Twelve men
Try and link views and values to the themes in the text where you can! Identifying views and values 1 . Identify three core views that you believe are expressed throughout ‘Twelve Angry Men’ 2. Write three sentences about these views using the sample below as a model Egg: Rose’s play challenges the audience to examine their own prejudice, exposing the dangers of prejudging, particularly in the court room. 3. What does Rose value / condemn?
Identify three qualities/concepts/ideas that you believe Reginald Rose endorses, challenges or leaves unquestioned in ‘Twelve Angry Men’. Justify your response. 2. Setting: Rose’s play is all acted on the same set: Analyses the imagery created by the stage directions at the beginning of the play (Para) Analyses the scenes that take place in the washroom. What is the purpose of this separate section of the stage? In what way(s) does it enable Rose to develop his characters (for example, what is revealed about their motives, attitudes and values etc) as well as our perceptions and responses to them?
How does Rose use the New York skyline to reflect his views on the indifference humans can have to serious situations? (p. -4) What is the effect of the way that Rose confines the action of the play to the Jury room? How does it enable Rose to develop dramatic tensions throughout the play? 3. Characters: 1 . Provide character details for each of the twelve Jurors. You can choose to present your details in a comprehensive paragraph on each character, a character map or a chart.
You should include: any biographical information: experiences such as: occupation, where they live / grew up the character’s personality and role(s) in the play: how they feel about the task, their reasons for feeling the boy is guilty (or innocent); their relationships, attitudes and values 3 – 5 relevant quotations for each character 2. Create a table detailing each Juror’s views on the guilt of the defendant. Chart how / why these change over the course of the play: Juror When swayed How swayed Evidence (look at stage directions in particular) 3. Now, discuss Rose’s view of each character.
Is he sympathetic or unsympathetic? Admiring or critical? Affectionate or hostile? How do you know? Explain using quotes. Characterization: Characters views and values can be revealed through: Authorial comments e. G. Hat Rose reveals in the stage directions What the character says themselves How the character speaks – think specifically about the language the character uses and the tone they use What others say or think about them What the character does How their personalities and attitudes are revealed in their relationships How the characters attitudes and beliefs are challenged by others 1 .
Choose three key moments in the text where Rose’s portrayal of the character reveals something about their or his own views and values. Outline this. 2. Find 5 stage directions relating to your character and explain their relevance – choose stage erections that reveal varied aspects of the character (egg: growth over time) 3. Create a word bank for this character 4. Write a succinct paragraph on how views and values are aligned with characters in the text.
Remember to begin with a clear contention, provide explanation (about how the views and values are presented) and support with evidence from the text. (see example below to help get you started) For example: Rose depicts the Juror as a forceful and extremely opinionated man within whom can be detected a streak of sadism. He is hammerless and intolerant, and indeed, his lack of compassion is strongly contrasted to the humanity ND sense of moral obligation we find in Juror . This reflects Rose’s criticism of 4. Themes Complete a 200 word analysis of each of the themes below for the text as whole.
Ensure you utilizes the TEE structure in your analysis: Topic: Introduce the theme and discuss the development of it throughout the text Explain and Explore: Give one or more strong examples from the text to discuss the overall theme e. G. Key events, reflections from Rose etc Evidence: Finally, use quotes throughout your analysis to strengthen your discussion. Racial prejudice justice and the Jury rationality and subjectivity ere pressure: the power of conformity civic duty(qualities such as honor, compassion, empathy… ND the flip side of this: insensitivity, ignorance … ) 5. Structure and language 1. Rose said: 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 possible moving experience for an audience. Discuss in detail the choices Rose makes to engage the audience in the drama of his play; to encourage them to reflect on their own prejudices as well as using the court mom to present his views on the importance of integrity and active citizenship. . Plot the tensions’ of the drama. What are the turning points? Where do they occur? Why? 3. Choose 2 Jurors and study the language patterns and choices. How do they speak to others? What tone(s) do they use? Are their word choices negatively or positively contacted? How does use Rose use their language to influence our reactions to them? Use examples to support your discussions. 4. Make a list of 10 stage directions, presented in sequential order, that show what is happening in terms of the physical action of the play. Explain their significance. 5.
Make a list of 10 stage directions, presented in sequential order, that show what is happening in terms of the emotional states of the characters in the play. You could choose 1 character or various characters. If you choose one character, do not choose the character that you worked on in the group task. Explain their significance. 6. One of the key skills of this outcome is the ability to analyses the ways in which textual meaning is created. This means being able to identify narrative devices used by authors and the way structural and language elements contribute to a readers understanding of the key textual concerns.
Some of the devices include: Narrative viewpoint Imagery (similes, metaphors, personification etc) Symbolism / Motif Tone / Mood – consider here Rose’s use of the storm, interactions / tension between characters Setting Colloquial Language Writers use these devices to shape our perceptions of and attitudes towards characters and textual ideas / themes. Find 10 literary devices Rose utilizes throughout the text and explain their meaning. Language / Literary Device (for example, symbol, imagery – simile / metaphor, use of setting etc.
Textual Example (Quote) Meaning Created (for egg, how do we perceive character, what does it add to our understanding of theme, social context etc. ) 6. Differing interpretations 1 . For each of the following statements, find examples from the text that challenge or endorse the ideas presented – discuss why you chose them “[Twelve Angry Men] points up the fact, which too many of us have not taken seriously, of what it means to serve on a Jury when a man’s life is at stake. ” “Numbered but not named, [the Jurors] comprise a cross section of American society… Eire value for Rose is as social representatives rather than as individuals. ” “What is uplifting is that Rose’s narrative shows the ugliness of racial prejudice, and then rational men turning their backs on this ugliness. The racist views do not hold sway for long. ” Using the themes in the text, develop interpretative statements about the text that link two or more of these ideas in one sentence. For example: Throughout his play, Rose critiques the oppressive and discriminative environment of McCarthy America, exploring the way some Jurors use the power of their rationality to attempt to sway others to share their point of view.
Indeed, the 8th juror is aware of the effects and dangers of peer pressure and this is illustrated through his request to have the second (and possibly the most important vote) taken as an anonymous ballot (p. 18) At various moments in the play, the 10th, 3rd and 7th jurors do try to sway the vote to ‘guilty through the use of intimidation rather than argument. What can be interpreted is another clear message conveyed by Rose through his play is that this type of intimidation will ultimately be unsuccessful.
Logic and reason do win out over endemic prejudice, but what the play also illustrates is that for this to occur, there must be voices who are prepared to hold true to their convictions. This is clearly portrayed through the contrast between the “[interrupting]” and “[shouting]” of Jurors 10 and 3 and the “[calm]” and reflective “[pauses]” of Juror 8. 2. What “truths” are revealed throughout the play? 3. Identify one character in the text that you are sympathetic towards and one you are critical of. Explain your reactions using evidence from the text.
