Major Themes
Postgate’s premise is that of Marx, that “it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but on the contrary their social existence determines their consciousness”. Accordingly, he begins the novel by giving short biographies of each juror in which he describes their individual experiences, their social and financial background, the outlook on life which each of them has acquired over time, and also any possible predisposition to judge others harshly. Postgate presents all these factors to show that they prevent the jurors from considering evidence objectively, and that they will respond to the case emotionally rather than realistically.
Read more about this topic: Verdict Of Twelve
Famous quotes containing the words major and/or themes:
“The major men
That is different. They are characters beyond
Reality, composed thereof. They are
The fictive man created out of men.
They are men but artificial men.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)