A Literary Analysis of “Twelve Angry Men” “We’re not here to go into the reasons why slums are breeding grounds for criminals; they are. I know it. So do you. The children who come out of slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society.” Act 1 page 21. Through this statement, Juror Four has touched on a common behavior that people with bad upbringings display. The three-act play “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose is set in a jury room on a day of unbearable heat in which twelve male jurors gather around to discuss the evidence and testimonies of witnesses of a six-day murder trial. As time progresses, tempers flare due to the unbearable heat and the temperaments of certain jurors. Once they are all seated all the jurors are ready to vote guilty because they all having other places to be, except for one, Juror Eight. Juror Eight cites that the boy deserves a few words to be said about his case. Using the deliberations of an all-male jury regarding the innocence of a 19-year-old defendant accused of murdering his father on the grounds of circumstantial evidence, Rose conveys the life lesson that the past should not dictate future paths of individuals or else it will lead to their downfall. …show more content…
He says, “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 very good head start. He's a tough, angry kid. You know why slum kids get that way? Because we knock ‘em over the head once a day, every day” in Act 1 page 15. Juror Four shows how the defendant, a young boy who grew up in the slums, was never given a chance, and looked down upon by those more fortunate, would inevitably follow a criminal path. How could he not when the deck is stacked against him? His argument supports the thematic idea that some people allow their upbringings to get in the way of their