The generation of tension in the play.
The first source of tension is the set, the weather is stifling and the room is small and provides no relief from the heat. The weather continues to be a point of tension through out.Another source of tension is that many of the jurors don't wish to be there and would like to move on quickly.
The heavy responsibility of the sentence they must pass also creates added tension in some of the jurors while others seem to think lightly of it
The first person to create tension is the 8th Juror as he stands alone against the others who thought there was no argument to be had against the boys guilt. The 8th Juror continues to be the main source of tension as he is unable to explain his reasoning to the other jurors.
The 10th Juror in reply to this says some very judgemental things and the 9th Juror takes offence. It's then the 10th Juror's turn to take offence as the 8th Juror questions why he believe the witness but not the convicted when the reason he didn't believe the boy was because of where they lived.
The debate continues on like this with the 8th Juror, the 10th Juror, the 3rd Juror and the 7th Juror the main sources of conflict. This escalates into the end of Act 1 where the 3rd Juror has just fallen into the 8th Juror's trap and say he will kill him.
As seen with the 10th Juror and the 8th Juror, the main conversation type that generates tension is when one questions what another has said.
The progression of the narrative
The first characters introduce are the jurors, you learn a little bit about each of them in the minutes before the debate begins such as where they work, how they view this particular trial or trials in general and whether or not they are baseball fans In these moments the 8th Juror, who is a major contributor to the story line of the play seems quieter and more withdrawn then the rest. As the debate begins you learn more about each Juror and how their lives and previous experiences are impacting how they view the trial.Each of the Jurors had their own personalities and views and while most were polite some were not. A lot of the jurors sank into the background, only being heard from in a particular part of the debate then receding again. Some of the characters were vocal throughout the play and these include:
8th Juror: He was unwilling to send the boy to his death without first confronting all the doubts in his mind, this makes him seem courageous and gallant with a strong conscience and the belief that anybody can make a mistake. If it had turned out the boy was guilty, however, he probably would have come across more as persnickety.
3rd Juror: He holds a strong belief that in this case the facts speak for themselves and the lawyers have proven the boy is guilty beyond a doubt. He doesn't accept that anyone else could see any differently to what is so blatantly obvious to him. this shows that he has great faith in the justice system and wants to see the boy condemned. Later it is revealed that the 3rd Juror is not quite as unbias as he seems, an unpleasant parting with his son has left him bitter.
7th Juror: He is a huge baseball fan and has tickets to game that evening so want the jury to reach a conclusion as soon as possible. he is very opinionated and is not afraid to say so. unfortunately he rarely provides evidence for his views instead waiting for someone else to make a point he can jump on.
The Jury Debate is slowly changing from an almost unanimous vote of guilty to a half/half vote. As the debate continues it gives the jurors the chance to examine any doubts they may have had during the court case that they thought were too petty to matter.
Predictions regarding the plot development
In Act 2 I think the next subject to be discussed will be about the woman witness, her claim to have seen the murder is one of the strongest pieces of evidence given so it is sure to come up in defence of guilty soon.The next juror to change his mind will be, i think, the 6th Juror. He seemed convinced by the proposition of the 8th Juror that the elderly gentleman most likely did not see the boy running down the stairs as he said but assumed it was so when he heard the boy as he tried to open his door.
Possible viewer responses to the action and character development
In the days when this play was written the audiences would have been able to relate to this play as many would have done, or known someone who had done jury duty and would be able to pull on that reference. Additionally because there is such a wide variety of characters every member of the audience would have been reminded of people they knew by at least 3 or 4 of the characters. The fact that these jurors don't have names helps with that.Audiences in these times might be more shocked by some of the comments made in the play as they would seem old fashioned but nonetheless the relatableness of the different characters remains
The most noticeable differences between Australian and American audiences is that Australia doesn't have a death sentence so they are likely to be on the side of the 8th Juror before the play even reaches the point of the vote.
