ipl-logo

12 Angry Men Essay

950 Words4 Pages

The jury deliberation procedure in a homicide trial in New York City is examined in the film Twelve Angry Men. The film explores how prejudice, personal experiences, and emotion may obstruct the American judicial system and how compassion, reason, and logic can safeguard and defend due process. The ideas and or beliefs of prejudice , personal experience, and emotions not only have an impact on today's society but had an impact on a 1950’ s courtroom as well. First the theme of prejudice is very relevant as many of the jurors are more concerned about their personal lives than they are about giving this 16 year old boy a fair trial. Either that or they came into the courtrooms with preconceived opinions about the case before they actually heard the whole story. A few …show more content…

An example from the play Twelve Angry Men includes a statement that says “ This time, instead of making an argument for reason and compassion as the 8th Juror did, the 3rd Juror struggles to stick to the facts at all. As the rest of the jury looks on in silence, he breaks down. He says he can feel the knife going into his own body, emphasizing that for him, the case has always been about his estrangement from his own son. The other jurors plead with him to see past his personal issues and emphasize that the boy on trial is not his son (Twelve Angry Men: Full Book Analysis | SparkNotes”).” This relates to today's society because it ties into a juror being compromised such as in the Alex Murdaugh case when these jurors more than likely went into the courtroom and had dealt with someone in the
Murdaugh family beforehand just because they were big time lawyers. A source states that “ A
Cloud 3 juror in Alex Murdaugh’s double-homicide trial was removed on Thursday for “improper conversations” about the case with several people outside court. Judge Clifton Newman said she was bounced after a lengthy investigation by two agents, one of whom was a witness for

Show More
Related

  • 12 Angry Men Rhetorical Analysis

    681 Words  | 3 Pages

    Faced with a question of this magnitude, the jurors fight to bring their opinion to light, while also attempting to keep themselves from attaching to the case and to the boy, citing that there's always something else to do, something else to care about. Through the use of pathos in 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose, he illustrates the detachment of jurors within a court case is dangerous. Juries, by

    Read More

  • What Is 12 Angry Men Jury Duty

    1108 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jury duty is often regarded by most of society as a dull and tiresome obligation. Perhaps one would be inclined to change their assessment if jury duty meant you and eleven other men were the only thing standing between a boy and the electric chair. The teleplay Twelve Angry Men, written by Reginald Rose, tells the story of a 1950’s court case wherein a young man, under suspicion of murdering his father, faces the death penalty. The script centers around the twelve men of the jury as they decide whether or not the boy will live or die. As tensions start to run higher, the jurors get into intense arguments, sometimes letting outside biases overtake them.

    Read More

  • 12 Angry Men Flaws

    939 Words  | 4 Pages

    The U.S. justice system is a concept that has come under scrutiny many times over the 200-plus years of its existence, but which still exists in much the same form today as when it was first devised. “12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose is a theatrical drama that portrays many of the merits and faults of the jury-based judicial system. Some of the pros that are shown include how the input of many different people and backgrounds can result in a greater truth being uncovered, and how the voice of even a single man can be heard and considered by all jury members. Some cons that the play illustrates include how there can instances in which jury members merely go with the immediate popular opinion on the verdict, whether because they are susceptible to peer pressure or merely because they’d rather the case be over with as quickly as possible. Rose himself seems to be generally in favor of the current U.S. justice system, as the characters who represent the negative aspects of the system are shown to be hateful and irrational men, while the opposite is true for the people who represent the system’s more positive qualities.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Jury System Essay

    1215 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the modern-day judicial system, prejudiced jurors are one of the leading concerns; this is outlined in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. In this novel, Lee reveals the racial injustices vividly happening in trials. By revealing the prejudiced jury system, the court cannot be trusted as it is now corrupt. Bias in jury

    Read More

  • Character Differences In 12 Angry Men

    1133 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Film 12 Angry Men, written by Reginald Rose, is a film written about the American jury system. In the film, as in any part in life, emotions are a tricky thing; This is especially true for the 3rd, 7th, and 8th jurors. One of the main themes in the film questions that of the emotions of the jurors. That question is: Is it possible to keep personal prejudice and emotions out of a trial? Is this even a good or bad thing?

    Read More

  • Ethos Pathos In 12 Angry Men

    997 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his play Twelve Angry Men, Reginald Rose brings us back in time to 1957, to a jury room of a New York Court of Law where one man, Juror #8, confronts the rest of the jury to look at a homicide case without prejudice, and ultimately convinces Juror #2, a very soft-spoken man who at first had little say in the deliberation. Throughout the play, many of the jurors give convincing arguments that make one think about whether the boy is “guilty” or “not guilty.” Ultimately, one is convinced by ethos, logos, and pathos. We can see ethos, logos, and pathos having an effect on Juror #2 as he begins as a humble man and changes into someone brave at the end. Although all three modes play a part in convincing Juror #2, pathos was the most influential

    Read More

  • Examples Of Prejudice In 12 Angry Men

    741 Words  | 3 Pages

    In "Twelve Angry Men," written by Reginald Rose, the jurors base their decisions on their own prejudices rather than solely on the evidence presented in court. Throughout the play, various examples of prejudice are exposed, and these biases ultimately shape the jurors' decisions. In this essay, I will identify different forms of prejudice exposed in the play and explain how they impact the jurors' decision-making process. One form of prejudice exposed in the play is racism. For example, Juror 10 is openly racist and refers to the defendant, who is of a different race, as "these people."

    Read More

  • Juror 3 In Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men

    434 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Reginald Rose’s play, Twelve Angry Men, he depicts a story of 12 jurors quarreling to decide the fate of a 19-year-old boy who stands accused of murdering his father. Juror 3, a stubborn man characterized by his dogmatic and uncompromising personality, is one of those jurors. Rose uses Juror 3, along with his prejudices, past, and the clashing of opinions, to demonstrate the themes of personal accountability and diverse experiences. When debating if the boy should get a second chance because of his unfortunate past, Juror 3 mentions his son “When he was fifteen he hit me in the face” (Rose 20). Juror 3’s past illuminates how his personal biases affect his judgment toward the boy.

    Read More

  • 12 Angry Men Legal System Flaws

    686 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have your ever thought about the flaws in our US Legal System shown in Twelve Angry Men? In our US Legal System, we have major flaws that we have found to realize, but never fixed. These flaws show how the US Legal System treats the citizens. During the play, we see the judge on the first page mention, "I urge you to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully". This was not done during the play, which this'll show how the jury system can be like.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On 12 Angry Men

    549 Words  | 3 Pages

    What if one day, twenty years from now you were chosen to discuss the fate of an eighteen year old boy. What would you do? Would you take your job and do it responsibly, or would you do it like some of the Jurors in 12 Angry Men and blow it off so you can finish early and leave. Even though there was a lot of controversy in that jury room, I noticed that Jurors 3,7, and 9 used their personalities, beliefs, and views of their responsibilities to bring the boy on trial to justice. This very excitable juror is the last to change his vote, and while his stubbornness could be seen as being based more on emotions than facts, he starts off with his little notebook with facts of the case and tries to insist that he has no personal feelings on the matter.

    Read More

  • 12 Angry Men Groupthink Analysis

    842 Words  | 4 Pages

    Juror 3 was intimidating the other jurors, trying to convince them to stick with the guilty verdict. Juror 2 was guilty of self-censorship agreeing with the rest of the group to influence his decisions. The whole group began with the illusion of unanimity. According to Janis illusion of unanimity is, “the majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.” (Psysr.org,

    Read More

  • 12 Angry Men Analysis

    814 Words  | 4 Pages

    ‘Twelve Angry Men’ written by Reginald Rose, is based on the story of a jury who have to come together to determine the fate of a young boy accused to have murdered his own father. Initially, eleven of the jurors vote not guilty with one of the juror being uncertain of the evidence put before them. As the men argue over the different pieces of evidence, the insanity begins to make sense and the decision becomes clearer as they vote several other times. Rose creates drama and tension in the jury room, clearly exploring through the many issues of prejudice, integrity and compassion, in gaining true justice towards the accused victim. These aspects have been revealed through three character who are Juror 10, Juror 8 and Juror 3.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Social Injustice In 12 Angry Men

    803 Words  | 4 Pages

    This process continues throughout the course of the movie, and each juror’s biases is slowly revealed. Earlier through the movie, it is already justifiable to label juror 10 as a bigoted racist as he reveals strong racist tendencies against the defendant, stating his only reason for voting guilty is the boy’s ethnicity and background. . Another interesting aspect of this 1957 film is the “reverse prejudice” portrayed by juror

    Read More

  • The Justice System In Twelve Angry Men

    591 Words  | 3 Pages

    The justice system that relies on twelve individuals reaching a life-or-death decision has many complications and dangers. The play Twelve Angry Men, by Reiginald Rose, illustrates the dangers of a justice system that relies on twelve people reaching a life-or-death decision because people are biased, they think of a jury system as an inconvenience, and many people aren’t as intelligent as others. The first reason why Reiginald illustrates dangers is because people can be biased or they can stereotype the defendant. The Jurors in Twelve Angry Men relate to this because a few of them were biased and several of them stereotyped the defendant for being from the slums. The defendant in this play was a 19 year old kid from the slums.

    Read More

  • Social Psychology In The Movie Twelve Angry Men

    721 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movie “Twelve Angry Men” illustrates lots of social psychology theories. This stretched and attractive film, characterize a group of jurors who have to decide the innocence or guiltiness of an accused murder. They are simply deliberating the destiny of a Puerto Rican teenaged boy accused of murdering his father. Initially, as the film begins, except the juror Davis (Henry Fonda), all other jurors vote guilty. Progressively, the jurors begin trying to compromise on a point that everybody agree because the decision of the jury has to be unanimous.

    Read More

More about 12 Angry Men Essay

Open Document