Name:________________________________________
Date:________________
STUDY GUIDE – TWELVE ANGRY MEN
Reginald Rose, the author, was born in New York City. He wrote many television plays and created several
television series including The Defenders. He wrote the play Twelve Angry Men for television after serving on a jury.
The play won an Emmy award and has been produced as a movie and a stage play, also.
ACT 1
Vocabulary:
Dogged –
Naïve –
Subservient –
Defendant –
Unanimous –
Monopoly –
Counsel –
Abstain –
Questions:
1 What are the six basic facts of the case, including the testimony of the two witnesses, against the eighteenyear-old boy?
2
Which three jurors seem to show prejudice against the defendant? What are the prejudices?
Juror
Prejudices
3
2 thinks the defendant is guilty because “nobody proved otherwise.” How does this thinking conflict with
the legal system?
4
How would trials be different if defendants were considered guilty until proven innocent?
5
What three things do the jurors know about the defendant’s past behavior and police record?
6
8 believes that the court-appointed defense attorney did not thoroughly cross-examine the witnesses for the
prosecution. How might this affect the defendant’s chances?
7
What does the knife that 8 supplies add to the discussion?
8
What conditions are set for voting at the end of Act 1?
Name:________________________________________
Date:________________
STUDY GUIDE – TWELVE ANGRY MEN
ACT 2
Vocabulary:
Protagonist –
Antagonist –
Motives –
Insignificant –
Simulated –
Questions:
1 What is the result of the secret ballot at the beginning of Act II?
2
Identify the juror who seems particularly angry that everyone does not agree on the defendant’s guilt.
Explain why.
3
How does 8 explain the old man’s testimony of what he saw?
4
Explain the connection between the noise of the elevated train and the testimony of what the old man heard.
5
What does the timed reenactment performed by 8 show?
6
How does 11’s thoughts on the evidence add a new element to the discussion of the boy’s innocence? How
does 4 rationalize his claims?
Eleven’s Thoughts
Four’s Rationalization
7
How does juror 5 and 8 tear down the old man’s story?
8
At the end of Act 2, 3 shouts, “I’ll kill him!” What is the significance of this statement at this point in the
play?
9
Suppose the defendant had had a first-rate defense attorney. What might the attorney have tried to achieve
in cross-examining each of these witnesses?
a The storekeeper who sold the knife
b
The old man who lived downstairs
c
The woman who lived across the street
Name:________________________________________
Date:________________
STUDY GUIDE – TWELVE ANGRY MEN
ACT 3
Vocabulary:
Arrogance –
Acquittal –
Intimidate –
Monologue –
Questions:
1
What is the result of the vote taken at the beginning of Act III?
2
What doubt does 8 have about the questioning of the boy’s alibi that took place right after the murder?
3
What does 2 say about the fact the stab wounds were downward in the chest of the boy’s father?
4
What are the other juror’s reaction to this?
5
What information does Five provide that shows a piece of evidence to be false?
6
After the vote, what are the two reasons 4 is still convinced the boy is guilty.
Reason 1
Reason 2
7
How does 9 prove that the evidence provided by the woman is invalid?
8
Why do most of the jurors turn their backs on 10 during his monologue?
9
What argument does 3 make for the guilt of the defendant?
10
What is the final outcome of the jurors’ deliberations?
11
Has the jury proven the defendant not guilty? Why? How?