Inherit The Wind The 1950s bring forth a divided society of limited minds. Similarly, the play Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee brings forth a town so focused on their own religious beliefs that they begin to drift away from the progress of science and lost the most powerful weapon of the human race. The ability to think. Provided that, three themes that are highlighted in Inherit the Wind is the search for truth, the ability to think and the inevitability of progress. First and foremost, the pursuit of truth is a theme woven throughout the play. Truth is described to be more than a symbolic idea, but instead a pathway one will journey into. This is revealed through the protagonist Henry Drummond. Being a defense attorney, …show more content…
In Hillsboro, knowledge is limited and therefore all of Hillsboro’s right to think is limited. Afterall, one cannot think about what they do not know. When the judge deems the expert testimony on evolution to be irrelevant while a man is on trial for teaching evolution, it shows that the people Hillsboro do not wish to think about the theory of Evolution. This is shown and contrasted by Rachel as she starts off caring about the right and wrongdoings of Cates. When nearing the end of the play, she reads Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and says “I haven’t thought very much. I was always afraid of what I might think - so it seemed safer not to think at all.” (124) This shows a change in Rachel as she uses her ability to think and is able to tolerate the idea of evolution. Additionally, the ability to think is also highlighted as a distinctive characteristic of the human race. Drummond questions Brady as to why God has plagued humans with the ability to think, for humans cannot compare to animals for physical characteristics, but when one thinks, one can complete their physical flaws. Drummond also compares one's ability to think to a cathedral and states, “An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral.” (93), enhancing the importance of thinking by comparing this abstract concept to an inanimate object. Therefore, the ability to think is a theme developed by the characters Rachel Brown and Henry …show more content…
In the play, it is progress that advances the human race and their knowledge of evolution, yet it is also progress that divides the human race into two distinctive factions; the creationists and the evolutionists. In the beginning, Drummond and Brady were on the same side of the fence as Drummond supports him in the election. Later on, as Drummond progresses with society while Brady paces the spot, progress brings a divide to the two men and turn them into foes that faces one another in court. This is proven when Drummond says “Perhaps it is you who have moved away - by standing still.” (67) Without even moving, Brady falls behind Drummond, showing that movement occurs inevitability. To add on, Brady’s physical character could not fit in with the society of the 1950s. He is described to have a booming voice appropriate for a former time period where the projection of the voice is needed in order to be heard. However, this character trait is particularly unnecessary for the setting of the play when projection can be done using devices such as the radio. Brady’s inability to use the radio is expressed to an extent where the radio man needs to push Brady forward towards the microphone. The radio demonstrates the progress of science and technologies while another concept represents the progress of thought. Hillsboro is a town only believing in the Christian religion whereas the rest of the
Truth allows humans to stand-alone. When they find truth they are able to be one against the whole. "Being in a minority even a minority of one did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not
In conclusion, the play “Inherit the Wind” is strongly influenced by characters Bert Cates, Henry Drummond, and Mathew Harrison Brady. Bert Cates is first given the guts to stand up for what he believes in, and peruse it throughout all of its hardships. Second, Henry Drummond helps defend Cates, establishing the fact that he and everyone else has the right to think. Lastly, Mathew Harrison Brady, displays his opinion that there is only one
Truth is possibly one of the most powerful forces in humanity. Truth has the power to set people free, change lives and end them. Because of this, the truth is usually feared and often concealed. In Susan Griffin’s “Our Secret”, the concealing of the truth become a major theme in the advancement of the plot, and also carries the meaning to the work’s title. The title of “Our Secret” refers to the secrets that the individual characters in the story keep from others reference to the fact that humanity is keeping secrets from itself.
Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Choose a novel or play and, or considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole.
The writer composes the story from the perspective of an analyst. She alludes to occasions later on, facts, and information that no character could have known in the setting of the story. Incorporated into the content are genuine quotes said or composed by the general population she expounds on, including the primary character. She utilizes an extremely objective voice, giving successive analysis of distinctive individuals' outlook and continually alluding to insights to demonstrate her point. Since the book does not focus on the point of view of any single character, it peruses more like a news article than a story, which frequently exhausting its groups of readers. Accordingly, Hillenbrand's written work style once in a while obstructs the correspondence of her thoughts because she regularly includes actualities, quotes and investigation in the book; it usually bores audience on the grounds that it peruses more like a news article instead of a
Like a rock thrown into a pond, one small action affects everyone because we are all linked together in a karass. That rock causes ripples that travel to every end of the pond affecting the still water and the life that floats within it. In the book Whirligig by Paul Fleischman a boy named Brent Bishop is being too hard on himself and decides to stop his pain by trying to kill himself, but he does not realize that his actions would affect the people around him. He ends up killing a girl named Lea who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order for Brent to gain forgiveness from the girl’s family he has to make four whirligigs and place them on each of the four corners of the United States. Each Whirligig had to represent
Bert Cates is one character whose ideas are on full display to the whole world. The whole storyline behind the plays centers around Bert expressing his own ideas. The law states that evolution is not allowed to be taught in schools, but Cates believes that evolution is something students need to know so he begins to teach it. Bert subsequently gets arrested for expressing his ideas but it shows Bert’s
The complexity of justice is evident in Reginald Rose’s ‘Twelve Angry Men’, through the employment of Truth throughout the American 1950’s judicial system. Throughout the text, the concept of justice is forged by the racal prejudices, personal bias, emotion, logistics, and reasoning of the Jurors, thus allowing truth to hinder or prevail. Justice is shaped by truth in ‘Twelve Angry Men’, as the Jurors begin to understand the reasonable doubt in the evidence against the defendant, as the truth becomes prevalent through the Juror’s deductive capabilities, thus allowing for injustice to be hindered by the truth, which ultimately leads justice to prevail in the judicial system.
Even though we cannot physically hear Truth’s message, from her tone we can pick up emotions of anger, high energy and the severity of her case, building as she repeats her very well noted question, “aint I a woman”. Overall, her tone
They all have conformed to the pattern that society accepts the most, religious. And further than that, catholic, which at this time was the most widely accepted religion. This shows the readers how one sided Hillsboro’s opinions were. Some will argue that this can’t be true because Cates has an opinion of religion. Tell em’ what your father really said! That Tommy's soul was damned withering in hell fire!” (Lawrence 77) Yes cates was raised in social conformity and still managed to form an opinion. The flaw in this logic is that bert only formed his opinion after reading someone else's. Darwin was not raised in a place like hillsboro, he was free to think. Berts opinion is just the opinion of someone else. Though he agrees with it in hindsight, he was unable to form it himself in
Truth is a word that can mean so much to one person. Truth to many people is the object of our understanding as a person just like “good” which is the object of our good intentions. Truth is a word that you believe is when a person tells you a fact or something that actually happened, but can the truth actually be true? This is what Ken Kesey's book One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest questions. Kesey’s use of the fog and machinery suggest that Chiefs character uses his dreams and hallucinations to tell the truth.
2004 (Form A): Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Choose a novel or play and, considering Barthes’ Observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
The quote above shows how people were scared to think because they were afraid they would be wrong and be punished. Rachel decided to just not think at all because she knew she could not be wrong. The school teacher Bert Cates
The narrator explains about truth in people . In paragraph 14 it states that the truths are “when people took one of the truths to himself called it truth and tried to live his life by it then became a grotesque”. , he mentions that the writer had “people took one of the Truths to himself, called it Truth.” .This means that people around the writer are defined the truth how they live
Many are disconcerted by the idea that humans and Minds can be described as systems which operate based on interpretations of symbols, much like machines, computers, and robots: things that we have created yet do not think of as being “thinking,” themselves. We, as human beings, are comforted in the notion that we are born into this world with a fully capable Mind, a soul or spirit, and are, thereafter, free to choose our fate as we will. Although it seems plausible that we are born with Mind, I cannot subscribe to such a simplistic version of thinking about our true capacity for affecting outcome.