Essay/Term paper: 12 angry men: influence of surroundings

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Research Papers

12 Angry Men: Influence of Surroundings


A persons surroundings can influence him. In "12 Angry Men" by Reginald
Rose a young mans life is held by twelve men with contrasing 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 swith himselfto
end the boys life. Accroding to Rose, several elements can infulence a jury's
verdict, such as the emotional make-up of individual jurors.

Many elements can change a jurors decision. Juror Three, who is convincd
that the boy is guilty, is allied with Four who is eventually convicedEights
showing of how the two testimonies given by the old woman and old man are lies,
votes guilty. Three outraged by this exclames "A guilty man's gonna be walking
the streets... he's got to die! Stay with me." (23) But Four sees the truth that
Eight has brought into th light and still votes guilty. Eight tries to convince
Three how the boy is not guilty beyond reasonable doubt but Three does not
listen adn would rather see the boy die. "For this kid, you bet I'd pull the
switch."(17) 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 "your a sadist."(17) which is the
absolute truth about Three.

The emotional make-up of a juror can change his desicision on wther or
not to let a man live or die. When someone is asked judge someone else, shoud
not you look at al the facts to be sure beyond a shoadow of a doubt that the
man who cimmitted 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.