Matthew Brady Inherit The Wind

In summary, Matthew Harrison Brady had many traits that affected the outcome of the trial. He used words to change the opinions of others, his overconfidence changed his perspective on decision making, and his ignorant behavior gave him a weaker argument in the case. These following characteristics had a large influence on the Judge, the Jury and

In Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s tense drama, “Inherit the Wind”, three strong characters express powerful opinions: Bertrum Cates , Henry Drummond, and Mathew Harrison Brady. First, Bert Cates, the defendant, is charged with teaching “Darwinism” to his sophomore class . Second, Henry Drummond, the defense attorney for Cates, displays his beliefs of the right to think. third, Mathew Harrison Brady, the “big-shot” prosecuting attorney, illustrates his bigotry of creationism. To conclude, these three essential characters are fighting for their personal beliefs.

New England marks the beginnings of the Baptist struggle for “religious liberty.” Baptist names such as: Roger William, John Clark, and William Screven were significant figures that advanced the cause and displayed the trials and struggle of “religious liberty.” Roger William, (who was a

Drummond is trying to get Brady admit that the exact words of the Bible should not be taken literally. Brady replies, “I mean to state that the day referred to is not necessarily a twenty-four hour day” (Lawrence and Lee 97). Brady confesses that the Bible is not taken literally. Drummond responds by telling the people, “It could have been thirty hours! Or a month! Or a year! Or a hundred years! Or ten million years!” (Lawrence and Lee 97, 98). Brady is explaining to the people that the evolution theory can be incorporated in the Bible instead of going against it. “Darrow’s examination of Bryan became one of the best-known parts if the trial. Darrow had been waiting for the chance to challenge Bryan. Two years earlier, Darrow had written fifty-five questions about the Bible for Bryan to answer” (Freya Ottem Hanson 52). This explains that Darrow had wanted to question the Bible through Bryan to open his eyes to the present day and prove the Bible is not meant to be taken literally. Darrow gets his chance and bested Bryan in the trial. Both Darrow and Drummond put Bryan and Brady to the witness stand to question them about the Bible and prove it does not always have to be taken literally, which leads to the people opening their minds and seeing how evolution and the Bible can both be right. Darrow and Drummond’s beliefs and contribution to the Scope’s Trial shaped how he based his career.

Many aspects of Matthew Harrison Brady influence his conduct of the trial. Mr. Brady is a

The Church bible was written for centuries, and it is believed by many to be God’s words written by humans. People have belief and faith in that book, and they strongly agree with the scripture in the bible. From Inherit The Wind, Drummond says, ‘‘The Bible is a good book. A good book. But it’s not the only book.’” (98) Drummond believes in Darwin’s, theories of evolution that humans gradually evolved from other species, not by God creation as descripted in Genesis. In the play Inherit The Wind, there is a controversy between the religious community and supporters of evolution, and Drummond indicates many logical fallacies in the Bible. Therefore, he demonstrates that everyone has the right to make critically think about his or her beliefs, and he exposes the community’s first fallacy, that scripture is to be taken literally

“Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.” (English Standard Version, Proverbs 11:29) Inherit the Wind, written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, depicts the story of the Scopes Monkey Trial in the form of a play. In the drama, Bertram Cates was put on trial as a result of illegally teaching the theory of evolution in his classroom. Given that he lived in the God-fearing town of Hillsboro, Tennessee in 1925, his decision to teach Darwinism was highly opposed. Along with the many opponents of Cates’s evolutionary teachings came Matthew Harrison Brady. Brady, the prosecuting attorney in the trial, considered himself a religious man who was skilled in the Bible and its teachings. Brady was a man of noble stature, who had a fatal flaw, but possessed a sense of commitment that was evident even through his error of judgment. He underwent a negative reversal of fortune, and his self-awareness was revealed throughout the trial. Although his death was a result of his own fault from his inability to endure suffering, it evoked the pity and fear of the audience. The above distinct characteristics made Matthew Harrison Brady almost the epitome of what Aristotle once defined as a "tragic hero."

In the United States, the early 1920s was a time of shifting and conflicting moral values due to people attempting to see which values would dominate the nation’s culture. One conflict was between science and religion; ever since science began to explain what once was unexplainable, it clashed with religion. Thus, in 1925, the Scopes “Monkey” Trial revealed the struggle of America’s culture between the forces of Traditionalism and Modernism. The mixture of religion and science caused one of the most famous debates in American history to occur because ideas were the main focus instead of an actual crime. The Scopes Trial opened the doors to the conflict between faith and science that made it the trial of the century.

so he can disrespect the Bible, he was defending Cates so people can respect different ways of thinking. While in court, he never out right said people shouldn't believe in the Bible but rather tried to understand why they do, that's why when Brady was his witness, he was questioning Brady on what his belief of the Bible but not shaming him. The ending of the story, the reader got to see the best part of Drummond, when Brady died and Hornbeck was degrading him. The reader can see this through the conversation with Hornbeck and Drummond:

During the final act of the play after Drummond officially loses the case, he stays in the courtroom to talk to Cates and some others. During this time Brady dies and Hornbeck starts saying rude things, “Why should we weep for him? He cried enough for himself… A Barnum-bunkum Bible-beating bastard” (Lawrence & Lee 125)! Hornbeck’s statements anger Drummond to his core. Angrily, Drummond responds, “you smart-aleck! You have no more right to spit on his religion than you have a right to spit on my religion! Or my lack of it” (Lawrence & Lee 125)! Then while arguing with Hornbeck, Drummond says, “Why? Because I refuse to erase a man's lifetime? I tell you Brady had the same right as Cates: the right to be wrong” (Lawrence & Lee 127)! These statements show that Drummond not only tolerates, but he respects Brady when faced with his

This was an unpopular assignment, one that could have adversely affected his reputation and future income. The reasons for John’s acceptance of the case are difficult to assume. While he strongly believed that all men were entitled to a fair trial and that they deserved equal justice, he knew of the dangers to his practice and of the violence that the mob was capable therefore endangering his wife and young children. On the other hand, in the long term, he might be remembered as a man who put law above his personal beliefs. According to historian Hiller B. Zobel, Adams must have been encouraged to take the case in exchange for a seat in Boston’s legislature as he was the town’s first choice when a seat became available three months later.

Throughout United States history, Americans have always remain separated on certain issues. Edward Larson’s work Summer for the Gods exemplifies just how issues split the population. Larson uses the Scopes Trial of 1925 to demonstrate to the rivalry between modernists and traditionalists in the early 20th century. Charles Dawson discovered fossilized human bones known as the “Piltdown skull” and bridged a gap in history that seemed to confirm Darwin’s theory of evolution. "Darwin 's account of random variations, coupled with his survival-of-the-fittest selection process, posed a critical problem for many Christians who retained a teleological view of nature.” (Larson, 17) This threat to Christian spirituality sparked an anti-evolution movement in an attempt to revoke the teachings of evolution in public school systems. The Tennessee House of Representatives soon passed a statute making it illegal for any public school official to teach any theory that rejected the divine creation of man as taught in the Bible. The Scopes Trial would prove to be more than an argument between science and religion and the removal of textbook content. It was individual rights versus the right of majority rule, freedom of speech versus censorship, and evolution versus creationism.

And so, as a conclusive demonstration, Drummond places the Bible and Darwin side-by-side, a symbol of the internal search for truth. His half-shrug and half-smile signal an acceptance of his own ignorance (Lawrence and Lee 2.2.79). Through Drummond’s actions, Inherit the Wind proves that a skeptical nature is far more valuable than mere

This shift, Petigny argues, it was not sudden and that it was instead an acceleration of tendencies initiated earlier: “Well before the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, the rise of science in general, and Darwinism in particular, posed a serious challenge to the intellectual and cultural dominance of traditional protestant belief.” In addition to this factor undermining conservative Protestantism, Petigny claims, that “the rise of the Social Gospel movement that had considerable influence before the

Cates was found guilty, but Drummond told Cates that a jury of twelve men doesn’t matter, because millions of other people will see that Cates won the case and not the prosecution. “What jury? Twelve men? Millions of people will say you won. They’ll read in their papers tonight that you smashed a bad law. You made it a joke!” (122). Only the town of Hillsboro found that Cates was guilty, because they believe in God and the Bible. Also they never taught or read Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species or the Descent of Man books before, so they never even knew what it is about. The twelve men in the Jury believed in the Bible and in God more, so they would still find Cates guilty, even if Cates and Drummond should have