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Twelve Angry Men

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The cry for justice has long been heralded in the United States, not only today but also in the past. In Twelve Angry Men, a play and movie written and directed by Reginald Rose, justice is by far the most significant idea presented. Through Juror Four, Reginald Rose displays perfectly the importance of the presence of justice in not only the society of today but also that of the 1950s. Juror Four demonstrates the theme of justice in Twelve Angry Men because he possesses many qualities a juror who must administer justice should have and then acts in accordance. First and foremost, Juror Four is a paragon of what a good juror should be like. He is coolheaded, detached, eloquent and logical. These character traits give him the best advantage to serve on a jury and administer justice because he is neither easily riled nor prejudiced. For example, Juror Four easily calmed down the other jurors when tempers begin to rise in Act 1 by saying, “Shall we all admit right now that it is hot and humid and our tempers are short? … I agree with you… but I think we should try to avoid emotionally colored arguments (1.11, 1.15)”. Here, Four easily calms down the more belligerent jurors (Three, Seven, Ten) down and also shows how he is emotionally detached from the case and encourages the other jurors to be so as well. His eloquence is also presents itself on several occasions and causes other jurors, like Three, to ride on his coattails while arguing the guilt of the boy (Juror Three often says things like “listen to this man!” and “that’s exactly what I mean!” after Four completes a monologue about why he believes the boy should not be acquitted). Because of his (hinted) wealth and status, Juror Four is a practiced speaker and very articulate. From these evidences we can see how Reginald Rose created Juror Four as a symbol of justice and the jury. Nonetheless, Juror 4 is complex and there is more to him that makes him a prime candidate to become a juror. Besides his calm-cool-collected exterior, Juror 4 is also reasonable but still firm in his beliefs. Four acts conscientiously in Act 3 when Juror Ten goes off on a racist spiel. Instead of keeping quiet like the other jurors, he spoke up to end Ten’s rant; “There is a dead silence. Then FOUR speaks softly. FOUR: I’ve had enough. If you open your mouth again I’m going to split your skull (3.60)”. From this excerpt, we can see that Juror Four is a multifaceted person; despite his tendency to rationality and logic, he still stands up for what in which he believes. Another way Juror Four is shown to be firm in his beliefs is how he the last to be convinced that the boy is innocent and there may be reasonable doubt of his guilt. In contrast to Juror Seven, Four had to be properly convinced and presented with evidence and reasoning before he changed his mind. Not being easily influenced is an attribute of someone most fit to administer justice. Despite his tenacity, Juror Four is still reasonable and rational. He is willing to admit he was wrong about the boy’s innocence and argued with Juror Three “No, I’m convinced now… I’m sorry... I don’t think I’m wrong often, but I guess I was this once. There is a reasonable doubt in my mind (3.62)”. He can look at the whole picture of the defense and prosecution of the boy without bias and does not feel ashamed to admit he is wrong which, again, contrasted with Juror Three’s unwillingness to change his vote. Because of the traits Juror Four possesses, he exemplifies the justice in the American judicial system. Given these points, it is obvious how Reginald Rose created Juror Four as a symbol of justice in Twelve Angry Men. Not only is Four levelheaded, rational, and articulate, but he also is reasonable and acts in a manner true to his beliefs. He is slow to anger and does not conform to the norm (changing his vote) but rather sticks to his belief that the boy is guilty until he is properly convinced and has a reasonable doubt; these traits are essential to justice, the main theme portrayed in Twelve Angry Men. Through Juror Four, Reginald Rose adeptly shows his belief of the importance of justice in our society. Justice continues and will continue to be a theme important in the world today as it has been in the past.

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