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The Theme Of Peace In Reginald Rose's '12 Angry Men'

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Peace: freedom from disturbance, an absence of conflict. Thomas Hobbes believes that there are two necessary elements that are needed to cause a desire for peace. One of these elements is a fear of death. If many people all have a fear of death, they will avoid conflict to delay the oncoming of death. The second element needed is a common enemy. A group of people all fighting the same thing will unite against it, therefore causing peace within the group. George Orwell’s 1984 shows that a desire for peace comes from a fear of death, whereas reginald Rose’s 12 Angry Men demonstrates that a desire for peace comes from a common enemy. In the beginning of 1984, Winston wanted to keep his thoughts hidden from the government because he was afraid …show more content…

In the beginning of the play, all of the men agreed that the boy was guilty except for Juror #8. Since Juror #8 was the oddball from the group of twelve, the other jurors got along in an attempt to get Juror #8 to change his mind: “Three: Do you really believe he’s not guilty? Eight: I don't know. Seven: After six days, he doesn't know. Twelve: In six days I could learn calculus. This is A, B, C” (Rose 14). Juror #8 sticks to his ground while the other jurors use different tactics, such as complaining and arguing that he is wrong. Their defence turns into an effortless group effort in which all of the men work to get their way. If it was not for the common enemy, the group probably would not have worked together …show more content…

When he is in great pain, caused by O’Brien, O’Brien says to him, “‘You are afraid,’ said O’Brien, watching his face,, ‘that in another moment something is going to break. Your especial fear is that it will be your backbone…’”(Orwell 245). When he is in pain, he realizes that if he were to stop thinking things that the government didn’t like, he would be able to stop the conflict. The intense pain that Winston feels instills a fear in him, a fear of death. Because of this, Winston desires to make peace with the

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