Although the trial in Inherit the Wind concerns the bout between creationism and evolutionism, a deeper conflict exists beneath the surface. Drummond points to this more staple fibre issue when he asks his young witness Howard whether he believes in Darwin. When the son responds that he hasnt made up his mind, Drummond insists that the boys freedom to thinkâ€"to make up his make mindâ€"is what is actually on trial.
The creationists in the play, who adhere to rigid, primitive Christian doctrines, are a conservative force that has convinced(p) for Hillsboro society how their minds should be made up. Their conservatism is rooted in fear. The most adamant creationists, Brady and Reverend Brown, occupy positions of authority at the top of the fond order, and their primary motivation is to maintain this image over that social order. Like Darwinism, which questions the ghostlike foundation of that social order, new, progressive ideas present a threat to the creationists status as leaders.
Drummond, Hornbeck, and Cates, though they maintain respectable positions within societyâ€"attorney, journalist, and teacher, on an individual basisâ€"are more interested in the truth than in maintaining their own social status.
Their willingness to stand by their own judgments til now as they call those judgments to question indicates their self-relianceâ€"a trace that is notably absent in Brown and Brady, who lean quite on the legitimacy gained by their status as religious leaders. Brown, for instance, uses fire-and-brimstone sermons to root out dissent in the Hillsboro community and within his own family. The obedience he demands of the community is the opposite of freedom. In contrast, the questioning that Cates practicesâ€"and encouragesâ€"promotes freethinking, which opens new paths to progress.
Man vs. Society
In Inherit the Wind, Cates challenges the righteousness and, with it, the norms of Hillsboro society. Facing disfavor from the townspeople, he nonetheless decides...If you want to nettle a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay
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