IRLAMs. Giannotto
Study Guide-12 Angry Men
and The Monsters are Due on Maple Street
Plot summary for
12 Angry Men (1957)
"12 Angry Men" focuses on a jury's deliberations in a capital murder case. A 12-man jury is sent to begin deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of an 18-year-old Latino accused in the stabbing death of his father, where a guilty verdict means an automatic death sentence. The case appears to be open-and-shut: The defendant has a weak alibi; a knife he claimed to have lost is found at the murder scene; and several witnesses either heard screaming, saw the killing or the boy fleeing the scene. Eleven of the jurors immediately vote guilty; only Juror No. 8 casts a not guilty vote. At first Juror No. 8 bases his vote more so for the sake of discussion after all, the jurors must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. As the deliberations unfold, the story quickly becomes a study of the jurors' complex personalities (which range from wise, bright and empathetic to arrogant, prejudiced and merciless), bias, preconceptions, backgrounds and interactions. That provides the backdrop to Juror No. 8’s attempts in convincing the other jurors that a "not guilty" verdict might be appropriate.
Plot summary for The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street
A neighborhood full of friendly people degenerates into a mob when Maple Street is suddenly plagued by strange and seemingly pre-planned power outages. Steve Brand (Claude Akins) tries to act as the voice of reason, but he is shouted down by his hotheaded neighbor Charlie (Jack Weston). Meanwhile, suspicion is cast upon young Tommy (Jan Handzlik), a science-fiction fanatic who apparently knows more than he should about the recurring power failures. Even after the passage of four decades, this Rod Serling-scripted Twilight Zone episode has lost none of its impact, and it is justifiably one of the series' best-remembered installments. "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" originally aired March 4, 1960. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
<
Themes (Essential Questions):
Bias-Personal opinions that cloud judgment, bias could be prejudicial ideas that a person has. Some factors that can cause bias are environment, teaching, personal experiences and influences of family and friends.
Truth-What is truth?
Social Justice and an individual’s responsibility to social justice.
Scapegoating-People seek others to blame for their problems a scapegoat).
Power-Lack of Power-how does it affect people?
Individuals taking stands against injustice, prejudice and oppression.
Taking risks and a person’s motivation to do so.
Different perceptions of the same event or experience.
Fear as a motivating factor behind bias and prejudice
Mob mentality mob rule-the idea that a crowd of people, “the majority,” takes to a certain idea to the point of becoming disorderly. The tension mounts to the point that chaos occurs. Bias and prejudice can cause mob mentality. Remember in Poem 435 by Emily Dickinson, those who agreed with the majority were normal, while those who did not agree were considered dangerous.
- The test will have a multiple choice section asking questions about the essential question themes and quotes from the plays that show the themes. You will pick the answer that shows the theme, the context of the quote and how it relates to the themes and essential questions for our questions about What is truth and what are the responsibilities of the individual in regard to issues of social justice?
There will be another section with open ended questions relating to themes and meanings of the two plays. You may be asked to interpret a quote with a similar theme and relate it to the two plays.