Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Inherit the Wind
Book Review: Recomended
Summary: 4 Stars
Based upon the Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, TN, Inherit the Wind looks at the trial as a battle over the suppression of ideas that is reminiscent of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. However, it also includes some interesting thoughts reagarding fundamentalist interpretations of the bible. Some of these were taken from the actual testimony from the trial, although the book does take some liberties with history in order to make its point. Its themes are universal and the book/play definitely brings up some ideas that are still worthy of consideration today.Book Review: Review to Inherit the Wind
Summary: 2 Stars
My Review of Inherit the Wind
Inherit the Wind is the inspiring story of a small town, forced to confront their ignorance's and prejudices when a high school teacher, Bertram Cates is put on trial for teaching evolution. Although the way I've just described the plot sounds simple, this play is anything but simple. It has many different character relationships and dense themes that it confronts in a matter of only 3 acts. While that may work for a piece of literature like the Odyssey, I found the play harder to wrap my mind around. The story switched tones and themes so quickly that I found myself getting whiplash. Now I liked the story, and I am interested in all of the themes presented in it, for example, majority vs. minority, the separation of church and state, and the relationship between the Americans in cities and country folk. However I don't find it conducive to good writing to read about too many of these dense subjects in a matter of 118 pages. However, I did like the characters and their developments throughout the story. Jerome Laurence and Robert E. Lee told the story of a small town getting not only its fifteen minutes of fame, but scratching the surface of one of the older arguments that have been going on in our country; is there truly a separation of church and state?
If you want to hear a lot of ideas in a short period of time, this play is for you, its easy to read, however if you are someone who really likes to ponder and study one theme or issue at a time, this play will not allow you at kind of "luxury."
Book Review: Still Relevant
Summary: 4 Stars
In a world that is still divided over the wide range dilemma of religion, Inherit the Wind is brilliant in the manner where it analyzes its complexity. The premise is relatively simple. Based on the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1945, the plot charges forward when a young teacher, Cates, breaks a local rule banning the teaching of evolution in the classroom. He is arrested, and placed on trial within a not-so-welcoming town. Yet the real drama takes center stage when the trial moves beyond violating a local rule. Matthew Harrison, the national fundamentalist hero, views this trial as an opportunity to gain popularity across fundamentalist Christianity and decides to take on the case. His staunch orthodox is intensely rivaled by Henry Drummond, the avid atheist set on transforming the small town's approach to the bible and opposing view points. The novel's authors, Lawrence and Lee, take great care to expand the issue over the theory evolution to a broader context of the various forms of biblical interpretation. Lawrence and Lee bring up dilemmas such as whether or not the bible and religion itself have the capacity to correlate. The idea that the authors expanded the issue of evolution to a higher complexity focusing on biblical interpretation is in my opinion the greatest portion of the play, and deserves the reader's attention throughout.
Yet, while the variety of opinions were equally considered in the plot, they aren't the only portions that add to the novel's complexity and beauty. The famous political leaders themselves, Harrison and Drummond, are given traits that give justice to the men that they were based on. William Jennings Bryan, Harrison's character, was known to the public in the same form that Harrison was portrayed. Darrow, represented by Drummond, was a passionate atheist concerned for the law. The authors made it a point to stay true to the politicians' personas while at the same time steering the play away from a typical historical representation.
While in my opinion, the play had a liberal bias, it in no way went out to outright ridicule a conservative interpretation. What it did instead was demand that the general public remain open minded. It argues that people of all religious and political ideologies come together and discuss differences that in no way impede others from freely practicing what they believe. This in combination with the criticisms of our nation's justice system garner it the raves it deserves.
Book Review: Still relevant
Summary: 5 Stars
It was written decades ago, inspired on a famous trial that had taken place years earlier, yet Inherit the Wind feels as powerful and relevant today as, I imagine, did when it first opened on Broadway. That's a testament to the fantastic writing, of course, but unfortunately also shows how little we've learned since then.Book Review: The Spark
Summary: 5 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this in my freshman English class years ago, but it stands out as a major turning point for me. Because of this book, I was inspired to write. Nuf said.