12 Angry Men Response
The setting of 12 Angry Men is a jury deliberation room where the jurors are and required to decide the guilt or innocence of an 18 year old that is accused of committing first-degree murder by stabbing his father with a switchblade knife. Witnesses were presented to give evidence of hearing a quarrel; hearing a threat to kill, and have seeing the boy run away. Another witness swore to having seen the boy stabbing his father from a window across from where the murder occurred. Eleven jurors were convinced the boy was guilty and deserved the death penalty. One raised questions he felt had not been asked or had not been pursued by the defense.
Three questions were raised for our consideration: In what ways would 12 Angry Men be a reasonable assignment for this class? What can we learn from the content of this movie for English 2012? What are some lessons learned from the movie and the text for being an informed and responsible citizen?
English 2010 focuses on critical thinking, argumentation, persuasion, and analytical arguments. After viewing the film, 12 Angry Men, and reading Chapter 1, it is evident that the struggles of these jurors demonstrate much what the author presents in critical thinking. As the jurors arrived they were aware of the stifling heat and one open window. One juror had tickets to a baseball game that was to begin in one hour. All but one man was quite willing to move “Toward the views that seem obviously right,” (pg. 9). The boy was obviously guilty. The group agreed to talk it over for an hour as putting a boy to death is not an easy decision. They began to look at thoughts and observations and attempt to “Eliminate snap judgments” (pg. 3). One man clearly expressed prejudice against “Them”, the people who live in the slums. He said, “This kid don’t even know how to speak good English.” Another young man said he had also grown up in the slums and questioned the evidence of the stabbing. A switchblade knife is not used
Three questions were raised for our consideration: In what ways would 12 Angry Men be a reasonable assignment for this class? What can we learn from the content of this movie for English 2012? What are some lessons learned from the movie and the text for being an informed and responsible citizen?
English 2010 focuses on critical thinking, argumentation, persuasion, and analytical arguments. After viewing the film, 12 Angry Men, and reading Chapter 1, it is evident that the struggles of these jurors demonstrate much what the author presents in critical thinking. As the jurors arrived they were aware of the stifling heat and one open window. One juror had tickets to a baseball game that was to begin in one hour. All but one man was quite willing to move “Toward the views that seem obviously right,” (pg. 9). The boy was obviously guilty. The group agreed to talk it over for an hour as putting a boy to death is not an easy decision. They began to look at thoughts and observations and attempt to “Eliminate snap judgments” (pg. 3). One man clearly expressed prejudice against “Them”, the people who live in the slums. He said, “This kid don’t even know how to speak good English.” Another young man said he had also grown up in the slums and questioned the evidence of the stabbing. A switchblade knife is not used