Essential Questions Does your upbringing decide who you are as a person? Can we ever be truly objective? How does it feel to stand alone with your beliefs? How important are our American Rights?

Court Room Proceedings Prosecutor and Defendant presents evidence and debate. Instructions are given to the jury (This is where the play begins). Jury debates. The Jury must try to be objective in order to fairly judge the defendant. Jury gives the Judge their verdict (Play ends right before this happens). Judge gives his sentence

Court Vocabulary Hung Jury- A jury that cannot agree on a verdict. Premeditated Homicide- Murder that was done willingly and was planned out beforehand. Reasonable Doubt- Solid doubt about the actual guilt of a defendant that arises or remains after careful and impartial examination of all evidence. Burden of Proof- A duty placed upon a civil or criminal defendant to prove or disprove a disputed fact.

Reginald Rose The play was inspired by Rose's own experience of jury duty on a manslaughter case. "The moment I walked into the courtroom … and found myself facing a strange man whose fate was suddenly more or less in my hands, my entire attitude changed." Rose was greatly impressed by the gravity of the situation. He also thought that since no one other than the jurors had any idea of what went on in a jury room, "a play taking place entirely within a jury room might be an exciting and possibly moving experience for an audience".

Characterization Dynamic vs. Static Characters are only referred to by number. Why do you think Rose did this? Tips for remembering characters: 3+7=10. #8 is the protagonist.

Hyperbole and Verbal Irony Verbal Irony: bnCHIYo bnCHIYo bnCHIYo Hyperbole: An exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. Ex. "My backpack weighs a ton!" = My backpack has a lot in it. I am unhappy about the amount of homework in it.