Lesson 7& 8 Twelve Angry Men

1. Lesson 7& 8 Twelve Angry Men

2. I. Introduction to the Author • Reginald Rose

3. Reginald Rose was one of the outstanding television playwrights to emerge from the "Golden Age" of television drama anthology文选series. • Although most of Rose's fame derives from his teleplays for the live drama anthologies, he wrote a number of successful screen and stage plays, and went on to create and write scripts for The Defenders at CBS, as well as winning recognition for the revived CBS Playhouse in the late 1960s.

4. Rose's first teleplay to be broadcast was The Bus to Nowhere, which appeared on Studio One (CBS) in 1951. It was the 1954-55 season, however, that gave Rose his credentials 证书as a top writer: that year has been referred to as "the Reginald Rose season" at Studio One. His contributions included the noted plays 12:32 a.m., An Almanac年鉴of Liberty, Crime in the Streets, as well as the play that opened the season and became perhaps Rose's most well-known work, Twelve Angry Men. In addition to winning numerous awards and undergoing transformation into a feature film, Twelve Angry Men undoubtedly established Rose's reputation almost immediately as a major writer of drama for television.

5. The tension created by exhausting deliberations审议within the confined closeness of the jury room in which Twelve Angry Men occurs is exemplary in this regard. Rose was responsible in part for the creation of this new approach. This realism that became known as the "slice of life" school of television drama was for a time the staple 主题of the anthology shows and reshaped the look of both television and American cinema.

6. Comments from the Author • Twelve Angry Men is the only play I’ve written which has any relation at all to actual personal experience. A month or so before I began the play I sat on the jury of manslaughter case in New York’s General Sessions Court. This was my first experience on a jury, and it left quite an impression on me. The receipt of my jury notice activated many grumblings and mutterings, most of which began with lines like “eight million people in New York and they have to call me!” All the prospective jurors I met in the waiting room the first day I appeared had the same grim, horribly persecuted attitude.

7. But, strangely, the moment I walked into the courtroom to be empanelled and found myself facing a strange man whose fate was suddenly more or less in my hands, my entire attitude changed. I was hugely impressed with the almost frightening stillness of the courtroom, the impassive, mask-like face of the judge, the brisk, purposeful scurrying of the various officials in the room, and the absolute finality of the decision I and my fellow jurors would have to make at the end of the trial. I doubt whether I have ever been so impressed in my life with a role I had to play. And I suddenly became so earnest that, in thinking about it later, I probably was unbearable to the eleven other jurors.

8. It occurred to me during the trial that no one anywhere ever knows what goes on inside a jury room but the jurors, and I thought then that a play taking place entirely within a jury room might be an exciting and possibly moving experience for an audience.

9. Actually, the outline of Twelve Angry Men, which I began shortly after the trial ended, took longer to write than the script itself. The movements in the play were so intricate that I wanted to have theme down on paper to the last detail before I began the construction of the dialogue. I worked on the idea and outline for a week and was stunned by the time I was finished to discover that the outline was twenty-seven typewritten pages long. The average outline is perhaps five pages long, and many are as short as one or two pages. This detailed setting down of the moves of the play paid off, however. The script was written in five days and could have been done in four had I not written it approximately fifteen pages too long.

10. In writing Twelve Angry Men I attempted to blend four elements which I had seen at work in the jury room during my jury service. There elements are : • a) the evidence as remembered and interpreted by each individual juror (the disparities here were incredible) • b) the relationship of jury to furor in a life-and-death situation • c) the emotional pattern of each individual juror and • d) physical problems such as the weather, the time, the uncomfortable room, etc. All of these elements are of vital importance in any jury room, and all of them presented excellent dramatic possibilities.

11. II. Background Knowledge • 1. Useful Legal Terms • 2. Jury Trial in the United States • 3. Court System

12. 1.Useful Legal Terms Group 1:

13. Group 2:

14. Group 3:

15. 2. Jury Trial in the United States • The jury trial is an important component in the U.S. judicial system. The jury consists of 12 jurors, selected at random, agreed on by the lawyers of the two sides, who will, after hearing all the evidenced and cross-examination and careful deliberation, give a verdict of guilty or not guilty. Today no jury would be made up entirely of men any more. Women now serve on juries as much as men.

16. Jury • Jury: is a group of up to 12 people, called “Jurors”whose duty it is to listen to the evidence given in a court trial and decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. The decision is called a “verdict”. If the verdict is not guilty, the accused is set free or acquitted; if the verdict is guilty, the judge will give the sentence.

17. 3. Court System • ① The accused is deemed innocent until and unless proved “ guilty” beyond a reasonable doubt. • ② In many jurisdictions, the majority of a jury is not sufficient to find a defendant guilty of a felony. • ③ A trial does not aim at discovering who commit a particular crime, but rather the innocence or guilt of the accused. • ④ The system is not infallible and can be quite precarious.

18. A criminal court • A criminal court is a court of law which hears cases brought by the state against a person or a corporation which has violated a criminal law enacted by the legislature.

19. Vote • If we want to discuss it first then vote, that’s one way or we can vote right now to see how we stand. • Mean: One way for us to do is to discuss first then vote. The other way for us to do is to vote at once to find out the position of jurors whether we agree or not, or we need further discussion on this case.

20. Ballot • A ballot(paper) is a system of voting or an occasion when you vote on a piece of paper on to write your decision. • Eg. Representatives were elected by ballot. • Eg. They decide to hold a ballot. • Eg. Let’s put it to the ballot.

21. III. Pre-class Questions • 1.What’s your first impression of American judicial system? Compared with Chinese one, can you list the advantages and disadvantages of American judicial system? • 2. Why do you think the author gives “The Twelve Angry Men” as the title of the play?

22. The Twelve Jurors: A summary of the anonymous characters helps to flesh out their characters and backgrounds. The order in which each eventually decides to vote "not guilty" is given in brackets:

23. Juror #1 : A high-school assistant head coach, doggedly concerned to keep the proceedings formal and maintain authority; easily frustrated and sensitive when someone objects to his control; inadequate for the job as foreman, not a natural leader and over-shadowed by Juror # 8's natural leadership [9] Juror #2: A wimpy, balding bank clerk/teller, easily persuaded, meek/humble, hesitant, goes along with the majority, eagerly offers cough drops to other men during tense times of argument; better memory than # 4 about film title [6]

24. ·Juror #3: Runs a messenger service, a bullying, rude and husky man, extremely opinionated and biased/prejudiced, completely intolerant, forceful and loud-mouthed, temperamental and vengeful; estrangement from his own teenaged son causes him to be hateful and hostile toward all young people (and the defendant); arrogant, quick-angered, quick-to-convict, and defiant until the very end [12] Juror #4: Well-educated, smug and conceited, well-dressed stockbroker, wealthy; studious, methodical, possesses an incredible recall and grasp of the facts of the case; commonsensical, dispassionate, cool-headed and rational, yet stuffy and prim; often displays a stern glare; treats the case like a puzzle to be deductively solved rather than as a case that may send the defendant to death; claims that he never sweats [10]

25. Juror #5: Naive, insecure, frightened, reserved; has a slum-dwelling upbringing that the case resurrects in his mind; a guilty vote would distance him from his past; [3] Juror #6: A typical "working man," dull-witted, experiences difficulty in making up his own mind, a follower; probably a manual laborer or painter; respectful of older juror and willing to back up his words with fists [4] Juror #7: Clownish, impatient salesman (of marmalade the previous year), a flashy dresser, gum-chewing, baseball fan who wants to leave as soon as possible to attend evening game; uses baseball metaphors and references throughout all his statements (he tells the foreman to "stay in there and pitch"); lacks complete human concern for the defendant and for the immigrant juror; extroverted; votes with the majority [7]

26. Juror #8: An architect, instigates/arouses a thoughtful reconsideration of the case against the accused; a liberal-minded, patient truth-and-justice seeker who uses soft-spoken, calm logical reasoning; balanced, decent, courageous, well-spoken and concerned; [1] Juror #9: Eldest man in group, white-haired, thin, retiring; soft-spoken but perceptive, fair-minded; [2] Juror #10: A garage owner, with anger, bitterness, racist bigotry; nasty, repellent, intolerant, segregates the world into 'us' and 'them'; [11]

27. Juror #11: A watchmaker, speaks with a heavy accent, of German-European descent, a recent refugee and immigrant; expresses reverence and respect for American democracy, its system of justice, and the infallibility of the Law [5] Juror #12: Well-dressed, smooth-talking business ad man with thick black glasses; superficial, easily-swayed, and easy-going; vacillating, lacks deep convictions or belief system; uses advertising talk at one point: "run this idea up the flagpole and see if anybody salutes it" [8]

28. Verdict: • an official decision made by a jury in a court of law about whether someone is guilty or not guilty • of a crime • Foreman: OK,of course we know that we have a first-degree murder charge here,And if we vote the accused guilty , we’ve got to send him to the chair……Ok eleven guilty, one not guilty

29. Slum • What a terrible thing for a man to believe all the guys who lived in a slum. No.10 thinks that once a person in slum is dishonest that means all the group people are dishonest, such kind of thought is unfair and unjust

30. Eyewitness One The Old Man • (No.3) • Let’s take the old man who lived on the second floor under the room where the murder took . • Clue: loud noises “I’m going to kill you” in the upstairs apartment A second later, he heard a body falling. • The old man’s guess: It sounded like a fight • The old man’s seeing: He saw the kid running down the stair and out of the house

31. Eyewitness Two The Woman • (No.10) • Here’s a woman who’s lying in bed. She can’t sleep. It’s hot.. • And right across the street, she sees the kid stick his knive into his father’s chest. Look, she has known the kid all his life. And she swore she saw him of it.

32. Spot One • She looks out the window. • (No.3) • They proved in court that at night if you look through the windows of an el train when the lights are out, you can see what is happening on the other side.

33. Spot Two • Right across the street she sees the kid stick the knife into his father. She’s known all his life. His window is right across from hers, across the EL tracks. And she saw him do it.

34. No. 5 Juror • (No. 5) • Can I pass it ? • Now listen, I have lived in a slum all my life.I played in a backyard that was filled with garbage. Maybe you can smell it on me.

35. No. 6 Juror • (No. 5) • It is your turn. • Well, I don’t know. I started to be convinced early on in the case. ..You see , I was looking for a motive. If I have a motive, you don’t have a case, right? Anyway...

36. Boy’ s Background • (No.8) I don’ t think it was a very strong movie. This boy has been hit so many times that violence is practically a normal state of affairs with him. I just can’s see two slaps in the face would have provoked him into committing murder.

37. The boy • (No.4) This boy--- Let’s say he’s the product of a slum and a broken home. We can’t help that. We’re not here to explain why slums make criminal. • We are here to decide if he is innocent or guilty.

38. Secret Written Ballot • (No.8) I want to call for a vote. I want you 11 people to vote by secret written ballot. I will abstain .If there are 11 votes for guilty, I won’t stand alone.

39. The knife • (No.8) I am just saying that it is possible that the boy lost the knife, and somebody else killed his father with a similar knife. • (No.4) Take a look at that knife. It is a very unusual knife. I have never seen one like it.

40. The knife • (No.3) OK, let’s get to the point. What about the switch blade they found in the old guy’s chest, the knife this fine boy admitted buying on the night of the killing . Let’s talk about it.

41. No. 9 Juror • (No.9) • He didn’t change his vote. I did. This gentleman chose to stand alone against us. It takes a lot of courage to stand alone. He gambled for support. And I gave him.

42. No.3 Juror • (No.3) • Brother , you really are something. You sat here and voted guilty like the rest us. And then some golden-preacher started to tear your poor heart out about a poor kid.

43. No.4 Juror • (No.4) • Now calm down. It doesn’t matter. He is very excited. Sit down. • She said she saw the killing through the window of the moving el train.I don’t see how you can argue with that.

44. No.8 Juror • (No.8) • An el takes a 6-cars el train 10 seconds to pass a given point. Now, has given point is the open window of the room where the killing took place. Now, has anyone here ever lived near an el track? I have. When The window is open and the train goes by, the noise is almost unbearable. You couldn’t hear yourself think.

45. No.7 Juror • (No.7) • Yes. Let’s vote. Maybe we can all get out of here. • Then how come you vote not guilty? • Are you trying to tell us that he lied just so he could be important once?

46. No.10 Juror • (No.10) • That is the most fantastic story I have heard. • How can you make up a thing like that ?

47. IV. Paraphrase 1. I think it’s customary to take a preliminary vote.(3) I think it is a common practice to take a vote first to find out where we are before we start our discussion. 2. I just think we owe him a few words.(19) I just think we have the need to at least talk a little bit before we send him to the electric chair.

48. 3. We’re not getting anywhere fighting.(38) • Fighting won’t bring us closer to an argument. • 4. Violence is practically a normal state of affairs with him. I just can’t see two slaps in the face would have provoked him into committing murder.(46) Violence is so common in his life and he is quite used to it. I just don’t understand how two slaps in the face would have made him so angry as to commit murder.

49. 5. Now this is where the stories offered by the state and the boy begin to diverge slightly.(71) • From this point on, what the boy said slightly conflicts with the prosecutor’s presentation of the case. • 6. Lets see if the details bear him out.(33) • Let’s find out whether the detail of his description can support his statement.

50. 7. I’ve seen all kinds of dishonesty in my day, but this little display takes the cake.(43) • I’ve seen all kinds of cheating, lying and other dirty tricks in my life, but this little demonstration is the worst I can imagine. • 8. It’s always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this.(115) • It’s not an easy thing to make sure that our discussion of the case is not affected by our personal prejudice.