12 ANGRY Men
Reginald Rose
Information about the play
•What is a play?
•What is a trial?
What is a Play?
Any type of reading
that is performed on
stage.
 This includes:
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Dramas
Comedies
Musicals
Tragedies
What is a Drama?
One of the major
forms of literature
 Intended to be
performed on stage in
front of an audience
 It includes stage
directions and
dialogue between
characters

STAGE DIRECTIONS
Instructions for the director, actors, and
stage crew
 Set apart in the script using (parentheses)
and Italics
 Describe the scenery (items on stage that
create setting) and what the props are
(objects the actors use)
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DIALOGUE

Conversation between characters
One of the most important things about a
drama/play is that it uses dialogue.
 During the play, the dialogue tells us about the
plot and characters’ personalities.
 We know who the speaker is because the name
of the speaker is bolded in front of what the
speaker says.

What’s a Trial?

There are several parts to a trial.
Jury Selection
 Opening statements
 Prosecution’s case (“good guy”)
 Defense’s case (the defendant “bad guy”)
 Closing statements
 Jury instructions
 Jury deliberation and verdict

The Jury
Consists of 12 citizens
 They are interviewed and personally
selected for the case based on their views
and responses to questions
 They decide the verdict for the defendant
 They must come to a unanimous decision
for the verdict
 Meaning: all 12 persons need to agree on
a guilty or not guilty charge
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REASONABLE DOUBT
“beyond a reasonable doubt” is the term
the court uses
 Simply put, this means that there is no
doubt, in a reasonable person’s mind, that
the defendant is guilty.
 Most importantly used in murder cases
when the defendant’s life is on the line.
 Meaning, that the evidence presented is
air-tight.
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CIRCUMSTANSTIAL EVIDENCE
Evidence based on the circumstances
 Basically, it’s not the best type of
evidence.
 It is largely based on inferences and
indirectly proves a fact.
 EX: I buy a blouse. You steal the same
blouse from a friend of ours. Because I
wear the blouse in public the next day,
circumstantial evidence says I stole it.
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El Train
Short for ELEVATED Train
 Usually found in large cities like Chicago
and New York City
 Basically, a metro station above the
ground
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1957, New York
Last year in the 10 year “GOLDEN AGE” of
Baseball
 Although women are granted the right to
sit on a jury in 1947, it is a state-by-state
decision, and on a volunteer basis (women
aren’t forced to be on a jury)
 Boxing and Baseball are the hot sports;
many attend baseball games and the
Friday Fight Nights
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Dempsey-Firpo Fight (pg.42)
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Famous boxing fight that took place in 1923.
Dempsey was the reining heavyweight champ.
Firpo put up a good fight, and he knocked
Dempsey out of the ring.
Dempsey suffered a blow to the head, and there
was a scandal around how slow the ref counted
and how Dempsey got back into the ring
Dempsey eventually won the match.
Khrushchev (pg.50)
Nikita Khrushchev was a Soviet Union
Communist leader
 Boorish- served for the Bolsheviks in
Russia
 Was convinced that the communist ways
were going to take over the west
(America)… not so much…
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J. Walter Thompson (pg.68)
Successful advertising agent in the early
1900’s
 He is credited as the "father of modern
magazine advertising" in the US.
 Thompson is responsible for some
enduring brand images in popular culture,
like the Rock of Gibraltar used for the
Prudential Insurance Company
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Clarence Darrow (pg.70)
Famous American lawyer
 Leading member of the American Civil
Liberties Union
 Most famous for defending the two killers,
Leopold and Loeb: two teens charged for
the murder of a 14 year old boy; they
were aiming to create “the perfect
murder”.
 No such luck: both got life sentences
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WHERE DO YOU STAND?
Ethics and Values
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Suppose you knew that everyone around
you was thinking one way; the opposite of
how you were thinking.

Would you still stand up for what you
believed, or would you go along with the
crowd?
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Suppose someone tells you that your best
friend gossips about you behind your
back.
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Would you:
 Talk
to your friend
 Investigate the situation (i.e. consider the
source, go over the facts)
 Never talk to your best friend again
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Is there ever a good enough reason to
give someone the death penalty?
Suppose someone tells your mom they
saw you smoking.
 Your mom kicks you out of the house
without even talking to you about it.
 Fair? Unfair? Why? Why not?
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Have you ever, even in jest, said, “I’m
gonna kill you!”?
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Now, suppose that person that you said
that to turned up dead later that day (they
had, indeed, been killed).
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Is that reason enough to send you to jail
for life?
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Imagine a time that you have been really
ticked off.
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While you were mad: Did you listen to
music? Did you watch a movie?

If so, can you remember the song or the
title of the movie? Why or why not?