12 Angry Men - 1

For generations, plays have been passed down how they entertain, and also how they guide the audience. It is through dramatic techniques in which move audiences, allowing them to have an insight and appreciation of the playwright’s issues. ‘The Twelve Angry Men’ is a prime example, as it uses its techniques to raise the play’s key ideas on prejudice in the court of jury, educate viewers on the triumph of justice, and emphasising the theme of conviction of the story.
Prejudice is seen as one crucial issue in constituting a verdict for the jury, as two of the jurors are biased against the suspect of the murder. Language and characterisation of the jurors is crucial techniques in which Reginald uses to convey the bitterness of one of the jurors, Juror #10. In the play, he states “Look, you know how these people lie! It's born in them!” halfway through the play, displaying his racial prejudice towards the suspect of murder; generalising slum people as those who “…you cannot trust”. The use of characterisation and speech, allows the audience to recognise the prejudice in the jury some that is justifiable. Tension is also another dramatic technique used to convey the Juror #3 bias against the boy because of his own relationship with his son who “…didn’t know how to fight”. This technique shows the conflicts between him and Juror #8; every time Juror #8 brings up an argument, Juror #3 always rebuts with biased statements, bringing the tension up. However, this tension is always brought down by some a change in stage direction. Shown in ACT II, Juror #2 “moves to the window” after arguing with Juror #8; allowing the play’s audience to perceive Juror #8 as someone who is not biased against the murder suspect, displaying him as someone who was doing the right thing.
Characterisation is another technique used to let audiences understand a fundamental issue of the play; the triumph of justice. Throughout the play, Juror #8 is represented as the one of fair justice through his persistence in questioning reasonable doubt, rather than the other censured jurors, representing them as the fragility of subject. Juror #8’s case and succession in convincing the jury of reasonable doubt is seen by the audience as the triumph of justice, as the Judge states in the beginning of Act 1 “If there is reasonable doubt beyond your mind of the accused…then you must declare him not guilty”, undermining reasonable doubt as something which needs to be considered thoroughly. The idea of triumph of justice and fragility of justice is seen to be linked closely together by the Foreman, who serves as the play’s middleman, representing the theme of social responsibility. In the plot of the play, the Foreman is seen to use his dominant role to control the whole jury, making voting elections during various sessions in the story, which in turn, allowed Juror #8 (the meaning of justice) to face the fragility of justice. It is through him walking to the guard throughout the play that the audience see the tension drop, allowing him to stop the frivolous conflict between the two sides of the jury, and continue when he comes back. The shift from the hot and uncomfortable atmosphere in the beginning to the stormy condition also serves as a turning point for the triumph of justice, after five of the jurors decided that the boy was not guilty.
The Twelve Angry Men emphasises the issue of conviction in the play, a goal in which all of the jurors want to achieve, yet some coming up with different ways to approach. This can be seen through Juror’s #3 and #8 firm beliefs in the guiltiness of the boy, even though they had no evidence to back them up, only generalisations such as “You can’t believe a word they say.” and “The boy is a killer I tell you!” These quotes, respectively stated by Juror #3 and #8, displays the fragile part of justice in the play; helping the audience recognise prejudice as dangerous in justice, especially when it has the power to determine the life or death of someone. Another display of conviction is the way in which some jurors would like to propose reasonable doubt, but are kept quiet by peer pressure. An example is Juror #9’s decision to change his mind after seeing Juror #8 deliberate, displaying him as the symbol of justice. The constant conflict between the two sides of the jury essentially serves as an open window into the conviction ideas of the twelve jurors, allowing the audience to recognise the different conviction thoughts.
Through the use of dramatic techniques, Reginald Rose gives an insight into the many issues of the Twelve Angry Men. For viewers, it educates them on the harsh reality of law and justice in real life, and affects their feelings through this play’s story. Techniques have been an essential tool in crafting the play’s fundamental issues of prejudice, triumph of justice, and conviction, moving the audience undoubtedly.