Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

TWELVE ANGRY MEN PLOT STRUCTURE

Lauretta Archer

Settings & Characters

The setting of the play is set in a New York City Court of Law jury room in 1957. The character names of the jurors are not mentioned, just their juror numbers.

Major Events:

  • Furniture and Property List
  • Lighting Plot
  • Effects Plot

Evidence:

  • The jury room of a New York Court of Law, 1957.

Set Up

The set up is in the room where the judges voice can be heard.

The judge explains the formalities of the case and the expectations of the jurors and the seriousness of the decision as it is a Murder in first degree case.

Evidence:

  • When the curtain rises, the room is empty. the Voice of the Judge is heard.
  • Murder in first degree-premeditated homicide-is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts.
  • It now becomes your duty to try and separate the facts from the fancy. One man is dead. The life of another is at stake.

Rising Action

The rising action is when the jurors take their first vote. All of the jurors vote “guilty,” except for the 8th Juror, who votes “not guilty,” which, due to the requirement of a unanimous jury, forces them to discuss the case.

The jurors react violently against this dissenting vote. Ultimately, they decide to go around the table, explaining why they believe the boy to be guilty, in hopes of convincing 8th Juror.

Evidence:

  • OK. "Not guilty"? The 8th juror slowly raises his hand.
  • 10th juror: Boy-oh-boy! There's always one.
  • 12th Juror: well, look, maybe this is just an idea. I'm just thinking out loud, but it seems to me it's up to us to convince this gentleman-that we're right and he's wrong.

Rising Action 2

The second rising action is when there is a strong rallying against the defendant. 3rd Juror compares him to his own son, with whom he was estranged, and 10th Juror reveals strong racist tendencies against the defendant.

Evidence:

  • 3rd juror: It's kids, the way they are nowadays. Angry! Hostile! You can't do a damn thing with them
  • 3rd juror: yeah, well I've got one. He's twenty. We did everything for that boy, and what happened?...I haven't seen him in two years. Rotten kid. You work your heart out...
  • 10th juror: Brother, you can say that again. the kids who crawl outa those places are real trash. I don't want any part of them, I'm telling you.

Rising Action 3

The 3rd rising action is when a discussion about the murder weapon, which was identified as the knife purchased by the defendant, a “one-of-a-kind” knife, begins, 8th Juror surprises the others by presenting an identical knife he had purchased in a pawn shop two blocks from where the boy lived a few nights prior, shattering the claim that the knife was so unique and identifiable.

Evidence:

  • 4th juror: Take a look at that knife. I've never seen one like it. Neither had the storekeeper who sold it to the boy.
  • The 8th juror stands for a moment in silence, then he reached into his pocket and swiftly withdraws a knife. ... and flicks open the blade, then he leans forward and sticks the knife into the table alongside the other. they are exactly alike. There is a burst of sound in the room.
  • 8th juror: The knife comes from a little pawnshop three blocks from his house. It cost six dollars.

Rising Action 3

Rising Action 4

The rising action 4 is when juror 8 disproves that the old man living beneath the boy and his father could not have heard upstairs a fight, and the boy shouting, “I’m gonna kill you,” a body hitting the ground, and then he saw the boy running down the stairs.

8th Juror questions whether an old man who had suffered a stroke and could only walk slowly, could have gotten to the door to see the boy run down the stairs in fifteen seconds. 8th Juror recreates the floor plan of the apartment, while 2nd Juror times him, and they conclude that he would not have been able to reach his door in fifteen seconds.

3rd Juror reacts violently to this and ends up attacking 8th Juror, shouting, “God damn it! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him.” 8th Juror asks, “You don’t really mean you’ll kill me, do you?” proving his earlier point about how people say, “I’ll kill you,” when they don’t really mean it.

Rising Action 4

Rising Action 4 Evidence

Evidence:

  • 8th juror: .... first, the old man in the apartment downstairs. He says he heard the boy say, "I'm going to kill you" and a split second later he heard the body hit the floor...Second, the woman in the apartment across the street. she claimed that she looked out of her window and saw the killing through the last two cars of a passing elevated train... Therefore, the el train had been roaring by the old man's window for a full ten seconds before the body fell...It's not possible that he could have heard "I'm going to kill you"
  • 6th Juror: Forty-two seconds!

Rising Action 4 Evidence

Rising Action 5

Further discussion about the switchblade arises, it becomes questionable whether or not the defendant would have made the stab wound, “down and in,” which would be contrary to his knowledge and experience with how to use such a knife. juror 3 made a demonstration on juror , on how the switchblade would have been stabbed; making a horrified uproar between the jurors. Juror 5 is the one who proved that the boy would have never handle the knife down and in.

Evidence:

The 8th Juror and the 3rd Juror look steadily at each other, then the 3rd Juror suddenly stabs downward, hard.

2nd Juror: Look out!

The blade stops about an inch from the 8th juror's chest. The 8th Juror does not move. The 3rd Juror smiles.

8th juror: how do you use it?

5th juror: Underhanded...Anyone who's ever used a switch knife'd never handle it any other way.

8th juror: Everyone agreed that the boy is pretty handy with a knife, didn't they?

Rising Action 5

Rising Action 6

The rising action where it almost reaches the peak is the outburst that Juror 10 preforms. He outrages and storms on and on for a whole page length. Slowly during the scene the jurors rise from their chairs and wonder away, as if to get away from the fuming juror. Juror faces everyone and challenges them on different augments and topics. His outburst is a little similar to the outburst the Juror 3 had early on in the afternoon, when he talks about his son.

Evidence:

The 11th Juror rises and crosses to the washroom door. He follows the 5th Juror.

3rd Juror: Where are you going?

the 11th Juror does not reply and goes into the washroom.

3rd Juror: While you're in there, clean out your ears, maybe you'll hear something

The 4th Juror rises and moves to the window.

Rising Action 6

Climax

The climax of the play is when Juror 9 questions Juror 4 about his eyeglasses. He mentions that his eyeglasses make deep impressions on the sides of his nose. Then the 9th Juror testifies that the women had the same deep impressions which she kept rubbing in court. This added a silence to the room and then a babble of ad lib conversation. It was deciphered that the women came to court with no glasses so that she looked more appealing but otherwise could not have seen the murder properly as she was in bed at the time - without her glasses.

Evidence:

  • 8th Juror: [to the 4th Juror]: Do you wear your eyeglasses when you go to bed?

4th Juror: No, I don't. No one wears eyeglasses to bed.

8th Juror: It's logical to say the she wasn't wearing them while she was in bed, tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep.

Climax

Falling Action

The falling action is when the vote is 11 to 1, and 3rd Juror stands alone. At first, he stands firm, saying that he will be the holdout to make this a hung jury. He launches himself into a final massive rant against the boy that descends into nonsense. 8th and 4th Jurors make a short final plea, and 3rd Juror finally concedes, saying “All right. Not guilty.” The Foreman informs the Guard that they have reached a verdict, and the Jurors leave the courtroom.

Evidence:

8th Juror [to the 3rd Juror]: You're alone.

3rd Juror: I don't care whether I'm alone or not. It's my right.

8th Juror: It's your right.

(3rd Juror rants on for a page)

8th Juror: It's not your boy. He's somebody else.

4th Juror: Let him live.

There's a pause

3rd Juror: All right. "Not guilty."

Falling Action

Resolution

The resolution to the play is when the 11 vs 1 juror vote at the beginning is changed to a not 12-0 vote not guilty. from the sentimental nature of one person, who believed it not right to send someone to the electric chair without a consent on the topic. this is a incredibly play and story about twelve men of different views and natures who have to come to a decision which could or could not save a persons life. this play shows emotion, excitement, prejudice and convictions that each man learn t about themselves.

Resolution

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi