Evolution in the limelight.(NEWS AND COMMENT)(Inherit the Wind)(Theater review.) (located under evolution in the limelight in the T drive)

"Evolution in the Limelight" is reviewing Inherit the Wind as a play. This site said that it was an extremely well performed play and it actually stayed with the script of the original book written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. This page talked about the growth of the play through broadway and after the movie was made. Also mentioned was the comparison of fictional characters to the real Scope trials. It stated that the Preacher and his daughter were strictly fictional characters. It made it clear that that they were made up characters to enhance the plot of the work. They were also present in the book Inherit the Wind but they were not present in real life.

“Inherit the Wind: A Historical Analysis” (link at bottom of page)

“Inherit the Wind: A Historical Analysis” site compared the reality of the Scope trials to the written version of the trials, Inherit the Wind. This site compares the actual knowledge of the characters of Brady and Drummond. In reality Brady had a wide knowledge of Darwin’s Theory in the scientific field and just disagreed with it, while Drummond had very little knowledge of the actual theory and just went along with it simply because it was scientific. In Inherit the Wind this was pretty much the opposite. Drummond had the extensive knowledge of the theory and Brady did not. This site did point out the similarity of one of the qualities of Drummond’s character in real life versus the fictional character, Drummond was religious in both cases. This site mostly just covered the comparison between these two characters but it did bring up the comparison of the fictional townspeople versus the historical townspeople. In reality the townspeople were always very nice to both lawyers and in fiction they were rude to Drummond, this came from newspaper clippings from the times from an actual quote from Drummond.

“The Scope Monkey Trial- Inherit the Wind” (link at bottom of page)

“The Scope Monkey Trial- Inherit the Wind” site was comparing the actual historical events to the work of Lawrence and Lee. This site informed me that Inherit the Wind is not an accurate source for the truth about these trials. For one the book had fictional characters, in which two of them, the preacher and his daughter, were completely made up and not relative to the case at all, and they were important characters in the book. Many of the actions in the book were far less dramatic and just plain wrong. For example man who was Matthew Harrison Brady in real life was actually the one to read some of Darwin’s works, unlike in the book where Henry Drummond was the one to have read his work. This really switches up the view on the trials to know this because this makes Brady know so much more than was portrayed in the book and it gives him a right to disagree and because he knew what he was fighting against. Overall this site shares that Inherit the Wind was really written about at the time McCarthyism not so much to give us a historical background on the Scope trials like so many people think.

Allusions to Inherit the Wind

Inherit the Wind is a playwright. So a lot of movies and broadway plays have been performed based on this play. For example there were three movies created based on this work, one in 1965, one in 1988, and one in 1999. They were all called Inherit the wind. There was also a spoof done in the Simpsons on this book and the Monkey Suit Trials, which is what this book was about. Inherit the Wind is also an allusion to heaven and hell as well. Henry Drummond was evil Matthew Harrison Brady was good. And the ways of thinking were evil and the ways of tradition were good. Also, to me, this book was an allusion to most of the major court cases that were conducted through out America's history, for example Roe vs. Wade, Brown vs. Board of Education, Frost vs. Nixon, ect.

Archtypal Characters, Settings, and Actions

There are many archetypal factors in Inherit the Wind. The preacher, Mr. Brown is an archetypal character that fits into the group of Ruler. Mr. Brown was the ruler over the town and was kind of selfish in wanting the town to always stay in his correct biblical way of thinking and tradition and never accepting change. Rachael Brown is also an archetypal character that fits into the group of innocent embarking on a journey. She fell in love and had to embark on more of a mental journey through out the trials, on whether or not to disobey her father and follow her heart. Bertram Cates is a seeker archetypal character. He chooses to go against the normal and he chased after that adventure of being different and trying to make a difference in the town. The little southern town that this takes place in is an archetypal setting. It represents the same traditional setting where people over react if there is any change, kind of like Whitehall.

Inherit the Wind - Why a Classic

Inherit the Wind is said to be a classic book. Do I agree with this statement, yes I do. Inherit the Wind has stood the test of time. It was written in 1951 as a playwright. Many people from all over have read and performed this great work. Inherit the Wind has a solid thesis behind it, you don't have to win to influence society. This book brings about a good topic and teaches a valuable lesson to keep standing up for what you believe in no matter what it is that you are thinking, you still have the freedom to think. Inherit the Wind also brought in the reality of life with its message. The man on trial, Bertram Cates, didn't technically win his trial, but with a bias judge and jury you would expect this in real life. Life isn't a fairy tale that everything magically just falls into place. But because of the case the town was influenced and this is where the theme ties in. Inherit the Wind was not a very long book but it had a lot of quality in it which makes this book a classic through out time and the analysis of people.

Character Growth - Rachael Brown

Rachael Brown was an uptight and conservative girl. She was the daughter of the preacher in town, who was the man who basically ran the town. Rachael had mixed feeling from the very beginning, she was in love with Cates, the one on trial for teaching science in the school system. Rachael could be considered to be an archetypal character of an innocent embarking on a journey. Through this innocent love of Cates and the his trial she gained enough courage to repel against her father. The town trial made her realize that she did have the right to think and act, and by the end of it all she stepped out against her father and left with her love, the "devil" science teacher. She was put in her uncomfortable situations with the fued against her father and her love, and she was even put on trial to testify against Cates. Yes, she was more of an innocent embarking on o journey with more of a mental journey than anything, but she still falls under this archetypal character.

Inherit the Wind Summary

Inherit the Wind took place in a small tow called Hillsboro. It was a very religios town where all teachings in school systems were based on the bible. That was everything thing that people ever knew and it was an extravagant sin to actually think. This happened to be in the time frame though where Darwin's theory was beginningto scatter itself through out the world. And a younger teacher in the system at Hillsboro started a new revolution in the town and taught his students using the Darwin theory instead of the bible. This upset the town and people accused him of being associated with the devil and they but him in court to testify against him. The town paid to have this great lawyer,Mathew Harrison Brady, who ran for president three times and didn't get it any of the times but, he was also a very "godly" man. The towns people got exited and thought for sure they would win the trial with out any trouble , but little did they know a lawyer from Chicago, Henry Dummond, was coming to represent This teacher, Cates. Drummond was an awesome lawyer as well, but the towns people made him to be the devil, especially the peacher, head man of the town, Reverand Brown. But of course there was a twist to this, the reverand's daughter, Rachael, was in love with Cates. When they started the trials finally a student as questioned and Rachael was questioned, but she didn't want to be. This ended up proving that Cates was in fact teaching different than bible studies, but Drummond was on a mission to prove that this wasn't a bad thing and that people should know about this and have the right to think about htese kind of things due to free will. Drummond tried to get scientists on the stand but the judge was bias and didn't allow it, so finally Drummond ran out of witnesses but he managed to get his opponent, Brady, on the stand. Drummond ended up influencing the jury and the crowd by usung references of the bible and comparing it to real science. Drummond and Cates worked the crowd and Mr. Brady and actually made them think. In the end technically Brady won the trail, he also ended up dying, but Drummond and Cates influenced the town and got their case bumped up to a federal trial. They won in their hearts by loosening the grounds on which they stood on and helping those similar trials in the future. And in the end Rachael and Cates decided to leave the town together, the trial gave Rachael the courage to stand up to her father, and leave. And Henry Drummond wasn't revealed to be the devil everyone thought. He still knew and believed in the bible but he fought for the cause of the case, the right to think.

First Post

Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Inherit the Wind, Publication Date: Sep. 1955, Presentation Date: Friday, Feb. 20