Trial Details
What crime is the young man accused of?
Premeditated Murder, 1st Degree Murder, Homicide
hot summer afternoon, drab and bare room, uncomfortable, etc.
How does the mood shift in the start of Act II?
*hint: what changes...?*
There is a rain storm coming in, which typically cools hot days off.
(EX: ________ vs __________)
Man vs Man
Man vs Society
Define reasonable doubt...
When the jury is not fully convinced by the evidence that the accused actually committed the crime they are on trial for. They have doubt.
Where does the boy say he was at the time of the murder?
The movies
What was the murder weapon?
Switchblade, knife, etc.
What does the 5th juror say about the knife and the way it was used...?
Switchblades are meant to be used underhanded, not overhand. The boy, who was skilled with it, wouldn't have used it incorrectly to kill his father.
What does the 8th juror represent throughout the entirety of the jury deliberation?
Justice and Democracy
Define "Tone" and "Mood"
Tone: Author's attitude
Mood: How the reader feels
What does the boy say happened to his knife?
It fell through a hole in his pocket.
Why couldn't the old man have clearly heard the boy scream "I'm going to kill you!" based on his testimony?
The el train was going by his window at the time he yelled at and killed his father.
The 3rd and 10th juror want to declare a "hung jury." What is a "hung jury"?
A jury that cannot reach a unanimous decision.
What role does the weather have in developing the conflict of the play?
The weather matches the mood and tempers of the jurors. While it's hot and uncomfortable in Act I, Act II starts with a rain storm and working fan, which helps physically cool the room down and ultimately, the jurors tempers.
What is the mood of this excerpt...?
It is not darker than before. There is no movement in the room. Everyone waits for the storm. And suddenly it comes.
Anxious, dreary, dreadful, foreboding, dark, tense...
What was strange about the stab wound according to the 2nd juror?
The wound was downward, yet the boy was shorter than his father.
What do we learn is the 8th juror's internal conflict in this act?
That he is possibly convincing the other jurors to vote "Not Guilty" and doesn't actually know if the boy truly killed his father or not.
What observation did the 9th juror make about the women across the street that changed the minds of jurors 10 and 4?
That she had marks on her nose, indicating she wore glasses and might not have clearly seen the murder as it was nighttime and people don't wear glasses to bed.
Why do most of the jurors remove themselves from the table when Juror 10 is going off on his rant and reasons for why the boy is guilty?
Juror 10 is clearly voting based on his racial prejudice and the other jurors seem to disagree with him and his beliefs.
What is the tone of this excerpt...?
11th Juror: You have no right to play like this with a man's life. This is a terrible and ugly thing to do. Don't you care...?
Disappointed, scolding, frustrated, serious, severe, etc.
Do you think the jurors let a guilty man go or saved an innocent man from death? Explain your thinking...
Multiple answers accepted here!
What was Juror #3 doing that made Juror #8 angry, causing him to exclaim, “This isn’t a game!”
Playing Tic-Tac-Toe
Why is juror 3 the last to change his vote?
He relates to the father who was killed and can't understand how a boy would do that to his own father. He even says "he can feel the knife going in" to relate to his own broken relationship with his son.
At the end of the play, the rain stops. What does that symbolize?
That the tension is over and the men have reached a resolution calmly that is just and fair.
*Hint: Identify if it's positive or negative first, then pick the most relevant attitude.*
Multiple answers can be accepted!