Literary Analysis 12 Angry Men
Juror #7- The Christ Figure
In the 1957 classic film, ’12 Angry Men’, the writer, Reginald Rose, portrays the antagonist, Juror #7, as a Christ figure. The writer’s use of a few conspicuous similarities made making the initial connection simple. However, the writer’s brilliant use of inconspicuous similarities made researching this paper very enjoyable. It amazes me that a writer takes the time to tuck little morsels of meaning just under the surface of his work. Let’s take a deeper look at ’12 Angry Men’. The film tells the story of a jury of twelve men deliberating over the fate of a teenaged boy accused of stabbing his father to death. When the jury retires to its chamber, the jury foreman assigns each juror a number according to where they were seated around the table. The antagonist was sitting in the seventh chair; therefore, he became Juror # 7. This is the first Christ figure connection I made. The number seven is the most often referred to number in the Bible with the exception of the number one. The number seven is used over 700 times in the Bible. In the Book of Revelations, it is used 54 times. In Hebrew it is considered the perfect number and represents completion. It is used so many times in the Bible to represent completion or perfection, that to reference them all for this paper would take up its entirety. In ’12 Angry Men’, the antagonist is the only juror to place a not guilty vote when the jury took its first vote. The antagonist systematically breaks down the reasoning behind every other juror’s guilty vote. One by one, he exposes the underlying fears and prejudices of each jury member. In doing so, he creates reasonable doubt. In essence, he became the boy’s savior. In the Book of John, Chapter 8, the story is told of an adulteress who is caught in the very act of adultery. In accordance with the law, the woman was to be stoned to death. When asked his opinion of what the woman’s fate should be, Christ
In the 1957 classic film, ’12 Angry Men’, the writer, Reginald Rose, portrays the antagonist, Juror #7, as a Christ figure. The writer’s use of a few conspicuous similarities made making the initial connection simple. However, the writer’s brilliant use of inconspicuous similarities made researching this paper very enjoyable. It amazes me that a writer takes the time to tuck little morsels of meaning just under the surface of his work. Let’s take a deeper look at ’12 Angry Men’. The film tells the story of a jury of twelve men deliberating over the fate of a teenaged boy accused of stabbing his father to death. When the jury retires to its chamber, the jury foreman assigns each juror a number according to where they were seated around the table. The antagonist was sitting in the seventh chair; therefore, he became Juror # 7. This is the first Christ figure connection I made. The number seven is the most often referred to number in the Bible with the exception of the number one. The number seven is used over 700 times in the Bible. In the Book of Revelations, it is used 54 times. In Hebrew it is considered the perfect number and represents completion. It is used so many times in the Bible to represent completion or perfection, that to reference them all for this paper would take up its entirety. In ’12 Angry Men’, the antagonist is the only juror to place a not guilty vote when the jury took its first vote. The antagonist systematically breaks down the reasoning behind every other juror’s guilty vote. One by one, he exposes the underlying fears and prejudices of each jury member. In doing so, he creates reasonable doubt. In essence, he became the boy’s savior. In the Book of John, Chapter 8, the story is told of an adulteress who is caught in the very act of adultery. In accordance with the law, the woman was to be stoned to death. When asked his opinion of what the woman’s fate should be, Christ