Sumaiya Chaudhry
1. According to Inherit the Wind, what was the Scopes trial about?
According to Inherit the Wind, the Scopes trial was about the Scopes “Monkey” Trial that took place in 1925. The authors of the play, Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence, wrote of the fictional account to teach of the conviction of Scope when he taught the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin to a high school class, even though it was not allowed due to Tennessee state law. The play succeeded in showing the disputes between evolutionists and creationists due to the trial. In Inherit the Wind, the Scopes trial is expressed as the trial of Bert Cates, who is a high school biology teacher. Cates broke Tennessee law by teaching evolution to his class and as a result, he is imprisoned in jail. The play follows the prosecutor of the trial, Matthew Harrison Brady and the defender, Henry Drummond, as they fight for religion and science.
2. Describe the motivations of those opposed to the teaching of evolution in Inherit the Wind.
The motivation of those opposed to the teaching of evolution in Inherit the Wind is religion. Those who opposed the teaching of evolution due to religion believed that people should follow the Bible and its story of the Divine Creation of man, which does not mention that humans have evolved from apes. Those who opposed this idea were known as fundamentalists, people who took the Bible as the literal word of God. They believed Darwin’s theory conflicted with the idea of
1. According to Inherit the Wind, what was the Scopes trial about?
According to Inherit the Wind, the Scopes trial was about the Scopes “Monkey” Trial that took place in 1925. The authors of the play, Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence, wrote of the fictional account to teach of the conviction of Scope when he taught the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin to a high school class, even though it was not allowed due to Tennessee state law. The play succeeded in showing the disputes between evolutionists and creationists due to the trial. In Inherit the Wind, the Scopes trial is expressed as the trial of Bert Cates, who is a high school biology teacher. Cates broke Tennessee law by teaching evolution to his class and as a result, he is imprisoned in jail. The play follows the prosecutor of the trial, Matthew Harrison Brady and the defender, Henry Drummond, as they fight for religion and science.
2. Describe the motivations of those opposed to the teaching of evolution in Inherit the Wind.
The motivation of those opposed to the teaching of evolution in Inherit the Wind is religion. Those who opposed the teaching of evolution due to religion believed that people should follow the Bible and its story of the Divine Creation of man, which does not mention that humans have evolved from apes. Those who opposed this idea were known as fundamentalists, people who took the Bible as the literal word of God. They believed Darwin’s theory conflicted with the idea of