By Reginald Rose

Twelve Angry Men

By Reginald Rose

Student Packet

Name: ______

12 Angry Men Anticipation Guide

Write “A” for agree or “D” for disagree, based on what you believe. You must choose a side.

1) It is easy to hold an opinion that is not the majority.

2) If someone is found guilty by a court of law, then that person is guilty of that crime.

3) It is important as an American to serve on a jury.

4) If I found myself in a courtroom, I would want a jury of my peers to decide my fate.

5) There are more criminals from poorer areas than from other areas.

6) Everybody is innocent until proven guilty.

7) Juries are fair and impartial.

8) Currently, a jury must reach a unanimous decision on a defendant’s guilt/innocence. Should this be changed to a majority vote?

9) Everyone has biases towards certain races, ethnicities, gender, etc.

10) The death penalty is a fair penalty for certain crimes.

11) Victims/victim families should have a say in the defendant’s punishment.

About the Author

Reginald (Tulip, Rose, Daffodil) was born on December 10, 1920 in New York City. He (attended, left, bench) City College from 1937 to 1938 but did not graduate. During World War II and shortly after, he (granted, walked, served) in the U.S. Army, from 1942 to 1946, ending his army (career, tent, car) as a first lieutenant.

In 1943, Rose (murdered, married, stole) Barbara Langbart and they had four (dogs, fish, children). After the war and continuing into (a, the, it) early 1950’s, Rose worked as a clerk, publicity writer for Warner Brothers Pictures, and advertising (copywriter, boy, guru). He also wrote short stories and (novels, vignettes, boxes) but he never had any (triumph, luck, tickets) selling his work until he turned to (fighting, drawing, writing) plays for television and sold his first teleplay, Bus to Nowhere to the live CBS dramatic anthology, Studio One, which aired in 1951.

Three years later, Reginald Rose became the head (chef, writer, critic) for that series and created the work that would become his masterpiece. Overwhelmed by the intense drama of the (jury, electric, flower) system while serving as a juror on a manslaughter case, Rose successfully translated the heated debate that takes place behind courtroom doors into the Emmy-winning drama Twelve Angry Men. The teleplay was first (broken, bridge, broadcast) in September, 1954 and went on to much success in lengthened and revised

versions as a stage play, film and made-for-television movie.

Reginald Rose continued to (act, watch, write) television scripts into the 1960’s and beyond. Other screenplays, besides Twelve Angry Men (dealt, included, ransom) Somebody Killed her Husband, The Wild Geese, and Whose Life is it Anyway? starring Richard Dreyfus.

Rose’s first marriage (ended, went, had) in divorce. He married his second wife, Ellen McLaughlin in 1963; they had two children. Reginald Rose (disintegrated, died, left) in 2002 in Norwalk, Connecticut from complications of heart.

Summarize what you know about Reginald in 5 sentences: (5 paragraphs=5 sentences)

______

Juror #1 is the Foreman of the jury. He is serious about his role and tries to run

the proceedings in an orderly fashion, reminding the jurors “Just let’s remember

we’ve got a first degree murder charge here. If we vote guilty, we send the

accused to the electric chair.”

Juror #2 is timid, quiet and unsure of himself, finding it hard to maintain an

independent opinion until he finds the courage to point out an important question

about how the murder was actually committed.

Juror #3 is the antagonist. He is a forceful, intolerant bully who sees the case as

simple and believes the accused is absolutely guilty. He is quick to lose his

temper. His desire to convict and punish the defendant is directly related to his

feelings of anger and betrayal in regard to his poor relationship with his own son.

Juror #4 is a stock broker, well-dressed, logical and well-spoken. He urges his

fellow jurors to avoid emotional arguments in favor of rational discussion. He

also believes strongly in the defendant’s guilt until the one piece of evidence on

which he bases his vote is discredited.

Juror #5 is a young man who is nervous about expressing his views, particularly

in front of the older members of the jury. When two jurors talk disparagingly of

kids from slum backgrounds, he finally speaks up, saying he has lived in a slum

all his life. He has witnessed knife fights, an experience that will later help other

jurors change their opinions about the guilt of the accused.

Juror #6 is a housepainter, a man who is used to working with his hands rather

than analyzing with his brain. He is more of a listener than a talker. He does,

however, stand up to the bully, Juror #3 when he speaks rudely to Juror #9, an

old man, threatening to hit Juror #3 if he ever speaks to the old man like that

again.

Juror #7 is a slick, obnoxious salesman whose only concern is to get the

deliberations over quickly so he can get to that evening’s baseball game. He

assumes that the defendant is guilty and has no interest in discussing it. At one

point he makes some prejudiced remarks about immigrants in reference to Juror

#11.

Juror #8 is a quiet, thoughtful man whose main concern is that justice be done.

An architect by profession, he is the first juror to vote “not guilty” on the very first

ballot. As he probes the evidence, he manages to cast reasonable doubt on many

aspects of the evidence given during the trial. Although the evidence may

suggest guilt, it is possible that there are other explanations for what happened

on the night of the murder.

Juror #9 is a mild, gentle old man. He is the first to agree with Juror #8 and

change his vote to not guilty, saying that he wants a fuller discussion of the case

since he is convinced there is not enough evidence to sentence the accused boy

to death for allegedly murdering his father.

Juror # 10, who runs three garages, is a bitter racist. He is prejudiced against

anyone who comes from a slum. He believes strongly that the defendant is guilty

because he insists that people from slums are all drunks and liars who fight all

the time.

Juror #11 is a watchmaker, an immigrant from Europe. Having witnessed great

injustices in his home country, he feels fortunate to be living in a country known

for its democracy and he has great respect for the American judicial system. He

takes his responsibility as a juror very seriously.

Juror #12 works for an advertising agency. He is arrogant and impatient, anxious

for the trial to be over so he can return to his career and social life. He is clever,

but sees people as statistics rather than human beings.

Setting the Scene – Twelve Angry Men

President Harry Truman
The Cold War
The Korean War
The death penalty
The House UN-American Activities (HUAC) / The birth of Rock and Roll
Elvis Presley
American Bandstand
Hula Hoops
New York City - summer of 1954

All of these were happening around the time when our story takes place. In order to better understand the time period you are responsible for reporting on your topic for the class.

1) Research your topic to find out what it’s all about.

2) Create a power point presentation to share with the rest of the class. (3 – 5 slides)

a. Summarize the main ideas of the topic – Explain what it is!

b. Find some images, music, timelines, that illustrate your topic to show us

c. Tell us why your topic was important

d. Specifically look for anything around 1954 (when our book takes place)

3) Be ready to give a 2 – 3 minute presentation so that we understand your topic J

4) REMEMBER – this is a ONE class period, 3 – 5 slide project. Your presentation only needs to be 2 – 5 minutes long.

It is a large, drab, bare room in need or painting with three window in the back wall though which can be seen the New York skyline. Off the jury room is a washroom with a wash-basin (sink), soap, and towel and a lavatory (toilet) beyond. A large, scarred table is center with twelve chairs around it.

A bench stands against the wall and there are several extra chairs and a small table in the room, plus a water cooler, with paper cups and a waste basket and an electric fan over the bench and a clock above the cooler and a row of hooks for coats with a shelf over it.

There are pencils, pads and ashtrays on the table. At night, the room is lit by fluorescent lighting with the switch next to the door.

BACK OF ROOM

Twelve Angry Men - Outline Section #1 – pg. 5 - 24

Character Background

Defendant – ______years old, boy from the ______

· He was in court at 10 years old for throwing a ______at his teacher

· ______years old, he was in reform school

· He stole a ______

· He was arrested for ______

· He was arrested ______for slashing another teenager with a ______

· His father has been physically ______to him his whole life

Vote

#1 – ______guilty, ______not-guilty (Juror #______not guilty)

Evidence

Prosecution

Witness #1 – Old man that lives ______: at 10 minutes after 12 midnight he heard loud noises in the apartment above his, he heard the kid yell “______”, he heard a ______fall, he saw the kid running down the stairs and out of his house.

Witness #2 – Woman in apartment building across the street: she says she saw the kid stick his father with a knife @ 12:10. She’s known the kid all of her life. El train had ______passengers on it and the ______were out.

· Boy couldn’t remember the name of the ______he allegedly saw the night of the murder

· ______saw him at the movies

· Store keeper says he has only ever sold ______knife like the murder weapon

Motive – kid’s dad has abused him his whole life. At 8:00 the neighbors allegedly heard fighting and someone being slapped 2 times

Defense

1) Boy admitted to going out of the house at 8:00 the night of the murder after being ______by father

2) The boy went directly to the pawn shop where he bought a ______as a present for a friend, he had broken his by dropping it ______weeks earlier

3) ______is very unusual

4) Storekeeper identified knife in ______and said it was one-of-a-kind

5) At 8:45 the boy ran into ______friends in front of the diner, talked for an hour, showed the knife

6) All boys identified the ______in court

7) The boy arrived home about 10:00 – then stories of ______and ______differ

o Boy says he stayed ______until 11:30, went to all night ______, came home at 3:15 and found Dad dead

o Boy stayed home, had another ______with his dad, ______him to death and fled

TWIST***Juror #8 is able to get a ______exactly like the ______weapon the shop keeper said was ______-____-___-______.

Based on this evidence, how would you vote and WHY?

______

Twelve Angry Men - Outline Section #2 – pg. 25 - 37

Character Background

Victim – “The father wasn’t exactly a ‘______’.” – Juror #8

· He was in ______once.

· He was known to be a compulsive (addict, can’t help himself) ______.

· He spent a lot of time in the neighborhood ______and get into ______after a couple of drinks. (Usually over ______).

· He was a “______, cruel, ______(think caveman) kind of man.”

· He never held a ______for more than six months in his life.

· Who would want to murder him…______(gambling), ______, ______or ______.

Vote

#2 (secret ballot) – ______guilty, ______not-guilty (Juror #’s ______not guilty)

#3 - ______guilty, ______not-guilty (Juror #’s ______not guilty)