In the play 12 Angry Men, written by Reginald Rose, it depicts a jury‘s decision making process in a murder trial, following the lead up to 11 out of 12 of the jurors changing their initial verdict. It goes on to explore relationship between the 3rd and 8th jurors is a significant element, along with the prejudice assumptions of the accused and the truthfulness of the evidence. These themes highlight the key elements of the play.
The relationship between 8th and 3rd highlight the two sides of the case. The play initiates with the 8th Juror voting 'not guilty' in comparison to the rest of the jury which vote 'guilty’. This is significant because it shows each character’s stance of the overall case, therefore the different views of 8th and
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The judge specifically states at the beginning that the jury have to separate the “facts from the fancy”, thus in order to have a verdict instead of a hung jury they have to go over all of the evidence. The witness statement of old man living downstairs is put into question. The statement claimed that he heard a body dropping after the accused shouted “I’m gonna kill you”. Subsequently, 9th Juror supplies the likelihood that the old man was only testifying to feel important. 8th Juror wrap up by saying that even if he did hear him say, “I’m gonna kill you,” he might of just said that as a figure of speech without any attention behind his words. This is significant, because it highlights that some of the evidence is not irrefutable and makes them begin to doubt. Another incident that causes doubt is the evidence of the knife at the murder weapon. The boy stated that he lost it, but his friends and a shopkeeper said that it is the same knife that the boy had. 8th Juror shows the other jurors “same knife” he had purchased in a pawn shop two blocks from where the boy lived a couple blocks from. This evidence brings doubt to either if the boy really lost it or if someone attained it. The relationship of 3rd and 8th, the prejudice assumptions of these actions, and the incriminating eat causes doubt are all important themed in 12 Angry