Inherit The Wind Analysis

I am a long-time teacher of Belle Chasse Primary School. I am writing to you concerning your son, Wind-Wolf. I understand that you have voiced concerns over our methods in teaching your son. However, I want to assure you that my major concern in helping your son, my student, Wind-Wolf.

The decade of the 1920’s was a busy grouping of ten years in America. The power of women’s desire to vote won them suffrage while uncertainty sprouted from government actions such as prohibition and especially the Scopes Trial of 1925. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s play Inherit the Wind is a depiction of this unsettling event that took place in 1925. The four main characters of the play are Bertram Cates, Rachel Brown, Henry Drummond, and Matthew Harrison Brady. The friendships between these four main characters are used to show that friendship is a powerful bond, and how the bonds protected Bertram Cates from a larger punishment in court.

Throughout the twentieth century, numerous dramas that were written in the United States presented ideas and situations that had the purpose of changing a reader’s attitude towards a specific subject. This is the case of the play “Inherit the Wind”, a piece written by the playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Throughout the years, many literary scholars have argued whether or not “freedom of thought” has stood as a predominant theme in the play. While this issue may bring about countless debates, my respect towards others’ viewpoints has allowed me to pick a side and to defend it with textual evidence from the play itself. From my perspective, the main theme in Inherit the Wind is freedom of thought.

Written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the play Inherit the Wind is a fictitious spin off of the historical Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, which hotly debated the concept of evolutionism vs. creationism and, in general, a person’s right to think. Overall this play shows the growth of many different types of characters. One of these characters would be Rachel Brown, the reverend's’ daughter, as well as Bert Cates love interest. She is torn between her love for Bert and her loyalty to her father, the Reverend Jeremiah Brown. At the beginning of the play she fears her father and follows only what he says. As the play progresses Rachel becomes more confidant and starts to think for herself. By the end of the play she has created her own identity and completely separates herself from her father.

Often times when reading, characters will seem as if they've been plucked straight from the real world and thrust into the plot of a story. Inherit the Wind by Robert Lee is a novel adaptation of a play that was originally written in 1955. Inherit the Wind focuses on the predominantly devout Christian town—Hillsboro. Bertram Cates, a school teacher labeled as an "evolutionist," is being prosecuted by a well-known and beloved politician—Matthew Harrison Brady. Consequently, a quick-witted and intelligent lawyer—Henry Drummond—comes to town to defend Cates and "the right to think." After reading Robert Lee's novel adaptation of Inherit the Wind, it was evident Rachel Brown and I possess some similar qualities and traits. For example, neither of us like to go against the popular belief, we try to be open-minded, and we are put under an abundance of pressure from our parents and society.

In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys get in a plane crash on a deserted island and it becomes the ultimate race for survival. The boys decided to vote for a chief, but there is discord because everyone doesn't respect his leadership. The events that follow result in two factions which changes the island into a tense battle between opposing groups, that work against each other, and result in tragic consequences. The elements of nature including wind air and humidity reveal the shift between cooperation and fighting. These elements change to reveal the author's message message that a crisis brings out the insignificance of mankind and his or her resourcefulness. Wind, air and humidity change from calm and peaceful which reflect the boy's initial feeling on the island, to stronger winds which reflects the disagreements between the boys , then to powerful thunderstorms storms, rocks crashing and huge gusts of winds that reflects the struggle for life and death . Even though wind, air and humidity don't seem initially seem significant, reading below the surface, these elements of nature provide foreshadowing of further events.

As probably the best courtroom dramas of the twentieth century, Inherit the Wind is based on the famous, Scopes Monkey Trial. The play was printed virtually thirty years afterward and takes original authority in varying the true-life elements of the court case. The central conflict of the play is based on the Scopes Monkey Trial itself. Several themes are presented throughout the play, for example when Brady argues for religious values while Drummond argues for natural values and freedom of thought. The definition of a theme is an implicit or recurrent idea. We also see a theme of man versus society, furthermore, Bertram Cates versus the small town of Hillsboro. A third theme is appearance

Creationism or Evolutionism? God or Darwin? This is a topic that has been debated for many years. Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee dared to search for the long-awaited answer. Lawrence and Lee wrote Inherit the Wind based off of the true events of the Scopes Monkey Trial. The authors used characters, such as Matthew Brady, Henry Drummond, and Reverend Brown, to develop a theme of an individual’s power to change society.

When a cold front hits a warm front only two things can happen, a thunderstorm or a rainbow. That is exactly what happened in Hillsboro, two very different but deeply rooted ideas began to poke at each other and stir up the townspeople of this narrow minded town. As a result they struck down and cause disorder within their community. Because the two ideas in this scenario are like oil and water, they cannot get along together. Inherit the Wind proves that two very different human roots are difficult to co-exist in the narrow minded town of Hillsboro because of how they deal with controversy in their lives.

Many people often do not attempt to understand the meaning of what a symbol represents. In the play Inherit The Wind, a symbol represents something more abstract or different than what the reader originally had thought. Many symbols were used throughout this play, like the monkey, which symbolizes evolution and the bizarreness and extravagance of the trial. Similarly, the golden dancer symbolizes that all that glitters is not gold and that looks can be deceiving. Furthermore, reverend Brown symbolizes the towns beliefs and is an example of someone who is overly overzealous. Evidently, Inherit The Wind, consists many symbols to convey the message across more prominently to the readers/watchers.

I think Rachel was looking for the ways for her independence and willing to protect Bert during the trial. Rachel believed that Bert was innocent.

Martha Ward’s Nest in the Wind is the fascinating account of culture on the small island, Pohnpei in Micronesia. Ward is an American anthropologist from New Orleans who two years living on Pohnpei working on a blood-pressure research project and studying the culture of the island in the 70’s. She later returned for a shorter visit to the island to see how the culture had changed in the years she had been gone. Pohnpei is very different from western society in nearly every aspect of life, from how the people define family, value systems and norms, and even how their economic system operates. Ward documented all of these things in her account of the island as she learned, and was embraced into the culture of Pohnpei.

The last scene in Inherit the Wind depicts Drummond as a scale for the two books. The reason for the case was to determine the righteousness of teaching evolution. Drummond argues the side of freedom to think and or believe in one’s own desires. While almost the entirety of the town believes evolution is evil and should not be taught, individuals are still allowed the freedom of belief. When Drummond holds each book in his hands and weighs them then slams them together he is insinuating both books are equal. While both ideologies are completely different Drummond’s display of equality for both demonstrate the ability to think what one believes. After the case Drummonds says how everyone has the right to be wrong, therefore one should not be

     In the play “Inherit the Wind” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the defense faces numerous societal injustices, which is why they never had a chance to win the case. One example of the town’s bias is presented through the town’s love for Matthew Harrison Brady. A second example is the extreme conformist and pious attitude of the town’s people. The last instance is the narrow-mindedness of the judge and the jury, which resulted in an unfair trial. In conclusion, the defense suffered through many unfair circumstances throughout the drama “Inherit the Wind.”

Wind Energy is a viable industry that has become a valuable energy source. The energy generated from wind is clean and efficient. The wind energy industry helps to ensure that electric demands are met, wildlife impact is minimal, the environment is not devastated, as well as creates new jobs during the construction of wind farms, daily operations, manufacturing components, and exporting components to foreign countries.