Twelve Angry Men shows that one man can make a difference. ’ Do you agree? Rose’s dramatic teleplay ‘Twelve Angry Men’ was written in a time of social upheaval in which the United States witnessed the calamitous misuses of the justice system during the McCarthy era. The play centres around twelve men who are given the task of deciding the fate of a sixteen year old boy, charged with his father’s murder. Set in the 1950s, in a New York Courtroom, Rose reveals that compassion and understanding are essential in order to serve justice.
The playwright expresses this view through the protagonist Juror 8 as he reveals how we should value a system of democracy. Yet, through the 8th jurors’ sense of compassion and integrity, he is able to appeal to the other jurors’ sense of humanity in order to allow them to give the boy a chance. Through the varying experiences and perceptions of the twelve jurors, they are able deliberate and scrutinise the evidence in a careful manner. Hence, Rose enforces the importance of the twelve jurors in attaining a sense of fairness as it provides the only means for justice. well done) In the initial stages of the play, the majority of the jurors are ignorant and their desire for expedience potentially hinders the course of justice. Despite the seriousness of the tone of the judge’s monologue, when he reminds the jurors to deliberate “honestly and thoughtfully” it appears that a fair trial will not be possible as the jurors’ indifferent attitudes become evident to the audience. This is shown through the majority of jurors voting “guilty” as they perceive the accused as a “dangerous killer, you could see it”.
The Term Paper on Reasonable Doubt Juror Boy Man
In Twelve Angry Men, the audience gets to view the two sides of the legal system. We view the institution that would want to be objective, and the human element, the jury, where each individual brings his own personal subjective point of view. This movie exposes the different types of people called to judge ones peers and the complexity of human nature and what different circumstances influence a ...
This demonstrates the subjectivity of their judgements as they have not yet deliberated on the evidence. The light hearted attitudes of the jurors become evident to the audience when the 7th Juror offers some “gum” to the 8th Juror and when the 3rd and 12th Jurors “play tic tac toe on the class pad”. The juxtaposition between the gravity of the judge’s words with the relaxed atmosphere of the jury room shocks the audience as the jurors are seen as unaware and unconcerned about the process of deliberation. After all, it is their considerations which determine whether the young boy will live or die.
Hence, Rose demonstrates that the ignorant attitudes of the majority of the jurors may perhaps hinder a fair trial for the accused. In contrast to the “others” frivolous attitudes, there remains the 8th juror who plays an instrumental role in acting as a catalyst for change, challenging the snap judgements of the other jurors, thus ensuring that the accused will be fairly treated. At the commencement of the play Rose positions the jurors to “take their seats” as the 8th Juror “continues to stare out of the window”. This exemplifies his complex and knowledgeable view of society and his capacity for reflection.
His dissociation with the rest of the Jurors is further exemplified when the “8th Juror does not hear the Foreman” as he calls his name repeatedly. This drives the dramatic intensity of the play in the claustrophobic room as the 8th Juror is the only juror that votes “not guilty”. The 8th Jurors sense of reason and integrity is revealed as he says “We are talking about someone’s life here. I mean we can’t decide in five minutes suppose we’re wrong? ”. His sense of empathy is contrasted with the attitudes of the other jurors as they respond “angrily” and “shouting”.
This sense of heightened conflict is mirrored through the weather and confinement of the “very hot” jury room. The physical closeness and heat within the jury room intensifies the heated tensions between the jurors, therefore adding to their discomfort. This assists in the difficulty of the 8th Jurors role in demonstrating the importance of reasonable doubt as “it is a safeguard to our system”. It is after all, the 8th Juror who points out to the other jurors their over reliance of the circumstantial evidence as they believe the old man’s testimony is a “fact”.
The Essay on A Rose For Emily part 1
A Rose for Emily The Faulkner's short story Rose for Emily rightfully belongs among other classical works of American literature of the beginning of twentieth century. This is largely due to the fact that author was able to introduce the readers to the original spirit of decaying South, while creating an emotional controversy, which makes his story so memorable. It is undoubtedly a love story, ...
This is explored as the 3rd Juror says “the old man said so… that’s enough for me”. Yet, the 8th Juror allows them to consider the importance of “reasonable doubt” and weakens their circumstantial evidence by saying “sometimes the facts are wrong! ”. In response to the 8th Jurors reflection, the 9th Juror changes his vote to “not guilty” as he “wants to hear more”. Rose uses the 8th Juror to voice the need for democratic principles such as rationality and reason in the process of deliberation.
Therefore, Rose demonstrates that it is the characteristics of the 8th Juror which gain the audience’s admiration and cause changes in the views of the other jurors. This increases the possibility of the achievement of justice. Yet, despite the strength of Juror 8, a minority of the jurors maintain a sense of prejudice and bigotry which act as a potential tool in hindering a fair trial. Such attitudes cause tensions and confrontations which slow down the delivery of the verdict. This is evident through the generalised statements of the 10th Juror as he says “its those people I’m telling you”.
His constant use of “they” highlights his utter abhorrence towards people from slum backgrounds, thus weakening his ability to examine the evidence in an objective light. Rose reveals the depth of his intolerance and the anger simmering within as he says “if we don’t watch it, if we don’t smack them down whenever we can, then they’re gonna own us! ” . This shows that feels threatened by the people from the slums. Rose reveals that his extremist views reflect the ideals of a past era as they are no longer in step with a modern multicultural and democratic society.
Racist attitudes towards other ethnic groups also hinder the course of justice. This is shown when Juror 11 questions Juror 7s understanding of the legal term “reasonable doubt” as Juror 7 claims that migrants “come over to this country.. running.. telling us how to run the show”. Rose thereby highlights the fallible sense of humanity and how racism may creep into the justice system. Similarly, the 3rd Juror also suffers from prejudice. Yet, unlike the other Jurors, his sense of prejudice has derived from a personal experience with his own son where he has “not seen him in two years”.
The Essay on Upgrading Justice
What is justice? By definition the word Justice can mean different things. To most Americans, justice is when someone who has committed a crime goes before a judge or a jury of his or her peers and is punished for their actions. At the same time injustice can occur in the same settings. For some Americans justice is served as long as someone is behind bars or convulsing violently in an electric ...
He’s sees the defendant’s alleged treatment of his father with that of his son’s rejection of him. His psychological pain is further exposed when the “others are silent” as he says “I know him. What they’re like”. This enables the audience to feel some sort of compassion towards the 3rd Juror as they realise he is unable to view the case in an objective way. It is only when the 8th Juror reminds him the “He’s not your boy, he’s somebody else” that he is able to see that it is his own personal vendetta towards his son that has blinded him.
Indeed, Juror 3’s personality initially stifles the potential for a fair trial; however his stoicism also allows proceedings to be drawn out such that the evidence is examined closely. Through the reflection of the attitudes of the era, Rose reveals that intolerance is universal and may allow for injustice to prevail if left unchallenged. While it is primarily Juror 8 who serves to contradict the unanimous guilty verdict, the other jurors also begin to question the reliability of the witness’s testimony.
As Rose’s play reflects the jury system which is made up of people of all facets of life, he demonstrates the notion that it may enable the evidence to be scrutinised from a variety of different perspectives. The process should be challenging as shown by the use of the ‘scarred table’; careful deliberation, conflict and anger at times is the only way to ensure that all the evidence has been full considered. The anonymity of the jurors has been made deliberate my Rose in order to represent each character as a a part of a larger society.
The playwright uses the jurors as symbols of types of behaviour in order to demonstrate that it is after all, the juror’s experiences and motives that may contribute to the achievement of reasonable doubt by the close of the play. This is shown when the 9th Juror is able to identify that the “insignificant old man” could have invented his story due to the craving of attention. He also questions the eye sight of the forty-five year old woman that testified she saw the killing as she had “marks on her nose”.
The Essay on Main Factors Which Enable Students To Experience Effective Learning
In my view there are many varying theories relating to the effective learning of students. Are the students right-side of brain learning based, or left-sided learning based. Do they fit in to the category of activist, pragmatist, theorist or reflector as espoused by Honey and Mumford (1992). Kolb’s Experiencial Learning Cycle is yet another popular model of which to refer, expanded by Gibbs(1998). ...
The audience accepts his deliberation as the logical 4th Juror directly clarifies his argument by saying that “no one wears glasses to bed”. Ironically the 9th Juror is an “old man” yet his powers of observation cause the others to pause and reconsider their swift verdicts. The use of experience in aiding a “reasonable doubt” is also emphasised by Rose through the 5th Juror as his personal experience in the slum enables him to directly relate to the accused and his situation. By pointing out that an experienced individual would use a switch blade in his “upper hand”, Rose endorses the notion that ‘sometimes the facts are wrong’.
Such varying opinions of the jury members allow for the evidence to be placed back into perspective. This is reflected through the 11th Juror as he says ‘Facts may be coloured by the personalities of the people who present them’ . This suggests that the jurors’ unique perspectives may allow for the weaknesses in the witness’s testimony to be magnified. Thus, Rose demonstrates that it is the differing backgrounds and experiences of the other jurors that enable for the evidence to become fully scrutinised, hence enabling a fair trial for the defendant.
Overall, through the use of symbolism and a wide plethora of characters of varying backgrounds, Rose is able to present to the audience that it is the varying backgrounds of those within the jury system that assist in the system of checks and balances of the judicial system, enabling for the achievement of justice. In the commencement of the play, the majority of the jurors are seen to hinder the achievement of a “reasonable doubt” as they are unable to carry out their roles in a suitable manner. However, as the others are challenged by the 8th Juror, they are able to reconsider their swift verdicts.
The jury system is a human institution; therefore a fair result will only be accomplished if all of the individuals involved are willing to carry out their roles with reason and integrity. Rose ultimately underscores the ability for a reliable and fair method of justice, through the words of the 11th juror, as the “remarkable thing about democracy”. So while the 8th juror is essential at the start of the play, by the end of Act One the other Jurors are taking an active role; even before this, in pursuit of justice.
The Essay on Us Court System
U.S. Court System (1) In his article Racially Biased Justice Still Infects American Courtrooms, Jesse Jackson argues that American legal system is biased towards representatives of racial minorities. He describes the incident at Jena High School, when six Black students were charged with aggravated assault, after they crippled up a White youth, who they suspected of being a racist. Apparently, ...