Reasonable Doubt Theme in Twelve Angry Men
Twelve Angry Men “Reasonable Doubt” Theme
The play, “Twelve Angry Men” is of how there could’ve been flaws in the Judicial system; however one juror tries to prove that the man isn’t guilty and persuades the others to follow his reasoning. One of the many themes is reasonable doubt, meaning a doubt of the guilt in a criminal due to lack of evidence or thorough examination. Reginald Rose feels that reasonable doubt is often portrayed in many real life juries partly because of testimonies, lawyers, consideration, and facts or opinions. “A man like this needs to be recognized. To be questioned, and listened to, and quoted just once.” (pg. 237) This quote is an important quote because of the chain of events that happen after this domino effect. An old man wanting attention in this case, created an exaggeration of his testimony. Juror number eight pointed out the flaw in this by reenacting how the man told of his story. All the jurors took part in deciding whether this old man was correct or false, and in close examination and careful imitation. With the old man’s disability to walk regularly, him seeing the boy could be all wrong, hence the doubt in his reasons of conviction. With the question of doubt in their minds, this would cause the jurors to examine the other witnesses’ testimonies. This would connect to how the old man heard the boy yell, “I’m going to kill you” at the time when a woman saw the body fall. This would raise questions whether this is right or not, seeing if it could be true with the passing el train. Juror 8 would prove that it isn’t possible with the unbearable noise of the train, and the nonsense of yelling “kill you” out in the open where everyone could hear. In conclusion, the theme reasonable doubt would come into play in “Twelve Angry Men”. Questions would come up between jurors in deciding whether the kid is innocent or guilty based upon facts. Reasons made by others would be put into doubt, such as the old man’s testimony, proven
The play, “Twelve Angry Men” is of how there could’ve been flaws in the Judicial system; however one juror tries to prove that the man isn’t guilty and persuades the others to follow his reasoning. One of the many themes is reasonable doubt, meaning a doubt of the guilt in a criminal due to lack of evidence or thorough examination. Reginald Rose feels that reasonable doubt is often portrayed in many real life juries partly because of testimonies, lawyers, consideration, and facts or opinions. “A man like this needs to be recognized. To be questioned, and listened to, and quoted just once.” (pg. 237) This quote is an important quote because of the chain of events that happen after this domino effect. An old man wanting attention in this case, created an exaggeration of his testimony. Juror number eight pointed out the flaw in this by reenacting how the man told of his story. All the jurors took part in deciding whether this old man was correct or false, and in close examination and careful imitation. With the old man’s disability to walk regularly, him seeing the boy could be all wrong, hence the doubt in his reasons of conviction. With the question of doubt in their minds, this would cause the jurors to examine the other witnesses’ testimonies. This would connect to how the old man heard the boy yell, “I’m going to kill you” at the time when a woman saw the body fall. This would raise questions whether this is right or not, seeing if it could be true with the passing el train. Juror 8 would prove that it isn’t possible with the unbearable noise of the train, and the nonsense of yelling “kill you” out in the open where everyone could hear. In conclusion, the theme reasonable doubt would come into play in “Twelve Angry Men”. Questions would come up between jurors in deciding whether the kid is innocent or guilty based upon facts. Reasons made by others would be put into doubt, such as the old man’s testimony, proven