swiftly withdraws a knife... they are exactly alike”(23).

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Juror Eight was the only man from the beginning of the play who stuck by his belief that the kid was innocent. He stood alone in front of the other jurors and defended himself from the other jurors, such as Juror Three and Juror Ten. Jurors Three and Ten were adamant that the kid was guilty and refused to listen to Juror Eight’s “nonsense”. Juror Eight’s evidence and speeches persuaded all the other jurors to change their vote from not guilty, except for Juror Three. The only reason Juror Three had it out for the kid was because he himself had some issues with kids respecting their parents, and specifically their fathers.

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I just want to talk for awhile. Look this boy’s been kicked around all his life… I think we owe him a few words.” (5) In this quote, Juror No. 8 is not allowing his feelings cloud his judgement, he’s looking at all the facts and is understanding how this situation is crucial to the boy’s life.

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What if juror 8 did not have the courage to freely state his opinion? The innocent boy would be dead for doing absolutely nothing.

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He realizes this when he “contorts [his face] and he begins to pound on [the] table with his fist,” and “seems [to be] about to cry” (Rose 63). This is when Juror 3 realizes that his negative experience with his son has dictated his distaste toward the boy and that he had no real reason to oppose him as much as he did. Though being the most stubborn of the jurors, being able to re-examine the beliefs and opinions he is so fixated on empowers Juror 3 to be able to demonstrate personal accountability, showing how important personal accountability is to confronting one’s past and biases. Throughout the play, because of his loud and opinionated personality, Juror 3 assumes leadership of those voting guilty. This is in stark contrast to Juror 8, a thoughtful person who is willing to give the benefit of the doubt who is the first person to vote not guilty to give the boy a chance.

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8th juror appeals to their sense of pathos and pity by saying “this boy’s been kicked around all his life… He’s had a pretty terrible sixteen years. I think maybe we owe him a few words. That’s all.” While this has nothing to do with the case, he hopes to appeal to their humanity in order to get them to give him a chance in these deliberations.

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Juror Ten announces his intentions very early in the play. He speaks loudly and forcefully from the beginning, clearly showing his racism and prejudice towards the boy. Juror 10 quickly votes guilty and asserts that the defendant cannot be believed because “they’re born liars”. Additionally, he claims that the “kids who crawl outa those places are real trash.”

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