What Does Juror 8 Mean In 12 Angry Men

Heroism: this word has different meanings throughout the world, but the various interpretations usually include qualities like courage and compassion, and also handsomeness and strength. While history has always maintained that the latter of those qualities are the most important in determining whether someone is a hero or not, many people today do not agree. True heroes, be they male or female, traditionally attractive or not, weak or strong, can change the world for the better, and many of them do. True heroes champion others and show courage in the face of adversity, regardless of external pressures and personal circumstances. Juror 8 from Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men is one of these heroes; he willingly stands up to his biased and prejudiced

peers for a powerless boy whose life rests in their hands.

Arthur Ashe once said, “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.

It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” Juror 8 is the only one from the twelve men who votes ‘not guilty’ in the beginning, and even he admits that it “[may be] for no reason”; however, he quite rightly thinks that this boy, this defendant in a huge system that is currently running because of people like these jurors, deserves more contemplation on his case, more recognition than a ‘yeah, he’s guilty.’ Juror 8 makes it his job to be the boy’s sole advocate in a room full of twelve men, although he knows that both the odds and his peers in the room are against him. He shows compassion [only the first from a long line of heroic qualities that Juror 8 embodies] for a stranger, one that definitely could have just murdered his father, and gives this boy a second chance at a trial with Juror 8 himself as the lawyer, and his prejudiced peers as the judges. Consequently, he stands up against men who constantly threaten him with physical violence and slurs, and most people cannot do that. In today’s society, we shun those who don’t go with the flow; millions of articles and magazines published every day feed on the reader’s insecurity of not being ‘mainstream’. If challenging this belief that ‘normal’ is good is difficult today, where we constantly have revolutionary movements like ‘Occupy Wall Street’ or ‘LGBTQ+ Pride’, it must have been nearly impossible in the era of conservativeness, prejudice, and racism that was the norm in the mid-twentieth century. This bravery is one of the most prominent aspects of heroism, and Juror 8 is truly one of the most courageous jurors in that facet. Additionally, Juror 8 believes that prejudice should not stand in the way of justice. One of the ways that Juror 8 removes credibility from the evidence that Juror 3 , or 10, or 4 constantly bring up is by revealing their prejudice. He tells Juror 3

that he is a sadist for wanting the defendant to die just because he [the juror] has a bad relationship with his son, and asks Juror 10 why he trusts any of the witnesses since they are also from the slums, which according to Juror 4, are “breeding grounds for criminals.” Juror 8 admits that “prejudice always obscures the truth”, but he also informs the others that the concept of reasonable doubt is there so that the jury as a group can disregard their personal opinions to achieve justice and declare a verdict that is as close to the truth as humanly possible. By doing this, Juror 8 exemplifies another heroic quality: the search for justice. Thus, Juror 8 is a true hero: he demonstrates courage, intelligence, and compassion throughout Twelve Angry Men.

In our society, when we think of a hero, we think of a strong, dashing young knight who rides to the rescue on a white horse to save the struggling, helpless commoner. Juror 8 does not fit many of these criteria: he is a forty-year-old architect with two children and a wiry build; in fact, he only fits one of them, in which he saves the struggling commoner. However, he is a true hero. Heroes in reality stand up for others less fortunate and .in the process, reveal their courage and bravery by opposing society while being well aware of the consequences. These people embody courage and compassion, and they impact the world your decades to come.