CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Presented by :
Kriti Goyal
Pulkit Vasu
 Character role-traits:

Timid, Intimidating, Dispassionate Disempowered, Unqualified,

Cowered Hurt Bully, / Rational Knowing Decent
vengeful

Ineffectual in Hedonistic,
Leadership Sports fan

Hollow, Enlightened, Prejudiced, Bypassed Integrity,

Vacillating Keeper of Values Bigot Wisdom Empathy
 A small, petty man who is impressed with
the authority he has and handles himself
quite formally. Not overly bright, but
dogged. He attempts to “cut and run”
when things get difficult.
 The leader of the jurors who facilitates the
process of voting and discussion. The
Foreman believes in the guilt of accused
for a majority of the play. He is not
particularly intelligent or actively involved
in the debate, but he is focused and does
not change his opinion lightly. He enjoys
his own authority.
 A meek, hesitant man. Although he is
aware he is easily intimidated and finds it
difficult to maintain any opinions of his
own. Needs the courage of others if he is
to stand up.
 An indecisive man whose opinion is easily
swayed by Eight and by Four. He changes
his guilty vote to not guilty based on the
calm and persuasive conduct of Eight and
the angry conduct of Three.
 A very strong, very forceful, extremely
opinionated man within whom can be
detected a streak of sadism. He is a
humourless man (in this context) who is
intolerant of opinions other than his own
and accustomed to forcing his wishes and
views upon others. A Bully.
 A strong-minded, loud-mouthed,
prejudiced man. Three is the final holdout
in claiming the accused is guilty at the end
of the play. His strong belief in the guilt of
the youth seems to stem from his personal
situation, his prejudices, and the painful
rift between himself and his son (which
causes him to judge all youth negatively).
 Seems to be a man of wealth and position
(Stockbroker). He is a practiced speaker
who presents himself well at all times. He
seems to feel a little bit above the rest of
the jurors. His only concern is with the
facts in this case, and he is appalled at the
behaviour of the others.
 A self-confident man who is clearly used
to being listened to, Four is identified by
marks of wealth and intelligence. Although
he is a strong supporter of the guilt of the
accused until nearly the end of the play, he
is more rational and levelheaded than most
of the other jurors. He is the only one to
present successful counter-arguments to
the persuasive observations of Eight.
 A disempowered, very frightened young
man who takes his obligations in this case
very seriously; but, who finds it difficult to
speak up when those with authority have
the floor. He comes from the same
disadvantaged background as the defendant.
 A young man whose youth shows in his
timid nature. He quickly desires to vote not
guilty, but only has the courage to do so
when following Eight and Nine’s lead. He
cowers under Three’s anger at him. Five
grew up very poor, and he is sympathetic
with the low economic background of the
accused.
 An everyday honest working man but
somewhat dull-witted. He comes to his
decisions slowly and often guided by others.
A man who finds it difficult to create positive
opinions, and therefore listens to, digests and
accepts those opinions offered by others
which appeal to him most; especially, those
who have authority over him. However, he is
a moral man and can stand up for those being
treated badly.
 An average man who is honest, yet
unremarkable. He changes his vote from
guilty to not guilty, but he does not exhibit
the prejudices, flair, or loud-opinions of the
other jurors. One of the quietest of the jurors.
 A loud, brash salesman type who has more
important things to do than to sit on a jury.
He is quick to show temper, quick to form
opinions on things about which he knows
nothing. Is a bully and, of course, a coward.
He is also about his own pleasures and
convenience; moral virtue does not take
precedence.
 A ridiculous man whose “guilty” vote seems
to rest more on indifference than prejudice.
Seven is the juror who continuously
expresses a desire to wrap up the process
quickly and leave. He is loud and
extravagant, and he clearly is not invested in
the judicial process or his judicial
responsibility. He prefers to get distracted by
such things as bullying Eleven for
opening the window.
 A quiet, thoughtful, gentle man. A man who sees all
sides of every question and constantly seeks the truth.
A man of strength tempered with compassion. Above
all, he is a man who wants justice to be done and will
strive to see that it is. Takes responsibility!
 The central character in the play, Eight is the only juror
to initially vote “not guilty.” This vote, which prevents
an immediate unanimous guilty decision, and his
insistence that the jurors commit time and effort to
deciding the fate of the accused, power the events of
the play. Through his calm and clever discussion of the
case, all the other jurors are eventually convinced of
the same reasonable doubt of the accused’s guilt. He is
also a charismatic speaker. He appears to have had
some plan to defend the accused in the jury room as he
brings a matching switch knife as his own evidence.
Eight’s self-confidence in standing alone and his
sympathy for the accused present a direct contrast
to Three’s pigheadedness and prejudice.
 A mild gentle old man long since defeated by
time. A man who recognises himself for what
he is and mourns the days when it would
have been possible to be courageous without
shielding himself behind his many years.
However, he is also a wise man who has
lived life sufficiently to know that other
“voices” are worth hearing, especially those
with the courage of their convictions.
 An elderly, good-natured man, Nine is
compassionate and thoughtful, unlike many
of the other jurors. He is the first to change
his “guilty” vote to “not guilty” during
the secret ballot vote. He does so primarily
because he respects Eight’s courage in
standing alone and wants to have the chance
to see the case fully discussed.
 An angry, bitter man. He is a man who
antagonises almost at sight. A bigot, who
places no value on any human life save his
own, a man who has been nowhere and is
going nowhere and knows it deep within
himself.
 The most prejudiced and cruel character in
the play, Ten is driven by a deep-seated “us
versus them” complex concerning rich and
poor. He speaks of the accused and people
like him, from poor backgrounds, as “them.”
He believes that none of “them” are
trustworthy or good people. His bitterness
and anger toward “them” spills over
repeatedly in the play. At the end of the play,
the other jurors move toward the window to
express their disagreement with his cruelty
by refusing to listen to him.
 A refugee from Europe who has come to this
country in 1941. A man who speaks with an accent
and who is self-conscious, humble, almost
subservient to the people around him, but who
will honestly seek justice because he has suffered
through so much injustice.
 An immigrant from somewhere in Europe, Eleven
exhibits an awareness of, and awe for, the
idealistic principles behind the American legal
system. He changes his “guilty” vote quickly, after
defending the right of any man to have an
unpopular opinion in America following the secret
ballot vote. Initially, he seems reluctant to
distinguish himself from the others, perhaps
fearing the very attacks that follow. He
experiences the cruel treatment of some of the
other jurors early in the play when he attempts to
close the window.
 A slick, bright advertising man who thinks of
human beings in terms of percentages,
graphs and polls and has no real
understanding of them. He is superficial,
trying to be all things to all men, but wants to
be thought of better than he is. He is not very
intelligent.
 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.