Prejudice In Reginald Rose's 12 Angry Men

Reginald Rose’s ‘12 Angry Men’ is a play set in New York that focuses on prejudice and the injustice of the American jury system. The idea that “truth can be concealed by prejudice” is encapsulated by the biases of jurors 10 and 4, however, this notion is not the only way truth is concealed, as shown by both jurors 3 and 7.

Rose undoubtedly emphasises the idea of prejudice concealing the truth through Juror 10. Throughout the deliberation process, he vehemently expresses his prejudiced beliefs against the defendant because he is “one of them”, encapsulating his entrenched racism as he dehumanises the defendant because of his background. He states that since they are “born liars” and inherently “violent”, he must be guilty. This highlights

When he recounts his prior experiences, readers discover his deep-rooted resentment for his son. He states that “the way they talk” is disrespectful, signifying that he believes that kids must be troubled nowadays. This assumption influences the way he votes, as due to his past experiences, he finds all kids “rotten”. He can “feel that knife goin’ in”, displaying that he feels betrayed by his own son. This idea is also exemplified by the defendant being the same age as his son when he ran away, emphasising that juror 3 personally wants to see him die because he sees him as his own son; and when he finally votes not guilty, it is because he realises that “its not [his] boy”. Another way personal experiences are used in the voting process is seen by Juror 11. Although not to the extent of the 3rd juror, he “understands” juror 5’s “sensitivity”, because he has also been discriminated against because of his German background, implying that he can not only empathise with the 5th juror, but also the defendant, which is a reason why he votes ‘not guilty’ earlier. Both of these past experiences shape the jurors in different ways – both positive and negative – which can shift their stances, and change the