A Character Analysis of the Jurors in 12 Angry Men

The movie 12 Angry Men is more than a movie about a murder case and a jury trying to find an accused man guilty or innocent. This movie is much more deeply then that. In actuality the movies characters actually represent the different types of people that exist in an American society.

The main character of this movie, with out a doubt, is juror 8. He in essence bodies what an American is. During the first vote, he is the only one to vote innocent because he is unsure. It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it. Juror 8 is also good at coming up with good counter evidence. Some of his good counter evidence is an exact copy of the knife, how long it would take the witness [old man] to walk to the door, and that it was possible for the boy not to remember what movies he had seen. I feel the defense may have let things go by.
When thinking about old people the concept of being wise with age comes into mind, and this is exactly what juror 9 is. During the deliberation he is usually respectful, and he stands for what he believes in. Forgive me gentleman, I didn't mean to keep you waiting. Most importantly his thoughts are not racially motivated, and he raises the important fact that the lady who witnessed the murder probably didn't have her glasses on. I noticed those same little red patched on the sides of her nosel and I think certain things should be pointed out to this... Only an ignorant man would believe that.

Juror 11 resembles what a good American should be. He bases his thought on facts, and he is very detail oriented because throughout the movie he seen taking notes. As well, he keeps an open mind during the deliberations by defending both sides; I don't have to be loyal to on side or another. Juror 11 also believes in the American judicial system. He stands for what he believes in, and wants things to be done right. We have a responsibility to do; we are not here to fight. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict, and this is why we are strong.

Juror 6 could be classified as a somewhat representation of a common man. When he speaks he doesn't fully think about what hells saying, I'm not used to supposin and you couldn't be wronger. Juror 6 is also very respectful. This can be been when juror 9 is talking and juror 3 interrupts him and yells at him, so juror 6 tells juror 3 that If you yell at him once more, ill lay you
out."

Juror 10 is a racist, Pure and simple. He thinks people from the slums are lyres and that Ithey re all no good. He classifies all people not like him as they or those. His thoughts are very racially motivated and this is what ends up causing the group to exclude him from the talks.

Cite this page