Question
How does Reginald Rose dramatically show human experiences in Twelve Angry Men?
Answer
Reginald Rose’s “Twelve Angry Men” dramatically explores human experiences through the lens of a jury deliberation, highlighting themes of justice, prejudice, and communication. The play is set in a confined jury room where twelve jurors from diverse backgrounds must reach a unanimous verdict in a murder trial, showcasing the complexities of human interaction and decision-making.
Key Dramatic Elements
Relativity and Objectivity: Juror 8, the protagonist, challenges the assumptions and biases of the other jurors by employing a methodical, Socratic approach. This character’s insistence on objective analysis over subjective presuppositions illustrates the struggle between personal biases and the pursuit of justice (Ayyıldız, 2020).
Communication Dynamics: The play examines the dual nature of communication, likening it to a “knife” that can both reveal and obscure truth. This metaphor underscores the power and pitfalls of dialogue in human interactions, as jurors navigate their conflicting viewpoints (Church and Jones, 2020).
Characterization through Dialogue: Rose uses conversational implicature to reveal the personalities and ideologies of the jurors. The way characters violate conversational norms provides insight into their motivations and biases, enriching the narrative’s exploration of human nature (Chen, 1996).
Imagery and Rhetoric: The film adaptation by Sidney Lumet emphasizes the power of words and visual storytelling. Through verbal-descriptive flashbacks, the film reconstructs crime scenes, allowing the audience to engage with the narrative’s moral and factual complexities (Da Silva Sales, 2022; Da Silva Sales, 2022).
Humanism and Responsibility: The narrative delves into themes of personal responsibility and the impact of individual prejudices on democratic processes. Juror 8’s insistence on thorough deliberation highlights the importance of careful consideration in the face of societal and personal biases (Cunningham, 1986).
Conclusion
“Twelve Angry Men” uses the microcosm of a jury room to explore broader human experiences, emphasizing the importance of objective reasoning, effective communication, and personal responsibility in the pursuit of justice. Through its rich character dynamics and dramatic tension, the play remains a powerful commentary on the human condition.
References
Ayyıldız, N., 2020. Relativity of Justification: Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men within the Phenomenological Context. **. https://doi.org/10.33422/10TH.HPS.2020.03.65
Church, S., & Jones, J., 2020. The Word is the Knife: Janus-Faced Communication in Sartre’s No Exit and Rose’s Twelve Angry Men. New Theatre Quarterly, 36, pp. 84 – 95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266464X20000123
Chen, R., 1996. Conversational implicature and characterisation in Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men 1. Language and Literature, 5, pp. 31-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/096394709600500104
Da Silva Sales, H., 2022. 12 Angry Men (1957). Revista 2i: Estudos de Identidade e Intermedialidade. https://doi.org/10.21814/2i.3758
Da Silva Sales, H., 2022. 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) THE EKPHRASTIC WORD-IMAGE AT JUDGMENT 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) A PALAVRA-IMAGEM ECFRÁSTICA EM JULGAMENTO. **.
Cunningham, F., 1986. Sidney Lumet’s Humanism: The Return to the Father in Twelve Angry Men. Literature-film Quarterly, 14, pp. 112.
Boulanger-Mashberg, A. (2012) Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men. Elsternwick, VIC: Insight Publications.
Ellsworth, P. C. (2003) One inspiring jury. Review of Twelve Angry Men. Michigan Law Review 101(6), pp. 1387-1407.
Greenfield, S., Osborn, G. and Robson, P. (2010) Film and the Law. Second edition. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Petrie, G. (1967/68) The Films of Sidney Lumet: Adaptation as Art. Film Quarterly 21(2), p. 9-18.
Rose, R. (1954) Twelve Angry Men. Television play broadcast by CBS (20 September).
Rose R. (1957) Twelve Angry Men. Screenplay for film made by United Artists, directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Reginald Rose and Henry Fonda.
