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Examples Of Bias In 12 Angry Men

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12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose is a primary example of how bias can affect one’s decision-making. As the trial progresses, it is clear to the reader just how much bias can be used as an obstacle to justice. Throughout the course of the play, Reginald Rose illustrates how the prejudice of juror number 10, and the past of juror number 3 prevent them from trying the case logically and unbiasedly. Juror number 10 displays a major bias toward the defendant, which ultimately leads to a preconceived notion. To begin this play, Juror number 10 expresses prejudice when he states, “You’re not going to tell us that we’re supposed to believe him, knowing what he is” (Rose 16). In the case of juror number 10, prejudice plays a huge role in his decision-making because his bias towards the defendant influences him to want to declare the defendant guilty before knowing all the facts. It is clear from his choice of words, "knowing what he is" (Rose 16) that he has already written off the defendant and is ready to declare him guilty. In conclusion, juror number 10’s perspective of this case is compromised and, as a result, he has a bigoted mindset towards it because of the group of people he associates with the defendant. …show more content…

Juror 3 explains to the other jurors, “I’ve got a kid… I haven’t seen him in three years. Rotten kid! I hate tough kids!” (Rose 21). In the mind of juror number 3, the defendant is like his own kid that left him. Due to the resemblance to his own child, this clouds his judgment, and nothing can sway his decision to assume that the defendant is guilty. Juror number 3’s perspective of the defendant and the case is influenced by the fact that he sees a resemblance with his own son who left him, so he is biased as to whether he views him as guilty or

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This juror believes the defendant's testimony is completely inaccurate because he is just a kid, and kids lie all the time. This is once again decided by prejudice and not regarding the actual testimony. Age does not prove whether a defendant is innocent or

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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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Prejudice In Reginald Rose's 12 Angry Men

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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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Prejudice And Stereotyping In Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men

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Since he is unable to look into the facts and is in denial when they are presented, he does not closely analyse the details because deep down, he wants the boy to die, guilty or not. Had Juror 8 voted guilty, the boy would have died, whether he committed the crime or not. If the accused was innocent, they would have sent an innocent man to die without even taking the time to dig deeper to uncover the truth, to which justice would not have been served. Additionally, prejudice and stereotyping creates a fear within those subjected to them. They start to think negatively and feel ashamed over something they have no control over.

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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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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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