Twelve Angry Men

by

Reginald Rose

Twelve Character Analysis

A man who is defined by his job in advertising, Twelve is shallow and a snob. He maintains his vote of “guilty” more out of the comfort of maintaining his opinion than any other reason, it seems. He believes the jurors should acknowledge that they’re a hung jury and should let the case go to another trial.
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Twelve Character Timeline in Twelve Angry Men

The timeline below shows where the character Twelve appears in Twelve Angry Men. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
Reflection of American Society Theme Icon
Justice Theme Icon
Certainty and Doubt Theme Icon
Prejudice vs. Sympathies Theme Icon
...room has them short-tempered. Juror Three, acting the contrarian, responds that he feels fine. Juror Twelve impatiently muses about his advertising job, saying that it’s a quickly changing business and that... (full context)
Justice Theme Icon
Stubbornness and Taking a Stand Theme Icon
Prejudice vs. Sympathies Theme Icon
...Juror Eight is the only dissenter. Juror Three rises to confront Juror Eight, while Juror Twelve insists that the defendant’s guilt is as “simple as A, B, C.” Juror Three angrily... (full context)
Justice Theme Icon
Certainty and Doubt Theme Icon
Prejudice vs. Sympathies Theme Icon
...and must keep the talk civil, “behave like gentlemen,” and stick to the facts. Juror Twelve says okay, “if you insist,” and the Foreman quickly goes along with Juror Four. (full context)
Justice Theme Icon
Certainty and Doubt Theme Icon
Juror Twelve proposes that the jury go around the table and each try to convince Juror Eight... (full context)
Reflection of American Society Theme Icon
Justice Theme Icon
...votes stay the same, then he will vote “guilty” too. Juror Seven, Juror Four, Juror Twelve and the Foreman quickly agree, while Juror Eleven agrees more slowly. The men write down... (full context)
Act 2
Justice Theme Icon
Certainty and Doubt Theme Icon
...then heard a body hit the floor before seeing the kid running down the stairs. Twelve says the woman across the street looked into the open window and saw the murder... (full context)
Act 3
Certainty and Doubt Theme Icon
Prejudice vs. Sympathies Theme Icon
...vote, so they know where each juror stands. The Foreman, Three, Four, Seven, Ten, and Twelve vote guilty. Two, Five, Six, Eight, Nine, and Eleven vote not guilty. The vote is... (full context)
Stubbornness and Taking a Stand Theme Icon
...alone, but now five others agree with him. Three says that he'll never be convinced. Twelve says they’re a hung jury. Eight insists they won't be a hung jury. (full context)
Reflection of American Society Theme Icon
Prejudice vs. Sympathies Theme Icon
Twelve says that they ought to admit they are a hung jury. Eleven asks Seven if... (full context)
Reflection of American Society Theme Icon
Prejudice vs. Sympathies Theme Icon
...he's known some of these people and they have no feelings. The Foreman, Seven, and Twelve go to the window. Ten says these people are no good and this kid is... (full context)