Preview

Inherit the Wind

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
762 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Inherit the Wind
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."
<br>
<br>The first instance of the town's prejudice is the overall affection for Brady, the prosecuting attorney. This is demonstrated when Brady first comes to the town and is greeted by a barrage of food and the citizens of Hillsboro singing "Gimme That Old-Time Religion," the lyrics of which quickly change to "It is good enough for Brady, and it's good enough for me!" The second example of adoration for Matt is when, upon being in the town no more then ten minutes, the mayor pronounces, "The Governor of our state has vested in me the authority to confer upon you a commission as Honorary Colonel in the State Militia," this announcement is applauded by the towns people. The last example is in the last scene of the play when Brady falls when giving a speech and a woman in the courtroom screams, "O Lord, work us a miracle and save our Holy Prophet!" which shows the citizen's devotion towards Brady. Over all, the defense never had a chance in winning the case due to the town's loyalty toward Brady.
<br>
<br>The religious views of town on a whole are second example why Cates, the defendant, would without doubt be found guilty. The first instance of the religious zealots in Hillsboro was when news came that Henry Drummond, the agnostic, was to be the defense attorney; this news brought reactions such as "Henry Drummond is an agent of darkness. We won't let him in the town!" from Reverend Brown, and Drummond

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The jury is sent to a hot, crowded room to deliberate. Before any formal discussion, they cast a vote. Eleven of the jurors vote “guilty.” Only one juror votes “not guilty.” That juror, who is known in the script as Juror #8 is the protagonist of the play. As the tempers flare and the arguments begin, the audience learns about each member of the jury. And slowly but surely, Juror #8 guides the others toward a verdict of “Not Guilty.”…

    • 1927 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Before one recess, the Judge announces that Reverend Brown had asked him to announce that there will be a prayer meeting in the courthouse lawn, to pray for justice and guidance (48). Drummond see’s this as unfair since the court is promoting Christianity. Drummond, annoyed, says “Your Honor. I object to this commercial announcement” (48), because the Judge seems to be favoring Creationism. If the Judge makes an announcement for Reverend Brown, he should also make one for Cates and/or Drummond. He see’s this as an opportunity to mention the huge “Read Your Bible!” banner outside of the courthouse. Drummond demands a banner just as big, right beside the bible banner, to promote Evolutionism/Darwinism. The trail is not fair since the Judge, Jury, Courthouse, and the whole town favors Creationism and Christianity. Drummond just wants a fair trial.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The social influences, spiritual authority, and bitter vengeance that Judge Danforth, Abigail Williams, and the average citizen of Salem strongly portrayed exemplifies the failure of a non-secular society and a community built on God that was destined to fail.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry Drummond is the lawyer that defended Cates during the case, altho he loses the case, he left the town of Hillsboro a hero. He exposed that Brady and the whole town is blindly following the church without knowing what’s in the bible. Drummond showed he is a smart, courageous and caring who won the heart of the readers. In act 1 scene 2 Drummond demonstrated that he is smart when he examined Bannister.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Witch Trials DBQ

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Document E shows us that thirty-two out of thirty-four accusers lived on the west side of town. This would mean that almost all of the accused lived on the east side of town. According to the note on Document E, the people living on the east side of town tended to be more affluent and had more political power. In the contrast, the accusers that lived on the west side had very little to no wealth, and they had no political power. This evidence helps explain the hysteria because it shows that loss of wealth and power can cause resentment. Resentment can easily lead to accusation, and can cause one’s children to make false…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Set in the sweltering summer of 1954, Reginald Rose's socially insightful play "Twelve Angry Men", illustrates the dangers of a justice system that relies on twelve individuals to reach a "life or death" decision with collective states of minds hindered by "personal prejudice". At the conception of the play, rose explores the idea that doubt is a harder state of mind than certainty by portraying doubt, in the guilt of the boy, as a minority view within the courtroom. However, as the play progresses a seed of doubt is planted and the importance of self prejudice hindering the verdict is removed, making it harder for the jurors to hold their certainty in their guilty verdict.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Act two, Hale says, “I have seen too many frightful truths in court- the Devil is alive in Salem, and we dare not quail to follow wherever the accusing finger points.”4 This is a representation of what the people of Salem feel in this situation.…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the middle of the play when John gets everyone to sign the petition for his and a few others’ wives to be released, Reverend Parris fights against it. He tries to discredit John before he can even defend his wife. He says, “Beware this man, Your Excellency, this man is mischief.” He cannot bear the thought of possibly someone finding out his niece, her friends, and himself are all frauds and have been lying through the entire duration of the trial. He continuously tries to discredit his testimonies by pointing out, “Such a Christian that will not come to church but once in a month.” To not show up to church was a great offense, and you were seen as a lesser christian or less of a person for not showing up for it. For Parris to bring this up in the middle of church, it really threw a wrench is the Judge's ability to believe his testimony of being honest. Parris knew that he had to discredit John in order to keep the truth and his reputation…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Thomas Putnam "was a man with many grievances, at least one of which appears justified. Some time before, his wife's brother-in-law, James Bayley, had been turned down as minister at Salem" (1.1). Putnam had feelings of resentment against the town even before the witchcraft accusations begin.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    It is easier to find the Devil in your neighbor than to admit to your own guilt. With the help of religious intensity it is easier to see them hanged as well. In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts this religious intensity does just that. The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, portraits the grim events that are happening in this little town of Salem and demonstrates just how easily things can get out of hand. The people of Salem are Puritan, and their main focus is on pleasing God. Many of the sermons in the Puritan church are about hellfire and damnation, so they always live in fear of God’s retribution. “When difficulties in the community began to arise, the blame was easily placed on the Devil and the “witches” that were carrying out his work for him” (Shah 1). The fear of God’s wrath and the Devil can cause anyone to lay the blame on others so they themselves do not receive it. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, Puritans radical beliefs and intolerance are the source of irrational witchcraft accusations towards the people of Salem.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    During this time, the city was governed by the church and a massive witch hunt took where people were condemned for being pawns of the Devil. Officials in Salem authorized many of the witch trials and sent dozens of accused witches to die. Deputy Governor Danforth was one of them. He showed no signs of backing down from his cause. “[D]o you know that near to four hundred are in jails . . . upon my signature? . . . And seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature” (Miller, 91)? This was not because he was evil, but because he believed he was righteous. His intentions were good because he truly believed he was saving Salem, but his actions, as seen today, were evil. Another authority figure who believes they are doing good and perpetuates the Salem Witch Trials is Judge Hathorne. “Why at every execution I have seen naught but high satisfaction in the town” (Miller, 133). Hathorne, like Danforth, believes he is on a Holy Crusade that will move Salem out of the Devil’s hands, and into God’s grace. These authority figures in The Crucible illustrate how values change over time. The society they lived in had different values than society does today. Because of this, they acted accordingly with their ideas of good and evil and cannot be judged by people…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Research Paper

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel that was published in 1960, the times where our nation had segregation and injustice amongst the colored and the whites. Racism presents itself in many ways in the town of Maycomb. Some are blatant and open, but others are more insidious. The plot focuses on a lawyer, Atticus Finch, and how he defends a colored man, Tom Robinson, who is wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. When they go to trial Tom is automatically a victim of injustice when they find him guilty of rape just because he is black (Normney 5). om Robinson’s trial, and in fact his entire life, was badly affected by racism. It is truly a testament to the corruption of society when a person who has earned a bad reputation is held in higher esteem than a person who was born with it, as is the case with Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson. Even though Tom was obviously honest in his testament, the jury sided with Bob Ewell because he was white. They made this decision despite the fact that the Ewell family was widely known to be a worthless part of society. Jem, not being racially prejudiced, could not understand this mentality. As Atticus pointed out, “If you (Jem) had been on the jury, son, and eleven other boys like you, Tom would be a free man.” (Lee 7).…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the days go by and the trial approaches people in the town start to look at…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A black man, Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. In this subplot, the racially prejudice nature of Maycomb is clearly portrayed through such instances as the fact that Atticus is accused by the town of being a "nigger lover" for defending Tom’s case and also through the lynch mob scene outside the jail. It is in the Tom Robinson trial that the greatest example of injustice because of prejudice is seen. Although Atticus actually manages to prove the innocence of Tom Robinson, the white jury still refuses to declare the innocence of a black man over a white resulting in the most blatant testimony to the fact that the town of Maycomb held racial discrimination above justice. Through its decision the town essentially kills a mockingbird. Tom Robinson was a man who did no harm to others but instead actually helped others out of kindness - a mockingbird who becomes victim to a racist society.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The motivation that the men had in the play was that they were determined to accuse Mrs. Wright had killed her husband regardless with the evidence they found or not linking her to the murder of Mr. Wright. The Sheriff stated “well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worrying’ about her preserves” (Glaspell 871). The county attorney had stated, “I guess before we’re through she may have something more serious than preserves to worry about” (Glaspell 871). The motivation that the men had towards the women that she had committed this horrific crime. The men in the play felt that they did not anymore evidence because to them Mrs. Wright was guilty and that nothing would change their minds on…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays

Related Topics