12 Angry Men Courage Analysis

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“Courage - a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it.” Courageous people understand the danger that they face when they act how they do. That is what courage is all about. Many historical events occur due to people having the courage to do what they think is right, or because of those who use their courage to do what they want. Having the courage to stand alone in one’s beliefs may be one of the hardest thing a person can do. This theme is the driving force behind the two films 12 Angry Men, written by Reginald Rose, and A Time to Kill, written by John Grisham. In 12 Angry Men, courage is represented mostly by Juror 8, who stood alone in a supposed open-and-shut case and defended his ideas with evidence and reason. Similarly, Jake Brigance from A Time to Kill accepted the challenge to defend Carl Lee Hailey, an African American man who murdered two white men who were going to court for raping his daughter. These are two prime examples as to how courage can be utilized to both express one’s opinion, but to help those in need. From the very beginning of 12 Angry Men, we are shown a jury unevenly divided, eleven of the men voting for guilty, and one voting for not guilty. This …show more content…

But this isn’t the definition of courage. Courage is being able to act in the face of danger or in an uncomfortable state. Being stubborn and brash is the exact opposite, as someone acting as such may danger others and/or may be comfortable by standing alone. A prime example is shown in 12 Angry Men, as Juror 8 and Juror 3 represent courage and arrogance. At one time in the film, they both stand alone against a room full of people thinking against them, but how they act to it makes them who they are. Unlike how Juror 8 sways others individually, Juror 3 refused to act politely and focuses on himself, making others not appreciate him and seeing him as a barrier to

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