Entertainment

Inherit The Wind: Play vs. Real Events

By Leonardo Caragliano

In America, the First Amendment is granted to citizens, which preserves and grants each individual the rights to protest freely, petition freely, speak as we wish, and express our religion. However, this was not always the case, such as government policies suggested in 1925. A little town in Tennessee, known as Dayton, had restricted the people of their First Amendment rights by silencing the teaching of evolution within schools. Teachers had to teach that people were created by God and not evolved from monkeys. This was known as the Butler Act. Of course, not all would oblige to the state’s Butler Act — especially not John Thomas Scopes.

John Thomas Scopes was a biology teacher at Rhea County High School. Scopes was teaching material from Charles Darwin’s book, On the Origin of Species, until he was suddenly arrested and sentenced to trial in the spring of 1925. The court case had received so much attention that it was the first court case to be nationally covered on radio. In fact, the court case was so big that 30 years later it was turned into a play titled Inherit The Wind. The play has many similarities to the real events that occurred as well as many differences, which is what will be compared and contrasted within this article.

Scopes vs State of Tennessee, also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, took place on July 10th, 1925. In the play, our characters are: Bertram Cates who represents Scopes, Matthew Harrison Brady who represents William Jennings Bryan, and Henry Drummond who represents Clarence Darrow. In the play, our protagonist, Bert Cates, is also a school teacher who is arrested and placed on trial for teaching the theory of evolution in a school in the town, Hillsboro, located in Tennessee. In the play, Cates has a love interest who he pursues, known as Rachel Brown. The town of Hillsboro is run by Reverend Brown, who is also Rachel's father. At the end of the play, Rachel leaves her father with Cates as they travel by train to somewhere else. The trial had changed Rachel as a character from her previously religious-based ideologies and her close relationship with her father, to being more open-minded, however sacrificing her relationship with her father.

However, in reality, Scopes had no love interest. He was just a biology teacher who taught evolution in a highly religious town. The whole play and real event are centered around the theory of evolution versus creationism and the contrast between the two ideas, which is why the trial was a big deal to the town, and also why it gained so much attention. Additionally, Reverend Brown is solely for fictional purposes only, which means that in real life there was no Reverend Brown. Instead, William Jennings Bryan was highly regarded as a hero for the town of Hillsboro in helping with the trial by supporting creationism and the Bible. Bryan ran for president three different times as a Democrat, but he was unsuccessful in each attempt. He ultimately served as a lawyer, orator, and politician. Because of his roles in government, the town believed that he was a superior human being,above them which is why they supported him.

In the play, our main antagonists happened to win the battle, but they both lost the war. Drummond questioned the judge to put Brady on the stand for testimony on the Bible. This was a big mistake on the part of Brady, as Drummond would seize this moment to eviscerate Brady. One particular moment in the play occurs at the end of Act II, when Drummond starts questioning Brady about the duration of a day in the Bible, to which Brady continues to respond unsurely, as if he is overwhelmed by Drummond’s question. Brady then makes it worse for himself by spewing Bible verses and names from the Bible in a final act of desperation, which makes the whole courtroom laugh at Brady. Later that day, Brady surprisingly dies from a busted belly after fainting in the courtroom and getting rushed to the hospital.

In real life, the Scopes Monkey Trial ended on July 21st, resulting in a loss for Scopes where he was fined one hundred dollars. Although Bryan won the case, Darrow did not go down without a fight. By calling Bryan to the stand in a similar manner, Darrow questions Bryan about the duration of a day as well. Bryan responds unsurely and so the courtroom also laughs at him. Coincidentally, just five days after the court case had ended, William Jennings Bryan died due to a stroke.

In conclusion, the Scopes Monkey Trial was a successful attempt at stopping people from teaching evolution in schools in Tennessee, but only for a while. The law was eventually changed and evolution was taught instead of the theory of creationism. Through the courageous act of Scopes, he granted others the bravery to have their voices heard as well. 

“He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise in heart.” - Proverbs 11:29