Power In 12 Angry Men

The Power of Words: Conveyed in 12 Angry Men In all stories, plays, or works of literature, theme is a major component. Theme is the message that the author communicates to the audience, through the story. The most jutting theme conveyed by Reginald Rose in Twelve Angry Men is the power of words, and he portrays this best by the effects of the word choice of each juror, by using character foil in the way Juror 3 and Juror 8 present their reasons for taking their vote, and some verbal irony that occurs because of the carelessness of Juror 3 when speaking. In some parts of the play, the Jurors are not thoughtful of the way they phrase their statements which as an effect, obtains a different response from the other jurors than originally meant.
Not only contrasting their personalities, but also contrasting the way in which they put their words together and how they deliver them to the rest of the jurors. Additionally, the tone of their voice they use also affects the outcome of the play. Juror 3 is rude and low-tempered: “3rd Juror: Look, they can talk whenever they like. Now just be quiet a second, will you?”, on the other hand, Juror 8 is a bit more patient and projects self-control: “Alright, let’s talk about it. Let’s get it in here and look at it. I’d like to see it again” (Rose 21). The reader can notice how Juror 3 is not patient and the things he says can easily be used against him because he speaks without thinking beforehand. Juror 8 is more thoughtful and does not sound biased but rather observant and he knows what he is talking about. Juror 8 is better not only in the way he phrases things but in the way he says them which is important in this play if he is attempting to convince the remainding jurors to vote
Early in the play, Juror 8 mentioned that stating “I will kill you” does not really mean you will do such thing. Juror 3 argued and responded saying that if the “kid” said he would kill his father, he actually meant to do it. In the end of Act I, things escalate to a tense situation and “The 3rd Juror lunges wildly at the 8th Juror…” then the 3rd Juror continues to yelling “Let go of me, God damn it! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him!” to which the 8th Juror responds “You don’t really mean you’ll kill me, do you?” (Rose 48). This short scene allows us to really see the contrast between Juror 8 and Juror 3. They both think very differently, beginning with Juror 3 being impulsive and not thoroughly thinking about what he says when he speaks, meanwhile Juror 8 is not only thoughtful of what he says but of what the others around him are