Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
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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.