8th Juror Character Analysis

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8th juror, an architect and father of two, is the only juror to vote 'not guilty' in the first instance. Amongst these twelve anonymous men, he is the first to really gain the audience's attention, willingly and publicly going against the majority of the group by voting 'not guilty' after all the others vote 'guilty' (p.7). In this early action, we can identify many important qualities of his character. He is willing to question the 'facts' with which he has been presented.. He has compassion for the accused. He is taking his duty seriously, and is prepared to spend time discussing the case rather than deferring to an overwhelming majority opinion. He has a confidence that allows him to express his opinions and beliefs even in the face if unanimous disagreement from his peers. His confidence is a quiet one, however, and he never uses aggression, violence or any form of Intimidation to push his arguments. Instead, as he suggests…show more content…
Each of the others is eventually compelled to change his mind at least once (12 juror changes his mind 3 times), usually thanks to an argument posited by 8th. Yet while he is firm in his position, he is not inflexible. Rather, he regularly and openly admits to his own uncertainties, frequently answering others' questions with an honest 'I don't know'; by not hiding his vulnerability he ultimately wins over the entire jury. Similarly, when he first justifies his vote of 'not guilty', he states ' I haven't got anything brilliant. I only know as much as you do' (p.13). Rather than trying to position himself as an authority on the case or the facts, or build himself up by criticising or belittling others, 8th juror's strength lies in the way that he gradually convinces the jurors that none of them can be certain of the facts, and so the jury must admit reasonable doubt regarding the defendant's guilt and therefore return a verdict of 'not

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