Page 18 - Cultures and Organizations

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The Rules of the

Social Game

11th juror: (rising) “I beg pardon, in discussing . . .”

10th juror: (interrupting and mimicking) “I beg pardon. What are you so goddam
polite about?”

11th juror: (looking straight at the 10th juror) “For the same reason you’re not.
It’s the way I was brought up.”
—Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men

welve Angry Men is an American theater piece that became a famous
Tmotion picture, starring Henry Fonda. The play was published in

1955. The scene consists of the jury room of a New York court of law.
Twelve jury members who never met before have to decide unani-
mously on the guilt or innocence of a boy from a slum area, accused of

murder. The quote cited is from the second and final act when emotions

have reached the boiling point. It is a confrontation between the tenth

juror, a garage owner, and the eleventh juror, a European-born,

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