Juror number eight proved all the pieces of evidence brought against the young man led to reasonable doubt. The first point he made was when the elderly man who lived downstairs from the young man, testified about hearing the young man say, “I’ll kill you!” Juror number eight said people always say things they don’t mean out of anger. Second, the old man couldn’t have possibly heard the young man say anything because the elevated train was passing while the murder took place. The old man from down stairs had his window open so he wouldn’t be able to hear what was going on upstairs as he claimed he did. Then the man from downstairs also said the young man stabbed his father and ran out of the house. When the old man ran after the boy he said it took him fifteen seconds. Juror number eight thought about comparing the difference between an older man running and a young man running because he felt the old man was lying. So when they re-acted the whole the found out it took thirty seconds instead of fifteen. From then on the jury thought the old man was lying about everything he testified about. When juror number eight pointed this out he won some jurors over to vote not guilty. This was the beginning of the play only about three jurors changed their mind.
The knife the father was murdered with could have been bought in any store. Juror number eight proved it by buying the same knife and showing it to the rest of the jury. The last person to testify against the young boy was elderly lady from across the street that said she saw the murder take place. Juror number eight showed again that it wasn’t possible for her to see anything clearly because there was a elevated train passing while the murder took place and she was trying to sleep. She also didn’t have her glasses on while she was watching the murder because she was trying to sleep. They tested her eye sight by telling her to look at how many fingers some one was holding up at the end of the courtroom and she couldn’t see. By this point he won over most of the other jurors and only had to convince three who were left believing the young boy was guilty.
The play has taught me never to give up in what I believe or let anyone change my mind because maybe out numbered. Juror number eight fought for what he felt in his heart. He felt the young man was innocent and he didn’t want to put the young man to death for something he didn’t do. Juror number eight was out numbered eleven to one but he never showed any fear or gave up. Thank God he saved this young man’s life. The rest of the jury was ready to vote and go home, number eight wasn’t ready to go unless everyone voted what was right—not guilty. He made sure everyone listened to him and understood why the young man wasn’t guilty.
Another point I picked up is you can never believe everything people tell you. Some people will lie so they can look good or to hurt some body. They don’t care what they say or how crazy they sound just as long as someone else believes them. I think there is two sides to every story. When both sides of the story are the same then that’s the truth. When one story has extra details then someone is exaggerating so their story can look better, which can make it a lie. It makes me feel like the person is scared of telling the truth because they know what they said or did is wrong.
Both of these lessons I learned will be with me forever. It doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks. It’s about what I feel in my heart, what’s right from wrong, like ethics. Many people in the world exaggerate so they can dress-up their story to sound good and make it almost believable when they are lying. This play has showed me many things to remember for when I’m in the same situation. I enjoyed reading this play but seeing it live was awesome. The live play was nothing like the book. I would always recommend 12 Angry Men as one of the greatest plays everyone must see or read..
