1
Tran
Nguyen Tran
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English 101
Essay 2
Dr. Vrunda Sahay
Feb 22th 2016
The Controversy Between Religion and Freedom of Thinking
Each individual of humankind was born with a natural curiousness about oneself and one’s surroundings. Seeking the truth and explanation of those things is human instinct. In the past, the ancestors believed that any natural phenomena were created by supernatural powers of God. After hundreds or thousands of years, these phenomena have been logically explained by scientific methods and theories. However, in 20th century, when these two different explanations interpreted with each other, it became a controversial issue questioning which one was right and which one was wrong. The Scopes Monkey
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In order to demonstrate it, the battle of Brady and Drummond shows the opposite conception between them. When Drummond inquires Brady’s thought about the time in the first day of the Creation, Brady replies that “I do not think about things that… I do not think about!” (Lawrence 97). Brady chooses not to think to literally accept all the Bible words. It is the way he consolidates his belief but imprisons “his power of mind to reason” (Lawrence 93). Also, at his contemporary time, when Americans were daily fighting for the rights to be free agents and while the right to think was one of the most basic rights of human being, his statement seemed to recoil upon himself in that flowing current. On the other hand, Drummond declares the freedom of thinking in every conversation with others. When Cates is frustrated under the harshly public views and Rachel insists him to admit that he is wrong, Drummond supports Cates by letting Cates choose either quitting or not. He gives Cates the chance to make up his mind. In the trial, he questions Brady the origin of the events in the Bible hence he creates chances for Brady and everyone in the courtroom to think. He states, “I am trying to establish, Your Honor, that Howard or Colonel Brady- or Charles Darwin- or anyone in this courtroom- or you, sir- has the right to think” (Lawrence 71). With his statement, Drummond …show more content…
In Inherit the wind, Brady and Hillsboro townspeople’s absolute belief in God seems to be the dominant one that wants to control the freedom of thought, which Cates and Drummond are fighting for. Because this domination would lead to the limitation in naturally human development, so in order to avoid that, the play suggests that the compromise of these two concepts should be made. Because Brady is a man who “have moved away- by standing still” as Drummond says, he refuses to adapt new ideas of Darwinism as rejects to reconcile his religious fundamentalism with the freedom of thought (Lawrence 67). Due to that, he experiences his epiphany in a tragic way at the end of the play. After the judge announces the trial’s result and the townspeople do not pay attention to him and his speech, he is shocked with the reality, and because of his overeating he collapses and dies later. Differing with Brady, Drummond is open- minded and has a stable will so he does not meet his epiphany. Drummond feels great anguish at the death of Brady. He shares that Brady was a great man who just got lost because “looking for God too high up and too far away”; he also protected Brady under the cynic of Hornbeck because in his opinion, Brady also had “the right to be wrong” (Lawrence 127- 128). His action of slapping the Bible and the Darwin books and putting them in the same case
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.
In contrast, Drummond’s agnostic views drew negative attention; Reverend Brown even referred to him as “a vicious, Godless man” (Inherit the Wind 27). Both characters understood the importance of public opinion in a trial. Brady, in an attempt to control the jury’s decision through how much each jury member liked him, chose to gain as many supporters as possible going into the trial (Inherit the Wind 41). Drummond worried less about his popularity and focused on having the facts to change people’s minds throughout the trial and to use the force of surprise to gain the support of the public to win the case immediately or to win an appeal later (Inherit the Wind 102, 116). Each attorney’s strategy achieved its goal.
Written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the play Inherit the Wind is a fictitious spin off of the historical Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, which hotly debated the concept of evolutionism vs. creationism and, in general, a person’s right to think. Overall this play shows the growth of many different types of characters. One of these characters would be Rachel Brown, the reverend's’ daughter, as well as Bert Cates love interest. She is torn between her love for Bert and her loyalty to her father, the Reverend Jeremiah Brown. At the beginning of the play she fears her father and follows only what he says. As the play progresses Rachel becomes more confidant and starts to think for herself. By the end of the play she has created her own identity and completely separates herself from her father.
The play Inherit the Wind, was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee to inform its readers about the injustice of a law that limited the freedom of an ordinary citizen. This play is based upon actual events that happened to an individual, John Scopes, in Dayton, Tennessee during the 1920’s. This famous “Monkey Trial” not only allowed people to begin to accept new theories about the origin of man, but also showed that they did not have to limit themselves in other areas of life.
Disher demonstrates isolation of the ethnic groups and the regional and urban divide present in The Divine Wind through the beliefs, experiences, and values of the Killian family and Hartley Penrose. Both culturally and geographically isolated from the rest of Australia, the people of Northern and Central Australia, specifically Broome felt ignored, misunderstood, and misconstrued by the urban South. This is an ongoing theme in Australia. They resented interference from the federal government. The North feared invasion from Japanese and argued that Australia would perish if the North and the Centre were not populated and developed. Racism was intrinsic, with the Aborigines seen either as treacherous or lazy or as childlike and in need of protection. White Australians were the minority and their high statuses were a scant consolation when they were vastly outnumbered by a diverse range of cultures, the Japanese, Malays, and other South East Asians. Although, the minority, the white residents felt as if they had a power of the other ethnicities. Therefore, opening segregated cinemas, a Register of Aliens, and a clear but unofficial racial hierarchy. Their geographical isolation led to specific cultures, views, and beliefs on race. The regional and urban divide was evident when Jaimie Kilian’s wealthy urban family arrived in Broome. Jaimie felt entitled as his father was the new magistrate in town, he was arrogant and opinionated towards the regional community. When Hart offered his friendship, Kilian responded by saying “I don’t need any friends. “He walked as if he had owned the town.” Jamie enjoyed having an edge over Hart, he felt entitled as he was an urban elite. “Jamie was competitive. In almost everything you could name, Jamie was better than me…We were opposites.” Hart displayed what many felt about the new family from the Urban South. “I envied him, I was jealous, I pitied myself.”
The novel The Divine Wind (1998) by Garry Disher and the 2003 film, Japanese Story, directed by Sue Brooks both explore the theme of 'love' through the use of novel and film techniques. Through the studying of the context and textual form of both of these texts, a greater understanding of the important ideas is achieved. This includes exploring the context, the characters and the key theme of love.
The Divine Wind, written by Garry Disher, is a novel in which not only shows and describes the struggle of characters during World War II in Broome, Australia, but also the many aspects of prejudice which affect namingly Ida Penrose, Mitsy Sennosuke, and Magistrate Killian.
Throughout the twentieth century, numerous dramas that were written in the United States presented ideas and situations that had the purpose of changing a reader’s attitude towards a specific subject. This is the case of the play “Inherit the Wind”, a piece written by the playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Throughout the years, many literary scholars have argued whether or not “freedom of thought” has stood as a predominant theme in the play. While this issue may bring about countless debates, my respect towards others’ viewpoints has allowed me to pick a side and to defend it with textual evidence from the play itself. From my perspective, the main theme in Inherit the Wind is freedom of thought.
Both Brady and Drummond agree that creationism is not a proven theory, and although Brady is a religious man himself, he places the people of Hillsboro in a class lower than himself. He explains, "These are simple people, Henry, poor people. They worked hard and they need to believe in something, something beautiful. They're seeking something more perfect than what they have" (Inherit the Wind). By this, Brady concedes that religion is like a fairy tale; it is not real, yet it makes some people feel better about reality. Drummond's fear regarding religion is that people have blind faith in something that is not real. He mockingly refers to this type of faith as, "Window shopping for heaven," while Brady calls religion the "golden chalice of hope" for the residents of Hillsboro (Inherit the Wind). Here, Kramer presents his
Having the label of colonel applied to his name only increases his perceived appearance of power and knowledge. The locals feel inferior to Brady’s intellectual persona radiating from his ego. This is identical to cults where the members feel inferior as common folk, compared to the omnipresent director. Like many cultic leaders, Brady eventually falls victim to realism and practicality. Brady is no expert on the Bible and that is made abundantly clear during the trial. He is wise enough to recall major key elements, and has also committed many Biblical passages to memory. However, he is naïve and poorly versed on the literal translation of some controversial facets of the Bible, which in turn destroy his credibility during cross-examination by Drummond when he takes the stand.
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.
I believe that the state should not tell people what to believe. Everyone has their own mind and they have the right to believe what they want to believe. I see nothing wrong with teachers teaching about Darwinism or Creationism. I think that everyone should be educated on both matters. There is nothing wrong with knowing information about both subjects, and believing or not believing in them. It is the job of teachers to educate the students on people’s ideas and findings from their research. Once a teacher is telling students what they should or shouldn't do then it is a problem. In the movie, Inherit the Wind, there are many instances where I believe that Bert Cates should not have been found guilty for educating his students on the
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.”
In Inherit the Wind, changing some elements of the play, such as names and actions, helps to protect the real characters and their actions, while also continuing to stay historically accurate in terms of the overall theme: religion versus evolution.
The issue here is should Wind Technology compete in the HVPS market? Based on the estimated “attainable” market potential of ______________________, a one-half (0.5 percent) market share would correspond to ___________________$ sale? After subtracting production costs, what is the approximate profit available? _____________________ $