What Is The Real Conflict In Inherit The Wind?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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major conflict After being arrested for teaching evolution to his science classes, Bertram Cates becomes the center of a

controversial trial about religious fundamentalism versus the freedom of individual thought

.

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What is the real danger in Inherit the Wind?

Another major theme in Inherit the Wind is the

value of every person’s ability to think and have ideas

. The message that Lawrence and Lee convey through Drummond is that when people think and have ideas, they are not standing still.

What did Drummond really believe was on trial?

Drummond’s argument emphasizes the distinction between

“truth

,” which he believes every man has a right to seek for himself, and absolute values of right and wrong as determined by religious authorities. … Drummond suffers several procedural setbacks during the trial but makes his argument nonetheless.

What happened in Inherit the Wind?

Play Summary. As Inherit the Wind opens, Bert Cates, having been arrested for teaching evolution to his sophomore science class,

is in jail

. … Desperately wanting to avoid the mounting controversy over his case, she pleads with Cates to admit he was wrong to teach evolution, and she is disappointed that Cates refuses.

What happens when Brady arrives in Hillsboro Inherit the Wind?

When he arrives in Hillsboro at the conclusion of Scene 1,

he is alone and shunned by the townspeople

. In fact, when Melinda, the little girl, sees him, she calls him a devil and runs from him.

Who is the protagonist of Inherit the Wind?

The protagonist is

Henry Drummond

, the lawyer for the defense of Bert Cates. He represents independent thinking and freedom from censorship. Antagonist: The antagonist is Matthew Harrison Brady, the lawyer for the prosecution.

Who said Inherit the Wind?

Brady reminds

Brown

of a quote from the Bible, “He that troubleth his own house . . . shall inherit the wind.” Brady implies that Brown, by bringing condemnation on his own daughter, will leave himself with nothing but his own hot air.

Why does Drummond call Mr Brady to the witness stand?

Drummond argues that

testimony of scientists in this case

is no different from testimony of forensics experts in a murder case. Drummond then asks the judge whether he would admit testimony on the Bible. When the judge agrees to allow such testimony, Drummond calls Brady to the stand.

Why does Drummond have to call Brady to the stand as a witness?

When Drummond calls his scientific witnesses to the stand, Brady objects, and

the judge determines the testimony of the scientific witnesses irrelevant and excludes

them on the grounds that evolution itself is not on trial. Drummond then suggests putting Brady on the witness stand as an expert on the Bible.

What does the final scene of Drummond weighing both books and then putting them both in his brief case suggest?

Drummond advocates for the individual’s right to make up his own mind—or for the right to postpone that choosing. He balances the two books in his hands, as if on scales. This act, which alludes to the scales of justice, represents Drummond’s belief

that each book has equal worth

.

Who is Matthew Harrison Brady based on?

Brady is a caricature of the

real-life prosecutor William Jennings Bryan

. Like Brady, Bryan lost three presidential elections and died shortly after the Scopes Monkey Trial.

What is Drummonds reaction to Brady’s title?

The judge explains that Brady received the title as an honor. Drummond claims that Brady’s title

harms Cates’s case

. The judge gestures to the mayor, who says that he can’t take back Brady’s honorary title but says he will temporarily grant Drummond the title of colonel as well.

Why is Inherit the Wind important?

Lawrence and Lee use Inherit the Wind as

a metaphor for censorship or thought control

; the play is their response to McCarthyism. Although the basis of the play is a historical event. the playwrights are not referring only to the Scopes trial (1925), the Butler Law, and the creationism-evolutionism conflict.

Is Inherit the Wind only in play form?

Inherit the Wind is

only in play form

. The play was first produced at the Dallas Theatre ’55 in Dallas, Texas in January 1955.

What does Brady claim is his main reason for coming to Hillsboro?

What does the conversation between Hornbeck and Rachel reveal about Brady’s motivations for coming to Hillsboro?

He is there to gain more followers and to be in the spot light

.

Who is Henry Drummond based on?

Each attorney is a master of rhetoric, but Drummond is the noblest of the two. Henry Drummond, patterned after famed

lawyer and ACLU member Clarence Darrow

, is not motivated by publicity (unlike his real-life counterpart). Instead, he seeks to defend the teacher’s freedom to think and express scientific ideas.

What happened to the Stebbins boy in Inherit the Wind?

A young boy whom Cates taught, and who demonstrated a great aptitude for science,

Stebbins died of drowning

, but was not given a formal funeral by Reverend Brown because Stebbins was not baptized.

What does the expression Inherit the Wind mean?

If you cause troubles in your own house, or family, then you will inherit the “wind,” meaning

you will inherit nothing

. The second part goes along, emphasizing the fact that troubling your own family is not the way to go about things.

Who is Mrs Brady in Inherit the Wind?


Brady

.

Matthew Harrison Brady’s wife

. Mrs. Brady monitors her husband and nags him not to overeat.

What does Inherit the Wind mean in the Bible?

“The quote is taken from the The Bible, Proverbs chapter 11, verse 9: He that

troubles his own house

shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. Essentially, this means that anyone who causes trouble or unrest in his home, his town, or even his country, invites trouble and chaos.”

When did inherit the wind take place?

Inherit the Wind is an American play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, which debuted in 1955. The story fictionalizes the

1925

Scopes “Monkey” Trial as a means to discuss the then-contemporary McCarthy trials.

What did Rev Brown say about Tommy Stebbins?

What did Reverend Brown say about Tommy Stebbins?

Tommy Stebbins soul was damned, writhing in hellfire.

Why did Bert leave the church? Because of what happened to the Stebbins boy.

Why and about what does Davenport question Rachel what does she testify?

Why and about what does Davenport question Rachel? What does she testify? Davenport calls her into

testifying because she is the is a teacher at the school with Cates, so he believes that they have a mutual friendship.

What was Rachel’s testimony in Inherit the Wind?

When Rachel testifies

against Cates, the stage directions compare her to Brutus

, a character in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar who betrays his friend Caesar. By testifying, Rachel betrays Cates. The situation becomes unbearable for Rachel when she is on the witness stand, and it results in her near breakdown.

What does Melinda call Drummond?

Seeing Drummond in front of the bright red of the setting sun, Melinda exclaims, “

It’s the Devil!

” Hornbeck greets Drummond, saying “Hello, Devil. Welcome to Hell.”

Did Bert win or lose?

What happened to Brady? Brady died. Did Bert win or lose?

Bert won because he smashed a bad law and made it a joke

.

How does the crowd greet Brady?

Brady — now donning the pewter, white, and red of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — finished his route at the end zone closest to Gillette’s lighthouse, where the crowd in the lower bowl greeted him

with cheers

, as if he had never left.

Where is EK Hornbeck from?

A muckraking, progressive reporter from the

Baltimore

Herald, Hornbeck a wry, skeptical man distrustful of all religions and of religious bombast generally.

Who is Bertram Cates based on?

Fredric March and Florence Eldridge, the actors who play Matthew and Sarah Brady, were married in real life from 1927 until his death in 1975.

The real-life John Thomas Scopes

upon whom the Bertram Cates character was based had an unusual epilogue of his own.

What does Golden dancer symbolize?

Golden Dancer symbolizes

how Brady at first seemed like he was a perfect person with every thing going well for him

, but it turns out in the end that’s not how it was at all and all he inherited from life was ” the wind.” Just like Brady, Golden Dancer seemed perfect and had gold all on the outside, but in the end it …

Where was Inherit the Wind filmed?

Fictional Prototype Characters in Film Historical Figures in Real “Monkey Trial” Judge Merle Coffey (Henry Morgan) Judge John T. Raulston, Circuit Judge for the 18th District
Hillsboro, Tennessee

(fictional), at Hillsboro County Courthouse Dayton, Tennessee, at Rhea County Courthouse

What does the banner hanging in the center of town say?

What does the banner hanging in the center of town say? “

Read Your Bible!

What is the significance of Drummonds suspenders?

They symbolize

the importance of not judging a book by its cover

. It is used in the story when Henry Drummond is wearing purple suspenders, and Matthew Harrison Brady assumes that he got them from a big city; in reality, Drummond had gotten them from Brady’s own hometown.

What did Darwin’s Origin say?


“All organic beings that have lived on Earth could be descended from some primordial form

,” explained Darwin in The Origin of Species in 1859. Despite this statement, the scientist took it upon himself to understand the evolutional processes underlying biodiversity.

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.