Inherit the Wind Response
I very much enjoyed the story, Inherit the Wind. It is always heartening to read about people who are willing to put everything on the line and fight for what they believe in. The play tells the story of a schoolteacher, Brent Cates, who is on trial for teaching evolution to his students. The trail becomes a public spectacle because the attorneys involved are a 3-time-almost-president, Matthew Brady, and an extremely renowned lawyer from the North, Henry Drummond. It is also in the spotlight because the topic of the trial is one of extreme importance. The story takes place in a small, southern town called Hillsboro. The town, as a whole, is extremely religious, and the prosecuting attorney, Matthew Brady, is a hero to the people there. From the beginning, it appears obvious that the dependence has no chance of winning. The town, being so religious and so infatuated with Brady, is ready to hang Cates out to dry. Yet throughout the course of the trail, Drummond manages to sway much of the crowd. Although, in the end, Cates is still convicted, he is sentenced to no jail time and a fine of only 100 dollars. Because of this, the case is viewed as a victory.
It was impressive to watch Drummond sway the crowd against all odds. Even after every one of his witnesses has been ruled out, Drummond defeats Brady using nothing but the bible and Brady’s own words. I also enjoyed the argument that he used, that creationism and evolution could actually be telling the same story, just with different definitions of a day. In fact, the sun and moon were not created until the fourth day. Therefore, in the beginning, the length of a day could not have been determined by the rising and setting of the sun. I find this to be such a fascinating idea. I am particularly partial to science. I am not prone to accepting things without a mountain of evidence. I also like the idea of a force greater than us, what ever it may be. It was interesting to think about how science and religion can fit together.
The play is based off an actual court case from 1925, referred to as the Scopes Monkey trials. When I was researching the play, I learned that the act under which the schoolteacher was prosecuted, the Butler Act, was not taken off the books until 1967. That was stunning to me. It is hard to fathom that it was illegal to teach anything that contradicted creationism in public schools until that recently. In addition, when Scopes’ lawyer appealed to Supreme Court to overturn the verdict on the grounds that the case violated Scopes’ first amendment, his appeal was denied. Throughout the play I was repeated infuriated with the ignorance of everyone, especially of the people in power. America is a nation that is supposed to be built on equality and freedom of speech, press, and religion, yet it is riddled with ignorance and inequality. I found this play particularly poignant in light of the current election. America is on the brink of being governed by a person with no concept of equality and this play illustrated the importance of fighting against the ignorance of people in power.