12 Angry Men: characters

We do not find out who the jurors really are until they begin arguing with each other; the evidence and testimonies seems to bring it their true nature. We see how each juror reacts to the argument of the 8th juror, and this when we also get the most conflict between characters because we see all of their prejudged certainties and assumptions. 

As the first act progresses, we find out the occupations of the jurors, and we see that his has a lot to do with the way they see their world. As the 3rd juror points out, "You sat in court and heard the same things I did" (11). But just because each person heard the same words does not mean that they understood the same way. The 11th juror, who is clock maker with a German accent, said it perfectly: 

"Facts may be colored by the personalities of the people who resent them" (36). 

We find out about the pasts of some jurors and how those experiences have affected their perceptions. For example, the 3rd juror goes on a rant about "kids these days" and how they can't be trusted. His own prejudice stems from his experiences with his own son. He also works for a messenger service, "The Beck and Call Company," so his main profession is basically spreading rumors. The 8th juror is an architect, which means he must have a trained eye for looking at smaller elements and how they fit into a bigger picture. This explains why he was the first skeptic and the first one to look at the boy's past to understand how he is now. The clock maker must also have a similarly trained eye for detail, given that his occupation  requires the incorporation of small gears to work together in a larger machine. To students looking to move on to college after high school, this play and the themes of perceptions that it deals with in relation to occupations and personal skills may be particularly interesting to them; I could see some great activities and lessons stemming from this.