Inherit The Wind Analysis

Inherit the Wind is a play about the battle between scientific and religious beliefs, and the restrictions upon freedom of thought. The themes presented in Inherit the Wind are timeless, and could have taken place a century ago, could be taking place today, and could take place in twenty years. In order to illustrate the timelessness of the play, the country-side surroundings and backgrounds are depicted in a modern setting. This also reinforces the fact that these themes are not obsolete and part of the past and that these ideas are still being spread around today. In addition, the drawing is done in black and white, which represents the past, while the objects in the drawing are modern, which represent both the present and future. Furthermore,
the stage and objects were drawn according to how blocking would take place on a stage to create an extension of the world. This realism emphasizes that these themes still resonance within our day-to-day lives. Moreover, the location of the set is not made clear, to further describe how these themes could take place anywhere in our lives. Downstage is the courtyard where much of the first scene takes place; the area is lit in a green light in order to create the illusion of a green field- this part of the set is not complete, rather it relies on the audience to fill in the areas between props with their imagination. By doing so this represents the fact that the people outside the courtroom should be able to use their own imagination and freedom to think about what is taking place inside the courtroom. However this is ironic as in Inherit the Wind the people do not think freely about what is happening inside the courtroom, they just accept the church’s teachings about creationism. Moving to the background of the stage, in order to further emphasize the effect of religion on society, the main building in the centre of the background is a church. This church is the largest building, is looming over the courtroom and is directly in the middle to represent how the proceedings of justice in Inherit the Wind are being influenced by religious beliefs- a biased voice. The back of the courtroom is non-existent, which represents how the trial should be a closed room, however the trial is still being influenced by outside forces. In addition, the houses in the background are all residential buildings, which represents how the public is always watching and has an effect. In Inherit the Wind, the public share many strong opinions about the trial, which have a strong effect on how the trial is conducted.