Reluctant Citizens: Jury Duty

Words: 632
Pages: 3

A citizen's moral obligation to their country, a man who disappears from this world without notice, and a slightly confusing yet mildly interesting play that tries to combine the two worlds opens a door for discussion. In reading the literary works of “The Lonely Death of George Bell” and “Reluctant Citizens”, I the reader was able to gain a sense of compassion and responsibility as an American citizen. However, I came to find the play adaptation, American Citizen, to be somewhat lacking in literary worth as it strayed from the main idea of the novels it is based on.
Jury duty, something that when mentioned around most adults is met with a reaction of horror. I feel that because there is this common feeling of resistance toward jury duty our younger generations today have come to accept that jury duty is something to despise and fear. However, after reading “Reluctant Citizens” I have come to understand that jury duty is a serious matter and should be treated with respect. Being on a jury is more than just listening to two sides argue about who is right, jury duty is an obligation of an American citizen to aid our justice system in making the right decision.
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My response to this was one of confusion and a little bit of misunderstanding as I expected a plot that would be relatable to the short stories. However, I feel as though the play was somewhat of a rollercoaster of extremes from sad personal stories of death to the occasional dance break. I understand that the performers were using their own personal stories to try and relate to the main concepts of the short stories, however, I feel that in doing so took away from the messages within the short stories. That being said American Citizens seemed to focus much more on components “Reluctant Citizens” rather than “The Lonely Death of George