ThemesCharactersBackground

Twelve Angry Men

•Reginald Rose: born December 10, 1920 – died April 19, 2002•He was an American film and television writer most widely known for his work in the early years of television drama. •Rose is known for writing about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach helped create the genre of television drama of the 1950’s.

Reginald Rose

Twelve Angry MenWas originally written for television by

Reginald Rose.Reginald originally got the idea to write the

show after he served on the jury of a murder case. Some of the events that take place in the story actually happened.

The play, written by Sherman Sergel, is an adaptation of the television production.

Historical Context1950’s

A socially conservative time.People were very materialistic. The

American Dream had turned into the dream of owning things.

Juvenile delinquency was said to be at an all-time high

African Americans were subject to racial discrimination.

Comics were published and growing in popularity.

Television sales were booming.

DiscriminationSome of the jurors think the boy is guilty

because of his background and ethnicity.Slum: A thickly populated area marked by

poverty and dirty or deteriorating houses.(No.8) “I don’ t think it was a very strong move.

This boy has been hit so many times that violence is practically a normal state of affairs with him. I just can’t see two slaps in the face would have provoked him into committing murder.”

Justice

The administration of the lawFairnessRighteousness

IntegrityAdherance to a code of values.

o Juror # Eight

Important terms to know:Burden of proof: the necessity of proof always

lies with the person who lays charges.Due process of law: the state must allow all of

the legal rights that are owed to a person under the law.

Presumption of innocence: the defendant is legally assumed to be innocent until he or she is proven guilty.

Circumstantial evidence: evidence used which may or may not be true.

Reasonable doubt: doubt of a person’s guilt based on evidence or reason.

Vocabulary

VocabularyAbstain: Refrain from an actionAntagonize: To provoke hostilityCoroner: Doctor who investigates causes of

death.Deliberate: Carefully think through.Drab: DullPetty Jury: A jury of twelve peopleRapport: RelationshipSubservient: Passive and obedient

VocabularyDialogue: Conversation between two or more

parties.Naïve: Someone who is inexperienced in the ways

of the world.Unanimous: The agreement of all.Hung Jury: A jury that cannot agree.Sadist: Someone who enjoys seeing other people

suffer.Reasonable doubt: Doubt based on evidence or

reason.Premeditated: Planned before an act is performed.Homicide: Murder.Bigot: Someone who is racist and discriminates

against people.

Act 1Takes place in a jury room where most of

the jurors think the defendant is guilty of murder.

Jurors 7 and 10 ridicule the defendants story.

Juror 8 votes “not guilty”The jurors discuss the facts of the caseThere is a call for a secret vote.The result of the vote is 10 guilty and 2 not

guilty

Act 2We find out that juror 9 cast the second not

guilty vote.The jurors discuss the case further taking a

close look at the facts of the case.Juror 3 becomes enraged and swears to kill

juror 8

Act 3

The jurors take another vote the results of the vote are 6 to 6.

The jurors discuss the case moreThe jurors take another vote the results are

11 to 1.Juror 3 stands alone in his conviction that

the defendant is guilty.Eventually, juror 3 gives in to the pressure

and votes not guilty.The jury gives their recommendation to the

court and the defendant is set free.

Characters

Foreman

Juror two

Juror three

Juror four

A small, petty man who holds authority over jury. He is formal and not overly bright.

A meek hesitant man who finds it difficult to maintain any opinions of his own.

A very strong, forceful, opinionated man with whom can be detected a streak of sadism.

A man of wealth and position. He presents himself as a little bit above the rest of the jurors.

Characters

Juror five

Juror six

Juror seven

Juror eight

A naïve, frightened young man who takes the case very seriously.

An honest man who makes decisions slowly and carefully.

A loud, flashy salesman who has more important things to do than to sit on a jury.

A quiet, thoughtful, gentleman who sees all sides of the story and constantly seeks the truth.

Characters

Juror nine

Juror ten

Juror eleven

Juror twelve

A mild, gentle, old man who has been defeated by life, and now simply waits to die.

An angry, bitter, antagonistic man. He is a bigot and places no value on human life.

A refugee from Europe. He speaks with an accent and seeks justice.

A slick, bright advertising man who thinks of human beings in terms of percentages, graphs, and polls.

Witness #1The old man who lived on the

second floor under the room where the murder took place.

The old man heard loud noises and then heard “I’m going to kill you” in the upstairs apartment . A second later, he heard a body falling.

He saw the kid running down the stairs and out of the house.

Witness #2“Here’s a woman who’s lying in

bed. She can’t sleep. It’s hot.And right across the street, she sees the kid stick his knife into his father’s chest. Look, she has known the kid all his life. And she swore she saw him do it. “