...One of the strengths of ‘twelve angry men’ is rose’s ability to create a diverse case of characters with very different values and interests. Do you agree? Set in 1950’s America, Reginald Rose’s play, Twelve Angry Men, revolves around twelve men summoned to decide the fate of a young man’s life. Taking place in a New York courtroom, it follows the deliberations of the jurors as they attempt to make a unanimous verdict as to whether or not a sixteen year old is in fact guilty of murdering his father. Throughout the play, rose demonstrates the prejudice that obstructs the course of justice, and the diversity in beliefs and principals that separate jurors from each other. Together the jurors represent the microcosm that is American Society. For the duration of the text, each juror is only identified by a number with no evidence to suggest that they even know each other’s' names. The jury however, is a cross-section of American society as it comprises of educated, old, working-class, business and even immigrant men. This is intended by the play as the value of each juror is as a social representation, not as individuals. The 8th Juror represents possible strengths of the jury system as an aspect of the legal system. This is demonstrated by his confidence and the fact that he does not fear the idea of 'stand alone' against a potentially unanimous 'guilty' verdict, as he eventually encourages other jurors that a ‘young man's life’ is worth some discussion. Thus, through the role...
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...Twelve Angry Men Essay The 3rd Juror says that “everybody deserves a fair trial.” Does the defendant in this case get a fair trial? Twelve Angry Men, a play by Reginald Rose, was written in 1955 at a time when America was involved in a cold war with communist countries. It shows the strength of a deliberative process that enables individuals, who have “nothing to gain or lose,” to reach a verdict. In the American jury system “everybody deserves a fair trial” and in Twelve Angry Men the defendant gets a very fair trial. All the jurors have their own opinions on the case but in the end a decision is made. The jury, and the audience, never discovers if in fact the defendant did murder his father. His guilt or innocence seems to be almost irrelevant. At the beginning of the play the vote was 11-1 in favour of guilty but the 8th Juror convinces the others to have another vote. As the play progresses more and more jurors being to change their vote and by the end of the play the vote was 11-1 in favour of ‘not guilty.’ The defendant does get a fair trial because throughout the play there was enough “reasonable doubt” for him to be guilty. The 10th juror had no intentions on giving the defendant a ‘fair trial’ and just wanted him to be sent to the “electric chair.” By the play’s end all twelve men had agreed to a “not guilty” vote. The 8th Juror had managed, by simply pointing out “sometimes the facts that are staring you in the face are wrong!” to convince even the strongest advocates...
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...Twelve Angry Men – Text Response “Somebody saw the kid stab his father. What more do we need?” Twelve Angry Men explores the value of facts and the fallibility of human memory.” Discuss. Set in the summer of 1957, Reginald Rose’s play, “Twelve Angry Men,” centers around twelve men summoned with the task of deciding a young man’s fate. During the course of the play, Rose expounds the notion that human memory is errable and the malleable nature of facts. He emphasis, through the jurors, the need to question what constitutes as a ‘fact’ when examining the evidence presented and that it is only human to “make mistakes.” In a case where most of the evidence is comprised of witness’ testimonies, a key factor in the jury’s decision will be the perceived reliability of the witness. 8th juror repeatedly questions the reliability of the case witnesses. With no signs of malevolence or judgment, he urged others to consider the premise that “witnesses can make mistakes,” and to remember that in this case, such mistakes could cost the accused, his life. Rose utilized the 8th juror to point out that witnesses are “the entire case for the prosecution,” so every perspective must be considered before the jury unanimously decides to “send a boy off t die.” The fact that absolute accuracy of human memory is difficult, if not, impossible to establish, forms the basis for 8th juror’s argument for reasonable doubt. The 9th juror suggests its is possible that in order to “be recognized, to...
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...INTRO: Twelve Angry Men, Reginald Rose’s remarkable 1954 play, portrays the trial of the accused, a 16 year old boy from the slums of New York, who will face death as a result of a guilty verdict. Consequently, twelve jurors attempt coming to a unanimous decision. Although justice is ultimately secured, prejudice is an evident theme in the play. Twelve Angry Men explores personal prejudice in the justice system by revealing how preconception overwhelms the juror’s ability to see reason, by the jurors presenting opinions rather than evidence and by demonstrating stereotypical qualities which threatens to derail the process. PARA 1: Preconception overwhelms the juror’s ability to see reason. The defendant was at a serious disadvantage and was a victim of prejudice even before the court case. The majority of the jurors were ready to convict the accused, not purely due to the arguments presented by the prosecution but due to the 16 year old being a member of a low societal ranking. Many of the men enter the jury room with preconceived opinions and irrational ideas. For example, the 3rd Juror is against the accused due to an unhealthy relationship with his own son. This is demonstrated when he exclaims ‘I know him. What they’re like. What they do to you. How they kill you every day.’ Therefore the 3rd juror fails provide his arguments to the rest of the jury because his decision is based on emotions. Rose demonstrated the importance of keeping an open-mind rather than of holding...
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...Democracy and the right to serve as a juror are a great privilege and responsibility which is not to be taken lightly, as seen in Twelve Angry Men. How does Rose use the play to reflect these themes? In Reginald Rose Twelve Angry Men, Rose uses the play to reflect the duty and responsibility of a juror. Rose uses the characters to reflect different themes of the play. As a democratic country, jurors have a great privilege and responsibility and it shouldn’t be taken lightly as some juror’s demonstrated. Rose represents different personalities and beliefs with each juror. A young man’s life is at stake, most of the juror’s assume he is guilty on the first vote. But luck for the boy is that the 8th juror who wants it to be a fair trial and wants to “talk this thing out”. A fair trial that everyone is entitled to. Juror 8th is in contrast with the other jury members who allow personal bias to make up their verdict and decisions. Rose starts of the play with the judge stating the duty of the jurors, and that they have to come up with a unanimous verdict. The play progresses with the changing of individual juror’s minds. Rose represents juror 8 as the protagonist and the hero of the case. Juror 8 represents the strengths of the jury systems. Juror 8 insists on looking at the facts in the case even though everyone else has already got their mind made up. In the play juror 8 is used to represent a juror who is doing his duty the right way. He is patient , tolerant and thinks about...
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...Twelve Angry Men: Justice is Served Twelve Angry Men takes you into a day in the lives of twelve jurors in a New York City courthouse. In the hands of the jurors lies the fate of a young man accused of stabbing his father. Throughout the film, the audience becomes familiar with each of the jurors and is quickly introduced to topics at issue such as discrimination, iniquitous motives, and concerns about the American judicial system. As the twelve jurors deliberate to reach a verdict, the film epitomizes the validation and condemnation of the American justice system. There are many responsibilities of a jury: to achieve fair and impartial decision, determine guilt or not guilt, give people voice in the government, and to protect the rights of the accused. In other words, the main point of the jury system is not to provide innocence but eradicating or sustaining reasonable doubt. The presumption of innocence is a key theme in the narrative that reflects one of the distinct characteristics of the American justice system. As much as this film is about lessons of discrimination, fate, and impartiality, it is also a lesson of the American justice system. Although this film demonstrates many imperfections in the court system, as imperfect human beings, perhaps it is necessary that justice call upon such a system. As shown in Twelve Angry Men, the American justice system, although seemingly flawed, works for us imperfect human beings Aside from the opening courtroom scene where...
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...Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose Structure, Language and Genre Structure • Twelve Angry Men follows a two-act structure, with the action running continuously rather than being broken into scenes. The second acts takes up exactly where the first left off – there is no change in chronology. • With no scene divisions, the progress of the play can be measured by the votes which take place, functioning as a kind of pulse, reminding the audience where the jury’s opinion stands on the defendant’s conviction. These moments serve as markers for the audience on the journey through the play, helping to structure the action. • The play follows the three classical unities of theatre derived from Aristotle: - Unity of action: there should be only one central plot (the jury’s deliberations and decisions). - Unity of time: In real and continuous time where there are no shifts in chronology (no breaks in play). - Unity of place: Action occurs in only one single location (the jury room). • Allows the audience to feel very close to characters, their relationships and the conflict and challenges with which they are faced in deciding the defendant’s fate. • Intensifies sense of realism and is particularly effective because of the claustrophobic nature of the setting. Language • Rose’s characters use naturalistic, everyday language appropriate to the times and for the audience. • Heightened poetic or symbolic language is rarely used, instead speaking in concrete terms about the...
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...CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA An Interpretive History TENTH EDITION James J. Rawls Instructor of History Diablo Valley College Walton Bean Late Professor of History University of California, Berkeley TM TM CALIFORNIA: AN INTERPRETIVE HISTORY, TENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2008, 2003, and 1998. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1234567890 QFR/QFR 10987654321 ISBN: 978-0-07-340696-1 MHID: 0-07-340696-1 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President EDP/Central Publishing Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Publisher: Christopher Freitag Sponsoring Editor: Matthew Busbridge Executive Marketing Manager: Pamela S. Cooper Editorial Coordinator: Nikki Weissman Project Manager: Erin Melloy Design Coordinator: Margarite Reynolds Cover Designer: Carole Lawson Cover Image: Albert Bierstadt, American (born...
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