Common Themes
Perseverance
Perseverance is a strong theme in Twelve Angry Men. At the beginning of the play, eleven of the twelve men are in favor of a guilty verdict. This is before any discussion has even occurred. Because the Jury's decision requires a unanimous vote, the guilty verdict could not be carried out immediately; Juror Eight, the one man who voted not guilty, would have to change his vote first. However, Juror Eight does not let this intimidate or pressure him. He stands his ground and respectfully gives the other Jurors his reasoning. After Act I, Eight's arguments manage to change Nine's vote to not guilty. In Act II, Eight debunks the old man's entire testimony through simple math logic and a re-enactment. At the beginning of Act III, the jury stands six to six. Because of Eight's perseverance, he swayed the votes of five men and tied the jury. This is an impressive feat, especially for the wide range of personalities and biases of the jury. About half-way through Act III, One and Twelve change their vote to not guilty after Five and Eight point out that the stab wound was made by an inexperienced knife-fighter, therefore it is unlikely the suspect was responsible. Seven also changes his vote to not guilty in order to speed up the verdict process. At the end of Act III, the woman's testimony is debunked because it is unlikely she could have seen the murder in detail without her glasses. This brings Four and Ten to the not guilty side. Finally, Three also changes his vote. All this could not have happened without Eight's perseverance. He had the courage to stand alone and managed to change the minds of eleven stubborn men.
Bias
Many Jurors enter the Jury room with personal bias. Jurors Three, Ten, and Eight display the most evident bias.
Three is hell-bent on the suspect's guilt from the very beginning. He feels a connection between the young suspect and his own estranged son. It seems as though Three is trying to be as tough as possible on the suspect in order to subconsciously fix his lack of power he has over his son. Whatever his reasoning, Three refuses to hear any of Eight's compelling arguments. He is the last Juror to accept a not guilty verdict.
Ten also is convinced of the suspect's guilt from the beginning, but for a different reason than Three. Ten only refers to the suspect as "one of them." He sees the suspect as something less than human. As soon as he learns of the suspect's rough upbrining, he clumps him with all other criminals who come from slums and abusive childhoods. Ten has no compassion or room in his mind to consider the suspect an exception to his dangerous generalization. According to Ten, everyone who lives in slums are a threat. They are liars, drunks, fighters, and feel no regret for their actions. He expresses this in Act III when the vote changes to nine in favor of a not guilty verdict.
Unlike Three and Ten, Eight desperately wants to believe the suspect is innocent. At the beginning of the play, he sympathsizes with the suspect because he pities his rough upringing, not because of the evidence. As the play goes on however, his symapthy turns into determination to prove the suspect's innocence. He turns to the evidence given and looks carefully for any flaws. He finds many, which eventually brings the rest of the Jurors onto his side.
Representative Democracy (Republic)
The entire play is set in a jury room, which is a perfect symbol of America's representative democracy. Twelve men are randomly chosen to hear a trial and decide the fate of the accused based on the evidence given. The men are strangers to each other and to the suspect. This is a very special procedure many Americans take for granted. Citizens are given the chance to voice their opinions and make important decisions that will directly affect society. Yet, very few of us appreciate jury duty. We see it as an inconvinience to our personal schedules. However, jury duty gives us a say in government. Another symbol of America's representative democracy in this play is the fact that the suspect even recieved a trial. According to the sixth amendment, in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial with defense counsel. Twelve Angry Men perfectly conveys the theme of representative democracy in America.
Perseverance is a strong theme in Twelve Angry Men. At the beginning of the play, eleven of the twelve men are in favor of a guilty verdict. This is before any discussion has even occurred. Because the Jury's decision requires a unanimous vote, the guilty verdict could not be carried out immediately; Juror Eight, the one man who voted not guilty, would have to change his vote first. However, Juror Eight does not let this intimidate or pressure him. He stands his ground and respectfully gives the other Jurors his reasoning. After Act I, Eight's arguments manage to change Nine's vote to not guilty. In Act II, Eight debunks the old man's entire testimony through simple math logic and a re-enactment. At the beginning of Act III, the jury stands six to six. Because of Eight's perseverance, he swayed the votes of five men and tied the jury. This is an impressive feat, especially for the wide range of personalities and biases of the jury. About half-way through Act III, One and Twelve change their vote to not guilty after Five and Eight point out that the stab wound was made by an inexperienced knife-fighter, therefore it is unlikely the suspect was responsible. Seven also changes his vote to not guilty in order to speed up the verdict process. At the end of Act III, the woman's testimony is debunked because it is unlikely she could have seen the murder in detail without her glasses. This brings Four and Ten to the not guilty side. Finally, Three also changes his vote. All this could not have happened without Eight's perseverance. He had the courage to stand alone and managed to change the minds of eleven stubborn men.
Bias
Many Jurors enter the Jury room with personal bias. Jurors Three, Ten, and Eight display the most evident bias.
Three is hell-bent on the suspect's guilt from the very beginning. He feels a connection between the young suspect and his own estranged son. It seems as though Three is trying to be as tough as possible on the suspect in order to subconsciously fix his lack of power he has over his son. Whatever his reasoning, Three refuses to hear any of Eight's compelling arguments. He is the last Juror to accept a not guilty verdict.
Ten also is convinced of the suspect's guilt from the beginning, but for a different reason than Three. Ten only refers to the suspect as "one of them." He sees the suspect as something less than human. As soon as he learns of the suspect's rough upbrining, he clumps him with all other criminals who come from slums and abusive childhoods. Ten has no compassion or room in his mind to consider the suspect an exception to his dangerous generalization. According to Ten, everyone who lives in slums are a threat. They are liars, drunks, fighters, and feel no regret for their actions. He expresses this in Act III when the vote changes to nine in favor of a not guilty verdict.
Unlike Three and Ten, Eight desperately wants to believe the suspect is innocent. At the beginning of the play, he sympathsizes with the suspect because he pities his rough upringing, not because of the evidence. As the play goes on however, his symapthy turns into determination to prove the suspect's innocence. He turns to the evidence given and looks carefully for any flaws. He finds many, which eventually brings the rest of the Jurors onto his side.
Representative Democracy (Republic)
The entire play is set in a jury room, which is a perfect symbol of America's representative democracy. Twelve men are randomly chosen to hear a trial and decide the fate of the accused based on the evidence given. The men are strangers to each other and to the suspect. This is a very special procedure many Americans take for granted. Citizens are given the chance to voice their opinions and make important decisions that will directly affect society. Yet, very few of us appreciate jury duty. We see it as an inconvinience to our personal schedules. However, jury duty gives us a say in government. Another symbol of America's representative democracy in this play is the fact that the suspect even recieved a trial. According to the sixth amendment, in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial with defense counsel. Twelve Angry Men perfectly conveys the theme of representative democracy in America.