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12 Angry Men Prejudice

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The issue of prejudice is an important one in 12 Angry Men. The play focuses on the prejudices of the jurors and addresses how they could have overcome them. One instance of prejudice in Twelve Angry Men occurs when Juror 12 has animosity toward the environment in which the defendant was raised. He says, "Well, it's the element. They let the kids run wild. Maybe it serves 'em right." Juror 12 holds the opinion that an individual's childhood affects whether or not they develop criminal behaviours. However, regardless of the environment they were raised in, anyone could become a criminal. Juror 4's statement that "...the children who come out of slums are potential menaces to society," is another example of this. Here, he displays that he has a negative opinion of kids from underprivileged backgrounds. Anyone from any socioeconomic class can commit a crime, but Juror 4 believes the defendant is more likely to do so given his socioeconomic status. Throughout the play, prejudice is demonstrated; juror number three states, "That man is a dangerous killer. You could see it." The defendant is a person of colour, yet the jury consists entirely of white men. Juror 3 is currently evaluating the young …show more content…

An example of this would be when Juror 3 mentioned he hasn't spoken to his son in three years, so he is anxious to blame 'rotten kids' for all the world's problems. When his son was eight and walked away from a fight, he was ashamed. So, he beat him 'to make a man out of him.' He believes that his child is unappreciative of his dedication. Despite taking the trial personally, Juror 3 is the first to warn Juror 5 not to take things personally when Juror 10 criticizes children from low-income communities. Anger, frustration, and personal experiences can all affect their opinions and impair their judgment, potentially leading to an unjustified

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Juror #8 states, “I just want to talk for a while. Look, this boy’s been kicked around all his life. You know, living in a slum, his mother dead since he was nine. That’s not a good head start. ”(page 5).

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In the court system, jurors are tasked with the duty to conduct a fair verdict based on the testimony given and additional evidence shown. Some may forget this responsibility and use their prejudices that affect the juror's decision on the defendant's future. As a result, the accused may be falsely convicted and lose the majority of their life. The play 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose shows three perfect examples of prejudices during jury duty such as colorism, classism, and ageism.

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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.

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In Reginald Rose’s play Twelve Angry Men, the story dives into a jury in a conflict of choosing the verdict of a murder trial. The jury is in a hot room fueled by heated arguments and discussions on whether the young man is guilty or innocent. At the beginning of the decision process, the majority had decided that the boy was guilty of murder, but Juror #8 contested otherwise. Throughout the play, Juror #8 maintains his conformist views that altered the outcome of the court case. Furthermore, the argument set by how jurors decided the final verdict is shown in Twelve Angry Men by how they are challenged through the idea of conformity and nonconformity.

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425 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the play, some jurors make comments that betray their biases. For example, one juror expresses disgust at the accused's background, suggesting that he is guilty simply because of his social class. Rose uses these moments to highlight how prejudice can cloud people's judgment and lead them to make unfair decisions. By shaming those who hold prejudiced opinions, Rose underscores the importance of objectivity and impartiality in the

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The Twelve Man Jury The Declaration of Independence says that all men are created equal but are are they treated equally as well. In the play “Twelve Angry Men” written by Reginald Rose the main characters are Juror #8 Juror #3 Juror #10 Juror #7 and the Forman. The play is about how twelve men debate the guilt or innocence of a 19 year old boy. People's different prejudices and biases can affect their decisions and judgment.

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In the play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, we can see that prejudice gets in the way of truth. Many of the jurors that participated have let prejudice get in their way to see the truth and look at the real situation and facts, for example, Juror Three, who “is a very strong, very forceful, extremely opinionated man within whom can be detected a streak of sadism… is intolerant of opinions other than his own, and accustomed to forcing his wishes upon others.” He has a son that he identifies as a “tough guy”, which is one of the descriptions of the 19-year-old accused, Juror Three let the image of his own son be reflected on the boy and made him think unfairly. Getting to the bottom of a complex issue takes time and effort. At the beginning of the play, most jury members wanted to get over the case and go home as early as they could, but one of the jury members, Juror Eight, who was sure the boy was not guilty, took many hours to question the evidence and the case and murder itself, but he was not the only one as other jury members also spoke about what they thought in the past options, fairly quick, it was almost six in the evening and Juror Six wanted to leave to go to his family, it may have been more of an excuse to leave, but the jurors did not let him leave because they had gone far enough to decide where the trial was going

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Title: Discrimination Unveiled: Confronting Bias in "Twelve Angry Men" Introduction: Reginald Rose's play "Twelve Angry Men" offers a thought-provoking exploration of discrimination and its corrosive effects on the pursuit of justice. Set within the confines of a jury room, the play presents a riveting examination of twelve jurors grappling with their biases as they deliberate the fate of a young man accused of murder. Through poignant dialogue and powerful quotes, Rose unveils the prevalence of discrimination in society and underscores the importance of confronting these biases. This essay will analyze the instances of discrimination portrayed in the play, shedding light on the destructive consequences of prejudice and the transformative potential of empathy and critical thinking.

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Juror 3 believes that all youth are dangerous and immature, encouraging how personal prejudice obscures the truth, but later on realises he’s wrong. ‘I told him, I'll make a man out of you.’ Throughout the play juror 3 is stuck on the belief that the ids ‘ Is guilty’ this belief prevents juror 3 from believin the facts that are presented to him. Juror 3 had an argument with his son which made him flee from home. ‘Its the lids, the way they are nowas=days.

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You know that.” (Sergel 17). In the same way, this juror heavily believes his interpretation of what the kid is like, a criminal, he stereotypes the boy due to his own experiences. As a juror, people are allowed to point out what you may believe are some factors that need to be considered, which is why this can be a reason to consider jury

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803 Words | 4 Pages

This process continues throughout the course of the movie, and each juror’s biases is slowly revealed. Earlier through the movie, it is already justifiable to label juror 10 as a bigoted racist as he reveals strong racist tendencies against the defendant, stating his only reason for voting guilty is the boy’s ethnicity and background. . Another interesting aspect of this 1957 film is the “reverse prejudice” portrayed by juror

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801 Words | 4 Pages

If it wasn 't for Juror #8, I don 't know what terrible consequences would have been. Owing to his insistence, the case was discussed and everyone began to pay attention to the details of the case, testimony, evidence, and witness actions. In the end, twelve people overcame prejudice, ceased the conflict, and made the right decision. The play tells us that justice can be affected by prejudice very easily.

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1254 Words | 6 Pages

For example we can see that Juror 7 had shown an extroverted personality type of people. He is more likely to enjoy talking and interaction with people. He can start any conversation with other people who he never knew before. For example, he started the conversation with Juror 6 in the room and just talk about the weather is hot and he thought that the room should be occupied with air-conditioner. Selfish attitude.

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591 Words | 3 Pages

The justice system that relies on twelve individuals reaching a life-or-death decision has many complications and dangers. The play Twelve Angry Men, by Reiginald Rose, illustrates the dangers of a justice system that relies on twelve people reaching a life-or-death decision because people are biased, they think of a jury system as an inconvenience, and many people aren’t as intelligent as others. The first reason why Reiginald illustrates dangers is because people can be biased or they can stereotype the defendant. The Jurors in Twelve Angry Men relate to this because a few of them were biased and several of them stereotyped the defendant for being from the slums. The defendant in this play was a 19 year old kid from the slums.

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915 Words | 4 Pages

People act upon what they think. Within “12 Angry Men”, all of the jurors have an opinion but some voice their more than others. One juror in particular, Juror Ten, voices his opinion about the boy in question. Repeatedly throughout the play, Juror Ten makes many thoughtless and hurtful comments about a certain kind of people. It is clear that Juror Ten’s uncompromising belief that the accused is guilty is because of his dislike for the boy’s race.

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