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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Pair of Knives
The pair of knives symbolizes the two versions of reality that exist in the jury room: one in which the boy is guilty and one in which he is innocent. As soon as the 8th Juror reveals the second knife, the perception of many of the jurors begins to shift. They walk into the jury room with a single idea of what happened the night of the murder based in part on the fact that the prosecution argued that the boy’s knife was one-of-a-kind. In presenting the second knife, the 8th Juror also introduces a second version of reality, one in which it’s possible that the boy is telling the truth. The jurors react with shock and intrigue as though there is something uncanny about the second knife. In this sense, if the first knife is a physical representation of the boy’s perceived guilt, the second knife is a physical representation of reasonable doubt.
The Storm
The storm is a symbol for the atmosphere of tension and anticipation created in the jury room by two opposing forces. A thunderstorm is created when hot and cold air meet, and in the same way, a storm begins to brew in the jury room when the hot-tempered voices for conviction meet the cool, reasonable voices for acquittal. The result is a period of heightened intensity in which the jurors nearly come to blows. Immediately after the jury is tied six-to-six, thunder sounds, rain begins to pour, and everyone waits for the storm to intensify. When they are tied, the jury finally reaches the point when the two forces at play—the guilty votes and the not guilty votes—are equal. Just as a storm helps to dissipate the unbearable heat of a summer day, after the two forces battle it out and go through the tempest of emotions and arguments, they come to a consensus and the fire of their battle dissipates.
Eyeglasses
The eyeglasses symbolize the jurors’ and the second witness’s ability to clearly perceive reality. Just as the jury is considering calling itself hung, the jurors realize that the witness from across the street wore glasses usually but chose not to wear them the day she testified. This illustrates that the witness was not able to see facts clearly both when she claimed to see the boy kill his father and on the witness stand. The jury assumes that the witness made the choice not to wear her glasses out of personal vanity. This parallels the way that many of the jurors struggle to see the truth through the lens of their own personal biases. What’s more, the 4th Juror is finally convinced by the argument that the woman must not have been wearing eyeglasses and switches his vote to "not guilty." It’s as if, after arguing staunchly for the boy’s conviction through the entire deliberation, the 4th Juror is able to see the reality of the case with new eyes.
