Twelve Angry Men By Reginald Rose

Reading Guide

Name______Date______Period______

This reading guide will be collected at the conclusion of our study of the play for a grade. Be specific and thorough in your answers. It will be scored on correctness and the amount of effort put forth in its completion. 1. What is the setting in which the reader first meets the twelve characters who give the play its name?

2. How many days has the trial been going on when the jurors begin their deliberations?

3. At what time of year does the jury in Twelve Angry Men meet to hear testimony and determine a verdict?

4. Before the jurors depart for the jury room, who gives them final instructions?

5. Who is the defendant and for what is he being tried?

6. What sentence must the defendant face if proven guilty?

7. What is "the burden of proof"?

8. In what process does the defendant ask questions of the prosecution's witnesses?

9. Which words suggest that the defendant should not have to prove his innocence?

10. What is the state of mind of most of jurors as they enter the jury room?

11. In the beginning of the deliberations, how do most of the jurors demonstrate a lack of seriousness about their role as jurors?

12. Why do the jurors take a vote before discussing the evidence?

13. After eleven jurors vote "guilty" and one juror votes "not guilty", what process do the jurors decide on in order to resolve the matter?

14. Why does the dissenting juror insist they should spend time examining the evidence in detail?

15. What important facts are revealed about the circumstances of the defendant's life by the juror who votes "not guilty" in the first round of voting?

16. Based on the impact of their testimony on the jury, who are the two most important witnesses?

17. According to one of the witnesses, what was the defendant alleged to have shouted out to his father on the night of the murder?

18. According to the evidence, what weapon was used to kill the old man?

19. At what time is the murder alleged to have occurred?

20. Where was the victim wounded?

21. What does Juror Ten point out about an eyewitness to the murder?

22. According to one witness, where in the apartment building did the murder occur?

23. Where does the old man who testifies for the prosecution live?

24. What term used in Act 1 establishes that the defendant is thought to have committed a murder that is intentional and deliberately planned ahead of time?

25. Why was the alleged eyewitness awake at the time of the murder?

26. What important information casts doubts on the eyewitness' story in the first discussion of the evidence?

27. How does the prosecution help to establish for the jury that the eyewitness was in a position to see the murder?

28. Why does the dissenting juror challenge the fact that other jurors are willing to take the alleged eyewitness' word when they would not accept the defendant's word?

29. What is the defendant's alibi?

30. How does Juror Four challenge the defendant's alibi?

31. What information does Juror Seven provide about the history of the defendant?

32. How does the dissenting juror explain the defendant's record of violence?

33. Which of the jurors comment that they all had difficult lives, so a difficult life should not explain the defendant's history of violence?

34. To what age group does the defendant belong?

35. How old was the defendant when he lost his mother?

36. At what age was the defendant in reform school?

37. According to the discussion, what kind of relationship exists between the victim and the defendant?

38. What comment by Juror Ten reveals his prejudice?

39. Which juror rebukes Juror Ten for his racist comment?

40. How does the dissenting juror feel about the job done by the lawyer for the defendant?

41. What important fact does Juror Three point out about something the defendant purchased on the day of the murder?

42. Which juror asks the guard to bring in the murder weapon for closer examination?

43. Apart from the defendant, who was arrested for handling a weapon?

44. According to the defendant, why did he buy the alleged murder weapon?

45. How does the defendant account for the fact that after the murder he does not have the weapon he bought?

46. Who jams the murder weapon into the wall?

47. Why is the murder weapon jammed into the wall?

48. How does the dissenting juror discredit the allegation that the murder weapon is unique?

49. What is the reaction of the jury when the dissenting juror discredits the allegation that the weapon is unique? 50. Why is it clear from the dissenting juror's action that anyone could have had a weapon similar to the murder weapon?

51. After the knife discussion, how do the other jurors pressure the dissenting juror to make him change his vote?

52. What is a hung jury?

53. How does the dissenting juror suggest that the jury should proceed instead of declaring a "hung" jury?

54. In what way is the vote suggested by the dissenting voter different from the previous vote?

55. What is the outcome of the "different" vote suggested by the dissenting voter?

56. What does the verdict from the second vote among jurors prove?

57. What two types of prejudice are evident in the comments of some of the jurors during Act 1?

58. What kind of man is the dissenting juror?

59. What does the behavior of most of the jurors demonstrate about the decisions reached by juries?

60. Apart from the action of the dissenting juror in Act 1, what other contributions from a juror suggest there is at least one other juror willing to stand up against the behavior of others?

61. What is the reaction to the vote taken at the end of Act 1?

62. What does Juror Eleven assert in defense of the result of the second vote?

63. Which juror admits to having changed his vote?

64. What reason does the juror who changes his mind give for doing so?

65. Which juror says he would change his vote if he could find one reason to make him question the defendant's guilt?

66. What does Juror Eight explain to the juror who asks who killed the man if it was not the defendant?

67. As the jurors discuss "reasonable doubt", why does Juror Nine become more and more uneasy?

68. What does Juror Three do to infuriate Juror Eight in Act II?

69. Why does Juror Eight question the witness' assertion that he heard the defendant say "I'm gonna kill you"?

70. How does Juror Three justify his assertion that the defendant must have meant it when he said "I'm going to kill you"?

71. How does Juror Eight get the others to realize that the defendant might not have killed his father although he said "I'm gonna kill you"?

72. What is the main outcome of this discussion about the words spoken by the defendant?

73. Why does a juror change his vote after the discussion in Act II about the defendant's words?

74. How old is the man who gives evidence about the events he heard from his room? 75. Which juror shares the experience of living near the track of an el train?

76. What significant information about the impact of an el train does the juror who used to live near it share?

77. According to the juror who used to live by the el train, how long would the train take to pass a particular point?

78. According to the old man witness, where was he when he heard the argument between the defendant and his father?

79. Where was the old man witness when he saw the defendant running down the stairs?

80. How does the timing described in the old man's testimony affect the jurors' analysis?

81. How do the jurors try to get an accurate estimate of the time of the events described by the old man?

82. What source of information from the trial do the jurors use to help them estimate the time of the events surrounding the murder?

83. After getting a more accurate timing of the events described by the old man, what do the jurors realize?

84. In the acting out of the old man's movements from his bed to the door, which juror plays the role of the old man?

85. How does the involvement of the jury in acting out and assessing the allegations of the old man compare with their earlier attitude towards the evidence?

86. Which two jurors are moved by the discovery about the timing involved in the old man's story?

87. What does Juror Nine observe about the old man witness, which leads to his insights about his life?

88. How does Juror Nine justify his insights about the old man?

89. What two reasons cause a juror to believe there is reasonable doubt about the defendant's guilt after adding doubts about the old man's testimony to earlier discussions about the murder?

90. Which two jurors are moved by the discovery that the old man would have taken longer than he said to move from his bed to the door after hearing the noise upstairs?

91. Of what is Juror Eight accused by an angry juror after others begin to change their votes in Act II?

92. Which juror is adamant that he will not see the defendant set free?

93. Which juror accuses the juror who is adamant that he will not see the defendant set free of wanting to be the defendant's executioner?

94. What starts the physical confrontation between two jurors in Act II?

95. In the altercation between two jurors, what words used by Juror Three shed light on the earlier discussion about whether people always mean what they say in anger?

96. How does Juror Eight capitalize on the error made by Juror Three in threatening to kill him?

97. What important shift in the attitude of many jurors takes place during the debates in Act II about the case? 98. How does the progress of the discussion in Act II affect the behavior of the group of jurors?

99. What does this experience among the jurors demonstrate about group behavior?

100. How much influence does the foreman have on the other jurors in this case?

101. What does Juror Three convey to the jurors by his insistence of the defendant's guilt?

102. What do the actions of Juror Nine in Act II reveal about his character?

103. What principle is supposed to guide the composition of a jury in relation to the defendant?

104. Considering the information available about the defendant, to what extent does the composition of this jury reflect the principle that should guide the composition of a jury trying a case?

105. As Act II progresses, how does Juror Three's attitude contrast with the attitude of Juror Four?

106. What does Juror Eight mean when he calls another juror a sadist?

107. As the jurors analyze the evidence and arguments more closely, it becomes evident that the dissenting voter is playing a critical role as an agent of change. Which of the following words best describes this role?

108. Which juror is an immigrant to the United States?

109. What important information about the jurors' behavior becomes evident during their deliberations in Act II?

110. What does Act II suggest about the reliability of some witnesses in a trial?

111. What is the most significant method used by Juror Eight to influence other jurors?

112. How does Juror Eight's participation in the altercation with Juror Three differ from his usual approach?

113. Why is the decision making process conducted by a group more complex than one that is made by just an individual?

114. Based on the developments of Act II, what are the jurors on their way to proving?

115. Why does the writer allow one of the jurors to threaten that he will kill another?

116. What attribute is consistently demonstrated by Juror Eight which helps the other jurors to unravel the case?

117. What attribute is demonstrated by Juror Nine which helps the other jurors to unravel the case?

118. How do some members of the jury respond to those who disagree?

119. What literary device is used by the writer when he allows Juror Three to prove something to the jurors that is exactly opposite to what he would have wanted?

120. What literary device is used by the writer to create a high level of interest in the play by presenting the strongly contending views of the jurors?

121. What is the result of the vote taken by the jurors at the beginning of Act III? 122. Which juror directly asks the three jurors who most recently changed their votes to give their reasons for doing so?

123. Which juror declares in Act III that he will never change his vote?

124. When asking the reason for the change in their votes in Act III, what does a juror point out to the other jurors?

125. On what else do the jurors vote on early in Act III?

126. What is the result of the vote taken early in Act III about the process in which the jurors are engaged?

127. What new perspective does Juror Four point out as soon as they begin deliberating again in Act III?

128. What new information does Juror Four provide that sheds light on the deliberations?

129. What does Juror Three suggest about how much time the murder would have taken?

130. What do some of the jurors do in Act III to try to find out the timing of the events reported on the night of the murder?

131. What do the attempts of the jurors in Act III to confirm the time of the actual murder prove?

132. What impact does the jurors' discovery in Act III about the timing of the events have on some jurors?

133. What doesJuror Eight suggest to explain why the old man might not actually have seen the defendant running down the stairs?

134. What important observation does Juror Two make about the testimony concerning the wound to the victim?

135. What is the reason for Juror Two's doubts about the wound?

136. What is the difference in height between the defendant and the victim?

137. What action do the jurors take as a result of Juror Two's observations about the murder wound?

138. Which juror is able to clarify how the wound might have been made, based on his experience with many knife fights?

139. According to the juror who has witnessed many knife fights, how would the wound have been inflicted by an experienced fighter?

140. What conclusions about the defendant's intelligence is the jury led to by the reasoning in which one juror engages in Act III?

141. What is the result of the vote that the jurors take immediately after discussing the defendant's intelligence?

142. Which juror introduces questions about the defendant's intelligence?

143. What action follows the vote that the jurors take after discussing the defendant's intelligence?

144. Which juror reacts to the results of the vote taken after the discussion about intelligence?

145. How do the other jurors react when one of them reacts explosively after the discussion about the defendant's intelligence? 146. What significant words does a juror use in response to the angry outburst of the juror who explodes in Act III?

147. To what aspect of the evidence do Juror Three and Four return after the discussion about the defendant's intelligence and the taking of the vote?

148. According to the recollection of two jurors, at what time did the alleged eyewitness go to bed?

149. Where is the bed of the crucial eyewitness discussed in Act III?

150. What does the crucial eyewitness in Act III claim about the events surrounding the murder?

151. In Act III, during the discussion of the crucial eyewitness' testimony, what detail does Juror Eight recall about the witness?

152. How does Juror Eleven provide support for the observation made by Juror Eight about the crucial witness?

153. How does Juror Eight help to lead the others to a logical conclusion about the eyewitness discussed in Act III?

154. What impact does the discussion about a detail regarding the crucial witness discussed in Act III have on the jurors?

155. How does the vote stand at the end of the discussion about the testimony of the crucial witness in Act III?

156. What threat is made by a juror after the vote is taken upon completion of the discussion in Act III about a crucial female witness?

157. What is the response of Juror Four to the threat made by another juror after the jurors discuss the crucial witness and vote in Act III?

158. Who is left holding a weapon at the end of the play?

159. Who are the last two jurors to leave the jury room?

160. What are the last words spoken in the play?

161. Why is it necessary for the jury to repeat their discussion of evidence that they discussed at the very beginning of the play?

162. Which of the following is the dominant theme of the play?

163. What kind of leader is the foreman of the jury?

164. Which juror becomes the real leader of the group?

165. Which of the following has the writer made very clear by the end of the play?

166. Based on the play, what two big dangers are associated with leaving the fate of a defendant in the hands of a jury?

167. How does the dissenting juror finally get the jurors to consider the case from a different perspective?

168. Which of the following is most likely to have been a major lesson that the writer intended readers to derive from the play?

169. As they seek to progress towards resolution, what do the individual jurors have to do in order to carefully analyze the facts of the case?

170. On what simple fact does the entire case ultimately hang?

171. Who is the protagonist in the play?

172. Who is the antagonist in the play?

173. Which of the following phrases best describes the atmosphere that prevails throughout the play?

174. Which of the following phrases best describes the protagonist?

175. What part do the jurors' voting episodes play in "Twelve Angry Men"?

176. What is the central dilemma facing the protagonist in the early stages of the play?

177. What is the major cause of the conflict that develops among the jurors?

178. State two ways in which the group tries to ensure conformity to the majority view.

179. Why does the writer cause the vote taken just before the end of the play to be the exact opposite of the one at the beginning?

180. What techniques does the writer use to illustrate the characters of the contending jurors?