Hamlet
This character is both the son of Polonius and the protective brother of Ophelia.
Who is Laertes?
The overarching, high-stakes central conflict of the play relies on 12 jurors deliberating over this specific type of criminal case.
What is a murder case (or homicide trial)?
In the film Wall-E, this physical object represents the ultimate symbol of biological hope for humanity's eventual return to Earth.
What is a plant (or seedling)?
This is the exact city and state where the lonely, automated house continues its daily routine.
: What is Allendale, California?
12 Angry Men, this fiercely aggressive, stubborn character is the absolute last juror to change his vote to "not guilty."
Who is Juror 3?
Hamlet avoids killing King Claudius during this specific activity because he fears it will send Claudius's soul straight to heaven.
What is praying (or at prayer)?
Standing entirely alone during the initial preliminary vote, he is the very first juror to vote "not guilty."
Who is Juror 8?
In Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt," this high-tech room operates by materializing immersive, hyper-realistic environments based entirely on the thoughts of children.
What is the nursery?
The absolute silence of the rest of the city is due to this devastating, historic event that left the area a radioactive wasteland.
What is a nuclear bomb explosion (or atomic warfare)?
At the very end of Hamlet, this foreign leader arrives from Norway to claim the crown and take over the Danish kingdom.
Who is Fortinbras?
This is the specific cause Polonius confidently assigns to explain Hamlet's sudden downward spiral into madness.
What is being madly in love with Ophelia (or her rejection of him)?
Juror 8 dramatically slams this physical object onto the table to prove the prosecution's weapon is not as unique as they claimed.
What is an identical switchblade knife?
Rather than celebrating intelligence, the government-mandated test in the story "Examination Day" is designed to identify and eliminate these children.
Who are the intellectually gifted (or exceptionally smart children)?
: The house reveals the tragic, sudden end of the family through these permanent markings left on the charred exterior wall.
What are their white silhouettes (or paint-shadows)?
In "The Veldt," Peter and Wendy commit the ultimate betrayal against their parents because they prioritize this artificial reality over their real family.
What is the nursery?
To catch the conscience of the King, Hamlet requests that the traveling Players perform a specific scene depicting this act.
What is a murder scene where a king is poisoned (in the ear)?
This juror is able to provide crucial insight into how a switchblade is actually handled because of his personal background growing up in the slums.
Who is Juror 5?
A central thematic warning shared across both The Veldt and Wall-E is the immense danger of this human habit regarding technology.
What is an overreliance on technology for comfort/unchecked technological advancement?
This former household companion returns home covered in radiation sores, tracks mud through the house, and ultimately dies in the parlor.
Who is the family dog?
Hamlet successfully escapes his death sentence in England by rewriting a royal letter to ensure the executions of these two old school friends instead.
Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
hen Hamlet complains that he is "too much i' the sun," he is secretly expressing grief and anger over these two life-altering family events.
What are his father's sudden death and his mother's hasty remarriage to his uncle?
This juror is an immigrant who constantly reminds the others of the deep value of democracy and the American legal system.
Who is Juror 11?
These are the three defining characteristics of a dystopian society usually found in literature and film.
What are authoritarian/government control, loss of personal individuality (or forced conformity), and technological/environmental ruin? (answers will vary)
The automated house survived a nuclear blast, but it is ultimately destroyed by this highly mundane, natural accident.
What is a tree branch crashing through the window and spilling cleaning solvent onto the hot kitchen stove?
Rather than representing violence or active malice, the switchblade knife in 12 Angry Men ultimately comes to symbolize this crucial legal defense standard.
What is reasonable doubt?