Jurors #4-6

[This post may contain spoilers; please watch the movie here before reading]

Juror #4 is the most calm and logical.  He represents the business professional, carefully presenting his opinions in a clear, logical fashion.  The only way he can be convinced that the boy is innocent is through logic, which the main character presents through his accurately timed and measured experiment of the walk of the old man.  An interesting thing to note is that he says early on that he doesn’t sweat, but later he sweats due to the intense conflict in the room.  My favorite quote from him is when the main character says, “But it’s possible,” and he immediately responds, “But not very probable.”

Juror #5 is probably the most interesting man that we learn the most about.  Starting off as a quiet man, opting to skip his turn in explaining his position, he soon becomes one of the most adamant, defending himself from personal attacks and arguing about proper knife usage.  He is perfectly content with his position in his life, happy to have moved out of the slums where he grew up, but can become very emotional when prompted correctly.  He shows us that even the most clam and collected people can become angry in very tense situations.

I like Juror #6 the most.  He is very modest about his position, claiming he is just a painter and saying that he isn’t the smartest man in the world.  He is very agreeable, and tries to differ conflict as much as possible.

Jurors #1-3

[This post may contain spoilers; please watch the movie here before reading]

Here are my summaries of the 12 main characters, as well as my interpretation of certain events.

I find myself to be most similar to juror #1.  He likes to stay organized and tries to keep order, but is also very concerned about what the other men think.  Also he makes terrible jokes, like the one where he asks for the vote of juror #1, then says, “Oh wait, that’s me.  I vote guilty.”  He remains fairly neutral throughout the discussion, and is very helpful, coordinating votes as well as the pieces of the evidence such as the apartment diagram.

Juror #2 is awkward and nervous, easily bullied by the conflicting forces of the protagonist and antagonist.  He is unsure of what he believes, and is unable to clearly articulate his thoughts.  Fun Fact: he is also the voice actor behind Piglet in Winnie the Pooh.

Juror #3 is the most difficult to convince, and is extremely strong in his convictions.  He makes many very good points in the discussion, showing where the main character is wrong.  His transformation at the end can be difficult to understand if you don’t watch closely and carefully.  Throughout the movie, he is tricked into showing where he contradicts himself, such as when he says how the old man couldn’t possibly remember the fine details.  At the end, he is consumed by his rage, and tears the photo of his son that he pretends not to care that much about.  The ripping of the picture shows him that he is acting completely irrationally and makes him think about the kid on trial as if he was his own son.

12 Angry Men

My posts for the next two weeks are going to be about the Movie 12 Angry Men (1957).  If you haven’t already seen it, you can watch it here or below (I strongly recommend watching it fullscreen).  It is 96 minutes long, and it is an excellent movie that you should find the time to watch.  Today is Thursday, which means you have all weekend to watch the movie before I start posting about it next week (unless you are somehow from the future, in which you should either watch the movie, or skip over my posts about it until you do).  It is my favorite movie, and I hope you enjoy it.

Lost Objects

So I was recently trying to find a certain pair of pants, but they weren’t in the place I thought I had left them.  I proceeded to check all of the reasonable spots they could be: my closet, dresser drawers, and luggage bag.  Still unable to find my pair of pants, I stopped and had to think all over again.  There were no other places they could be, and I checked all of the reasonable locations.  I considered double-checking those places again, but hesitated.  Reluctantly, I looked again in my closet, and behold, I found my pants, hiding behind some other inferior and less desirable pants.  If I had gone with my conviction that the pants were not in those locations, I would never have gotten them back.

It’s always better to find something and be wrong than lose it and be right.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

My favorite book I have ever read is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl.  (He is the other of great works such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, and James and the Giant Peach.)  It is a short story, measuring only 68 pages in total.

The book is a story within a story within a story, where a wealthy man named Henry Sugar reads the writings of Dr. John Cartwright, who is describing the history and experiences of Imhrat Khan.  Imhrat is an Indian man who acquires special powers from a yogi deep in the jungle, and uses his powers to perform various street acts, such as walking on hot coals and seeing while blindfolded.  Henry Sugar, intrigued, decides to follow the methods described in the doctor’s writings to try to acquire these special powers himself.

Although the story itself is very engaging, the best quality of the book is its ability to convey information easily and quickly without insulting the intelligence of the reader.  The first two sentences establish Henry as the main character with his key qualities, leaving no room for interpretation: “Henry Sugar was forty-one years old and unmarried.  He was also wealthy.”  The remainder of the first page gives more defining examples of his characteristics, elaborating on the established qualities of the first two sentences.  The simplicity in the writing requires the reader to think less, and enjoy the story more.  Instead of purposefully trying to confuse the reader, or supplying them with superfluous information, leaving them only to guess what the characters are like, Roald Dahl is very simple and direct.

The entire book reads very fluidly and quickly, and you will easily get absorbed in its fast-paced style.  It includes many funny sarcastic moments, as well as fancy British words, which make you sound cultured when you say them.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is much like the book Henry Sugar finds in the library, describing the actions of Imhrat Khan.  Although it (probably) won’t give you magical powers, you might enjoy it very much and gain a new perspective on life.

Not sure if nice…

It can be difficult to accurately judge people’s intentions and motivations.  Your default view of people changes based on your “glass half-full” or “glass half-empty”mentality.  I’m not too big on internet “memes”, but I think this summarizes it pretty nicely.

Although it is wise to be suspicious of people, sometimes you have to be able to appreciate the genuinely nice things people do for you.

A Personnel Problem

Pearls Before Swine is one of the best comic strips.  Here is one of my favorites, and my own reworded version.

The Original (click for larger image)

My Reworded Version (click for larger image)