Stereotypes In The Play '12 Angry Men' By Reginald Rose

12 Angry Men Essay

In the play, 12 Angry Men, written by the well-known writer and producer, Reginald Rose, sets the scene in a stuffy jury room on an extremely hot day where 12 jurors must deem whether a boy is guilty for the murder of his father. The jurors struggle to reach a unanimous decision, as tension between the jurors builds up. The author delivers several clear messages through his play such as standing up for what you believe in, and always pursuing the truth. Often times personal feelings, prejudices, and fear of voicing opinions prevent the truth from being exposed.

It’s often difficult to stand up alone against peer pressure especially if they are verbally or possibly physically

threatening you. It’s important to gather up all your courage and fight for what you believe in unless you are truly convinced otherwise. Juror eight demonstrates fortitude by standing strong by his decisions and being able to present strong arguments when the other jurors questioned his judgment. Eight sympathizes for how the boy was brought up, and seems more human than any of the other jurors when he states, ”Its not so easy for me to send a boy off to die without talking about it first. Look this boy has been kicked around all his life. You know living in a slum, his mother dead since he was nine,’’(315). Eight sees past to what is in front of him and seeks to dive deeper in terms of details. He eventually wins all the jurors over with his solid arguments. At the beginning f the play, Eight was the only that stopped the jurors from deeming the verdict as guilty. As a result some jurors were extremely frustrated. The life of a boy hung in the balance yet the other jurors treated it as small matter. This shows how much of a difference one person can if they stand up and away from the crowd.

Prejudices often acts as a blindfold, covering the people’s eyes from the truth that clearly lays just a few steps away.

Prejudices cause peoples’ perceptions to be altered. The jurors are presented quite a bit about the boy’s background, and his records. Juror Ten struggles to see past the stereotypes and judges the boy based on his past actions. Juror Ten claims,” He’s a common ignorant slob. He don’t even speak good English,” (326). What is so ironic about this statement is that Ten claims the boy is dense and bases this claim on the fact that he can’t speak English well. However as corrected by Eleven, it is “doesn’t” not “does”. Perhaps the boy learned from his mistakes and sought to change. That is what life is all about. We fall down and hopefully learn from our mistakes so that we can create a better future for ourselves. Juror Ten is firmly set on the idea that the court covered everything by repeatedly saying, “They proved it,’’ on page 317. Unlike Eight he is not open-minded. As a juror it is important to be skeptics because the in court, lawyers may have presented information in such a way that information is perceived differently. Also crucial information may have not have been analyzed carefully. It’s important not to dwell on the past; its also keep prejudices from exposing you to

reality.
Physically weaker people often struggle to voice their thoughts in fear of how others may react in response. Juror Nine as seen in the movie is often interrupted and dis-regarded by Juror Three. Juror Nine brings into perspective some very important points such as the marks on the nose of the woman, and the reasoning of why the old man would “lie”. Juror Nine states,’’ This is a quiet insignificant man who has been nothing all his life, and has never had any recognition,’’ (326). Juror Nine seems to be describing himself as he explains the witness’ motives. This quote is also significant because it can relate to Juror Nine’s situation in this jury room. In the beginning of the play, Juror Nine is seen as a weaker character, cast aside by some of the other more aggressive jurors. However Nine becomes a rather more significant juror when he sides with Juror Eight. As the play progresses, Juror Nine stands up to Juror Three and Ten. He later earns the respect and attention of the other jurors. He delivers the message that if you want the respect of your peers you need to prove to them that you are worth listening to.

The movie was preferably better than the movie because the actors were able to deliver strong emotions and powerful use of tone.

This conveyed the central messages better than the play because in the play you had to envision in your mind (with a bit of imagination) the scene and the juror. In the movie, you could clearly see the situation and actors laid out for you. The actors were able to pack a punch and help you really experience the situation first-hand. People in their everyday lives, face peer pressure and often follow the crowd. It just takes one person to make a difference. It’s easier to stand along side one person rather than alone. By demonstrating the courage to do so you will also earn the respect of others around you. Its important to respect people for who they are in the present, and not who they were in the

past,