12 Angry Men Courage

Do you think you have the right characteristics to be apart of a jury? Lawyers go through a process called voir dire; the process of choosing which jurors will be on a case. Lawyers look at things from your attitude and personality to the things you do on the internet. Juror Eight from Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose was a juror on a murder case. He was a very unbiased person and wanted to hear more of a story before making his judgement. His courage and selflessness saved a potentially innocent man from going to jail.

Juror Eight shows a lot of courage in the play. When he voted not guilty, the other jurors were trying to pressure him into changing his vote to not guilty. He stood by his word and then he said, “Nobody has to prove otherwise; innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof is on the prosecution” (Rose 18). This shows that he is not scared to stand alone to prove his point. Another way he shows courage was when juror Three was saying that if he ever told someone that he would kill them, he would mean it. Juror Eight then said, “You don’t really mean you’ll kill me do you?” (Rose 43). This quote shows that is not scared to prove a point to Juror Three and that he not scared to stand by his word and will not follow anyone’s opinion without fully agreeing with it.

Juror Eight also shows a lot of selflessness in the play. While the other jurors were trying to prove to him that the kid is not guilty, he said: “He’s a tough, angry kid. You know why slum kids get that way? Because we knock ‘em over the head once a day, every day” (Rose 15). He is showing that he is caring about the boy’s past. He also shows that he is selfless is when most of the jurors were sure that the boy had killed his father, he told the jurors: “And maybe he didn’t lie. Maybe he did lose the knife and maybe he did go to the movies” (Rose 24). He is putting the boy’s words into consideration instead of just ignoring it and not feeling empathy. He shows a lot selflessness and always cares about what situation the boy might be in.

Juror Eight shows a lot of courage and selflessness throughout the play. He might have saved a possibly innocent man’s life from jail just by having good juror characteristics.People should be more selfless and courageous because it will not only help themselves but it will help the people around them. It is also good to be courageous because you will be confident enough to say no to something you do not agree with.

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