Those damn kids

Inherit the Wind begins with two children conversing about the weather. Howard, the boy, is looking for worms so he can go fishing. Melinda, the girl, does not like worms. She says they creep her out. Howard then goes on to say that we all came from worms, referencing evolution. Melinda disagrees completely, stating that what Howard says is sinful. This shows that Melinda was taught in the ways of the bible and strongly believes in them. Howard really does not care what Melinda has to say because he is stupid and doesn't know any better. This conversation shows that these two children believe different things and some people don't agree with the other ideas.

The begining

The reason for starting off this book with a conversatioin between kids was to show how these opinion can be formed by the adults. These children have been influenced by the adults to tqake up on sides of arguments they dont quite understand. Plus it gives a paritly unbias view on the whole situation. Every adult in this argument is largely on one side of things. basically it gives an easy unbaisish way too look at the argument

Inherit the Ignorance

It's all a puppet show. A game of chess, with the prevailing forces on opposing sides strategically moving each piece to gain an upperhand on the other. It's all petty puffery. No one is really in this town, no one is involved in this case for an intellectual debate over the role of religion in school and hence in government. There is not some higher aspiration behind anyone. They want, want, want, the fame and the publicity; they want the theatrics and the drama.
If one side can puff up their feathers more than the other, if one gains more momentum, more public power, they are deemed the victor.
The petty puffery is descriptive of the ongoing play that we're reading, but also of the play that seems to manifest itself in everyday life. The world's a stage, as it were.
The religious zealots are annoying, to say the least. They automatically consider all who oppose them as sinners, evil, and wrong. There is no respect for the other side. No respect for the other HUMANS who are in the midst of the debate. I don't believe that's "what the bible says we should do". I do not believe that a prophet so prophetic such as Jesus would consider it Godly to descriminate against someone because they "cannot see the light".
I cannot understand bigotry like that. I cannot understand how they can believe they are correct in anything. There is no logic. And without logic, I do not believe you can have true faith.
Blah.

Inherit the Wind

The concept of separation of church and state is a part of our government that is extremely crucial in terms of just law making and was instated for a reason and there was no separation of the two in 1925. The church and the government were indistinguishable from one another in 1925. Therefore, anyone who opposed or spoke up against religion or the values and teachings of religion were breaking the law and didn't stand a chance because the government had the power and the voice. This court case is the perfect example because the prosecuter was viewed as if he were a god, because he supported religion and the Bible, the people and the government supported him, and the defense and the accused were seen as filthy, sinning, spawns of Satin.

Oh... gluttony, taking more than one's fair share and being selfish and greedy is vast in quantity in our world and especially our country and the biggest example we have seen so far in Inherit the Wind is in the case of the prosecuter who in this book is named Mr. Brady. As humans we love attention and praise and Brady is no different. Soaking up every ounce of worship the citizens give him, as well as every morsel of food he can get his hands on. The thing about gluttony is we never accept or admit to it, oh ill just have one bite or lets just talk about me for one more minute. We are selfish and completely in denial about it, because we refuse, quite strongly, to believe anything other than that we are supreme, generous, perfect beings whom look down upon the rest of the world's creatures.

Ignorance, refusing to accept, believe, or acknowledge something that threatens of differs from one's own views. While I'm not trying to be ignorant but much ignorance occurs in this trial. No one can even think about the possibility that Creationism is not the truth of our creation, that is the way it is and that's that. No one questions it, everyone, OK not everyone, but many merely accept it. That is ignorance, while yes it may hurt to find out that the ways of God are not always right, it is important, no crucial to be able to investigate and think for one's self, and the fear of finding out that one may be wrong is the reason for the immense amount of ignorance that lies everywhere we turn.

Long term/short term changes to Hillsboro

The decision to hold the trial in Hillsboro causes many changes to the town, both long term and short term. The short term transformation of the small, sleepy Southern town into a bustling, town-fair like atmosphere happens almost immediately. It seems inevitable that media will follow this court case and therefore the citizens of the town wanted to make it seem as warm and welcoming as possible. They enhanced the true identity of the town by purposely displaying happy, religious supporting people. Lemonade and hot dog stands are put up along with bible sellers and other Church supporting signs. Yet, the impacts of the trial on this town are much more than the outside transformation for the press. The town is "as much on trial as the individual defendant." Hillsboro represents all of the small, Southern towns, and as the media looms upon it, It must prove to the rest of the world that they are correct. Everything about the town will be put under scrutiny, from the schools to the judge to the condition of the courthouse. If the defendant is proven innocent it will change the whole town drastically, not only will the schools' science classes have to be restructured, but the whole religious community will be offended and dishonored. By having this case tried is Hillsboro the community is putting its whole way of life on trial. They are opening their daily lives to the rest of the world and proving that they are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

INherit the WInd

Gluttony. Br. Brady, obviously symbolizes this attribute in part one of the play. His constant "snacking" or actually what we see as feasting, is constantly being brought up. His excessive need for "Oh, just a little more" shows how we are always "needing" more. Also, I guess you could look at it in a way where gluttony is exemplifying how we always have to want to be right. In a court case, this seems to sprout quite a lot...greed just gets in the way sometimes and really does just cause problems...is that bad though? I mean gluttony is known as a bad thing, and I'm definitely not denying it, but does it create good controversy to lead to discussions/battles? Hm...idk....this is getting too large for my brain to spit out...

Ignorance. Hahahahahahaha. This is one of the most debatable topics. It creates our points of view, our beliefs, morals, ideas, etc... whether it fully controls them, or not at all. This point definitely arouses conflict. Let's see, Brady is completely blinded by his ignorance of evolution because of religion, and then in his point of view, Cates is completely ignorant because he opposes the religious theory of creationism and believes in evolution. Hehe. I think that if people don't necessarily agree with us, they are ignorant in our minds. Interesting, eh?

Church&State. Oh Boy. This subject is always fun to discuss! Basically, they should just be separated...always...they should never intertwine. Not everyone abides by the same religion, so it just simply doesn't make sense to teach religious concepts in a public setting. This idea is the entire background on the Scopes trial, or I should say Cates trial really...It disrespects the non-included religions and just brings up too much uproar. Sure, you're always going to have people opposing, but in the case of something this big, it should satisfy the majority of the people. If you do go by hardcore religion, then you should be enrolled in a private, religious school. There. Problem solved. Separate the two and keep them that way.

Do you know what you're even talking about?

In the opening scene of the book, two of the children in the town, Melinda and Howard are discussing evolution. Neither of the children know exactly what they are talking about while talking to eachother. Howard says "we are all decendants from worms or jelly," which is not true. and Melinda is automatically disgusted by the fact that "when there was only water on the world, every living thing was a worm or jelly," just because her pa believes in creation. The entire trial is bassed on Creation vs. Evolution and even the two children have taken sides. This shows how not only did most people not know what they were taking sides on because people are so closed minded and hear only what they want to hear, but also the fact that everyone took a side on the issue, and it caused many conlflicts in everyday life. Teachers lost and disobeyed rights, people pulled their children out of school, and enrolled them in private religious schools. The trial effected the entire town, country, and world.