Prejudice and Stereotyping

Twelve Angry Men shows that prejudice can be a dangerous thing. When they first enter
the jury-room, many jurors are ready to convict the defendant, not just on the evidence
and arguments presented by the prosecution but, frighteningly, because the boy is a
member of a social group for whom the jury hold no respect, for whom the stereotypes
are of hopeless lives and criminal behaviours. As 4th puts it, slums are breeding grounds
for criminals (p.12) and 10th adds, the kids who crawl outa those places are real trash
(p.12).
While there may be statistical or subjective justifications for some of these opinions,
there is little evidence to show that the opinions explain this particular murder. Certainly
the defendant grew up in underprivileged conditions and 7th does give us details of the
boys criminal history (p.11), but this background is not sufficient proof that he
committed the murder. 11th puts forward a strong argument supporting this point when
the debate turns to psychiatric evidence stating that the boy had strong homicidal
tendencies (p.46). 11th responds: we should remember that many of us are capable of
committing murder. But few of us do (p.47). As with the class stereotypes, it is important
to remember that a particular tendency does not equate to evidence of any particular
behaviour.
Roses theme here is that keeping an open mind, instead of holding firm to pre-formed
and often generalised opinions, is important. Twelve Angry Men shows that we all have
our own particular biases, and that they can be dangerous: as 8th says, no matter
where you run into it, prejudice obscures the truth (p.53). The play suggests that it is
important to be aware of such obstacles to truth, to try to avoid them where possible and
at the very least acknowledge them.
By aligning the most prejudiced attitudes with the less sympathetic characters in the
play (including 10th and 3rd) and by making sure that 8th a character with whom we
are encouraged to empathise tries to avoid prejudice, Rose endorses the notion that
prejudice is not a desirable or useful trait.
Apart from socio-economic status, on the basis of what other variables do jurors
stereotype people?
One would hope that all people consider other human beings as equal to themselves and
dont make assumptions based on race or socio-economic background. We would also
hope that jurors would give every person the same careful consideration, no matter
where they come from. Rose goes out of his way to highlight that some men are unable
to put aside their personal beliefs, even when they have sworn an oath to do so.
Prejudice in the play is personified by Jurors 3 and 10. Juror 3sprejudice stems from his
troubled relationship with his own son. He views the defendant through his blinkered
misconceptions about young men. Juror 10represents those who are prejudiced against
people from differing ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. This prejudice reaches its
peak during his hyperbolic tirade against these people. To him, this trial is a chance to
get rid of one of them by finding the defendant guilty, even at the expense of a fair
trial. Rose has deliberately provided several jurors who test the preconceived notions of
the other jurors: Juror 5 is from the slums, Juror 9 is elderly and Juror 11 is a European
migrant who has sought refuge from persecution in America. Students should also
remember that one of the ironies of the play is that the jury consists of twelve white
men.

 Juror 10 is prejudiced against anyone from the slums: You cant believe a word they
say. I mean theyre born liars.
(p.13) They are different. They think different. They act different. (p.64) Hes a
common, ignorant slob. He donteven speak good English. (p.37) He is unable to make a
fair judgement about individual guilt.
Juror 4 also stereotypes those who live in poor socio-economic areas: Slums are a
breeding ground for criminals. (p.18)
Juror 11 responds with This sensitivity I understand when Juror 10 offends Juror 5 with
his denigration of those who live in slums. Juror 11 has had to face prejudice himself.
(p.18)
Juror 7 later offends these sensitivities when he speaks angrily of Juror 11: Imtellin ya
theyre all alike. (p.55)
Juror 8 knows that prejudice endangers the process of a fair trial: Its very hard to keep
personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And no matter where you run into it, prejudice
obscures the truth. (p.66)
Juror 9 is also able to view the defendant fairly: I dont think the kind of boy he is has
anything to do with it. (p.51)
Ageism is seen in respect to the old man who testifies. Juror 3 says: Hes an old man
Half the time he was confused. How could he be positive about anything? (p.43) Rose
gives Juror 9 an excellent memory, eyesight and observational skills to show that age
isnt always an issue.
Juror 3 stereotypes young men: The mans a dangerous killer. You could see it. (p.11)
That goddamn rotten kid. I know him. What theyre like. (p.72)
The background of the young man (an unidentified minority, raise in a slum. The
suppositions a) slums are breeding grounds for criminals and b) children raised in them
are potential menaces to society (p.18). Bigoted stereotypes and generalisations
conflict with reason, logic, objectivity and common sense all of which must triumph
over prejudice if democracy is to thrive.
Rose, in this play, reveals the true impact of prejudice and racism and its power to
subvert the very systems meant to guarantee liberty and the pursuit of happiness for
all. Egalitarianism is easily voided in the hands of humanity.

Prejudice is the most evident theme in the play. Three characters openly state their
prejudice against the accused boy because of his background. The 3rd Juror is prejudiced
against him because of the antagonism between himself and his own son: I think wed
be better off if we took these tough kids and slapped em down before they make
trouble, you know? The 10th Juror believes, These people are born to lie. Now, its the
way they are and no intelligent man is gonna tell me otherwise. They dont know what
the truth isThey are different. They act different. The 4th Juror has similar beliefs to the
10th Juror: This boy, lets say hes a product of a filthy neighbourhood and a broken
home. We cant help that. Were here to decide whether hes guilty or innocent of

murderHe was born in a slum. Slums are breeding grounds for criminalsChildren from
slum backgrounds are potential menaces to society While a number of other Jurors
dont say it, the 4th Jurors prejudice is a pervasive one. The 7th Juror prejudges the boy
because of his record: Look at his record. He was in childrens court. Reginald Rose
shows us through this theme the difficulty there can be in obtaining objective justice.

Class & Status:

The Jurors in this play represent a cross section of society. The 8th Juror is an architect,
the 7th Juror a salesman, the 11th Juror a watchmaker, the 12th Juror an ad man. The 4th
Juror is a broker, the 10th Juror a mechanic. Some are young, some are old. Not only do
the characters have different jobs, they also come from different social backgrounds. We
can hear this in the way they speak. The 3rd Juror and the 10th Juror speak very
colloquially, the 8th Juror and the 4th Juror dont. The backgrounds they come from
influence the values the Jurors apply to this case and the way they feel about each other.
The 10th Juror resents the intellectualism of the 8th Juror. The people he has convinced of
reasonable doubt are goddam geniuses and smart bastards who have been
bulldozed by buncha what dya call em intellectuals. The inference here is not
necessarily that the 10th Juror is stupid (though the 9th Juror does say of the 10th that It
suddenly occurs to me that you must be an ignorant man) and the 8th Juror smart, but
that education can create a class division and that those without an education can
become suspicious of those that do because intellectualism can be used to manipulate
people. The 10th Juror is not convinced by the testimony of phoney psycho whateveryou-call-it-stuff (i.e the psychiatrists report) but by the instinctive believe in class. The
boy must have done it because of his social background.