Twelve Angry Men
Twelve Angry Men is the story of people who are in conflict with each other, constantly
shifting sides and perspectives, all using the tools of persuasion and argument to attempt
to convince each other of the truth of the case they are here to judge.
While the protagonist is obviously Juror 8 and the antagonist is Juror 3, there are many
more people and conflicts involved in this play. Each stage of the development of the
jurys deliberations brings with it new opponents, if even for a moment.
Consider five jurors for whom the facts are slowly altered: the intellectual, Juror 4; the
advertising man, Juror 12; the old man, Juror 9; the sports fan, Juror 7; and the racist,
Juror 10. Each of them is convinced over the course of the play that their original
perspective was mistaken or rushed; each moves to a new realization over the course of
their discussion with the other eleven jurors.
Discuss three of the above five jurors in a well thought out essay. Describe what each one
had to deal with while their minds changed, what prompted them to make the shift, and
what arguments convinced them. Your
primary job is to explain how they were
persuaded to change from where they were to where they ended up.
Your introduction should describe the basics of the play, giving a short summary of what
is going on. (It is not necessary to go into detail about all the evidence you will do that
in the body if necessary.) Your thesis should explain the basic rule the common
concept that gets them to change their votes. This can be very abstract (All of then are
convinced in different ways that their first impression was wrong), but it must be clear
and valid. Each body paragraph must address the process of change (where they start in
the discussion, leading to where they end and become convinced to change their vote) for
one of the jurors. You may need more than one paragraph to address a juror, but be sure
to deal with a total of three jurors, taken from the list above. If you have a burning
desire to address a juror not on the above list, you must clear it with me first. Your
conclusion should explain how the three jurors fates and choices are tied together.
An outline must be submitted before the essay is written.