Inherit the Wind - Prompt 6: The Criticism and Sympathy

The social norms presented in Inherit the Wind, are blind acceptance of the Biblical version of Creationism versus keeping an open mind and allowing for the exploration of new mentifacts.  Lawrence and Lee used point – Brady and the townspeople – and counter point – Drummond and Hornbeck – to criticize and sympathize with Hillsboro’s social norms.  The authors used the differences between characters to present a sympathetic yet critical satire.  In the beginning, the authors criticize the social norms of Hillsboro by painting the townspeople as narrow-minded religious fanatics. When Matthew Brady arrived in the town, for all intents and purposes, he was almost deified – he was thought to be the savior of the town.  To conclude the song, “Give Me That Old Time Religion,” the townspeople sang, “It is good enough for Brady, It is good enough for Brady, And it’s good enough for me.”  (Act 1, Scene 1, page 19)  However, their own beliefs in which they were so entrenched, only allowed for the worship of the Biblical written word, God, and Jesus.  The satiric irony presented in this is that the townspeople were taking their religion to extremism - the whole reason for the predicament existing was because they felt threatened that someone was taking free speech to extremism and thus defying their beliefs in Creationism.  So, they blindly condemned the Darwin spouting educator when their own actions are condemnable by the rules of their own religion.  They worshiped a human when their religion asked for them to worship God.  Brady was not the voice of reason because he could only accept Creationism – he was a fanatic.  It actually killed him to acknowledge other’s ideas and beliefs.

However, through Drummond, Lawrence and Lee brought the voice of reason to the play.  There were many instances in which Drummond did not present anything other than neutrality, even though he was defending Cate’s legal right to teach Darwinian Theory.  The most prominent instance was at the end of the play, when the attorney placed both books side by side in his briefcase.  This absence of blatantly stating his ideas was Lawrence and Lee’s method of sympathetically criticizing the town and its social norms.  

Additionally, Lawrence and Lee invent a foil through the character of Hornbeck.  Hornbeck mocks the town with his observations and reports.  He uses allusions to the Bible to criticize the townspeople.  In Act 1, Scene 1, page 32-33, Hornbeck while biting an apple says to Rachel, “I’m not the serpent, Little Eva.  This isn’t from the Tree of Knowledge.  You won’t find one in the orchards of Heavenly Hillsboro.  Birches, beeches, butternuts.  A few ignorance bushes.  No Tree of Knowledge.”  Overall, to sympathize and criticize with the social norms presented in the play, Lawrence and Lee used not only the difference in the opinions of the characters, but also the way those characters expressed those opinions.

           - J. A. Kind