Themes Characters Background Twelve Angry Men

Introduction Evidence - Man has been stabbed What do you think? Guilty? - No alibi - Woman’s testimony - Old man’s testimony Not-guilty ?

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

Rose is one of the outstanding television playwrights to emerge from the "Golden Age" of television drama anthology series. Rose takes a place in history at the top of the craft of television writing. In addition to other accolades, Rose was nominated for six Emmy awards during his career, and won three

Twelve Angry Men Was 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..

Other Works Escape from Sobibor (mini-series), CBS, The Twilight Zone- contributed to episodes

Historical Context 1950s 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.

Discrimination Some 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 Is the administration of the law Fairness Righteousness

Integrity Adherance to a code of values. oJuror # Eight

Brief Introduction to U.S Judicial System In America, there is a principle guiding a criminal court: the accused is convicted beyond reasonable doubt. In other words, innocent until proven guilty.

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.

Juror: a member of a jury. Foreman: the leader of a jury. Jury: a group of up to 12 people, called “jurors” whose duty is to listen to the evidence given in a court trial and decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty

Innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof in on the prosecution. The American legal system is based on the confrontation principle with the prosecutor trying his utmost to prove the accused guilty and the defense lawyer trying his best to prove his client not guilty. When all the facts are out, then the jury makes a decision

Vocabulary The division of an act The first major division of a play A text that is acted out in front of an audience PlayAct 1Scene 1Scene 2Act 2Scene 1

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 #1 The 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. “