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Twelve Angry Men

by Reginald Rose

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How did the 1950s culture influence Twelve Angry Men?

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Twelve Angry Men deals with the racial and cultural prejudice of the United States of the 1950s. During the trial of a young man of color who's been accused of killing his own father, twelve white male jurors argue over how to settle the case. Eleven of the men assume...

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he is guilty; one does not. Some assume the young man must be guilty due to his economic status (he lives in the slums) and his racial identity, but there is reason to doubt his guilt. One juror forces the men to reconsider the evidence.

The men makes assumptions about the accused's character based on his race and poverty, saying things like "we know what they're like" or "they're all liars." Only one juror suggests they put aside assumptions and look at the hard evidence.

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