12 Angry Men

A person’s surroundings can influence him. In 12 ANGRY MEN by Reginald Rose a young man’s life is held by twelve men with contrasting views. Eight - a caring man who wishes to talk about why the other jurors think that the boy is guilty clashes with Three - a sadistic man who would pull the switch himself to end the boy’s life. According to Rose, several elements can influence a jury's verdict, such as the emotional make-up of individual jurors.


Many elements can change a juror’s decision. Juror Three, who is convinced that the boy is guilty, is allied with Four who is eventually convinced Eights showing of how the two testimonies given by the old woman and old man are lies, votes guilty. Three outraged by this exclaims "A guilty man's going to be walking the streets... he's got to die! Stay with me."


But Four sees the truth that Eight has brought into the light and still votes guilty. Eight tries to convince Three how the boy is not guilty beyond reasonable doubt but Three does not listen and would rather see the boy die. "For this kid, you bet I'd pull the switch."


This shows how emotionally unstable Three is. He is a grown man living in a civilized community and would like to see a boy who he does not even know die by his own hands. Eight does not think highly of Three for what he says about killing the boy and shouts you’re a sadist." This is the absolute truth about Three.


The emotional make-up of a juror can change his decision on whether or not to let a man live or die. When someone is asked judge someone else, should not you look at all the facts to be sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man who committed the crime is guilty? Yes, a juror should look at all the facts but some do not, they just judge the person on how that person feels.





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