Creationism In Inherit The Wind

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Religion or science? For years people have been debating which of the two contrasting views should be taught and accepted in schools. But why not both? In the play Inherit the Wind, written by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence, Bertram Cates is arrested and put on trial for teaching his students the theory of evolution. Cate 's lawyer, Drummond fails to prove him innocent during the course of the trial, but does manage to educate people in the court about how evolution and creationism can go hand in hand. Using the Bible and some common sense he shows the town that parts of the Bible cannot be taken literally, and God may have used evolution to create humans. It is possible for two different views of humankind 's roots to exist side by …show more content…

Additionally, it is possible for two different views of humankind 's roots to exist side by side because of the fact that during Cate 's trial, Drummond convinced many members of the jury that the law was unjust and the town should not take the Bible literally. In the narration of Inherit the Wind it says, "The laughter is painful to Brady. He starts to answer Drummond then turns toward the spectators and tries almost physically to suppress the amused reaction. This only makes it worse." (99) Over a short period of time, Drummond was able to influence many people from the jury that they shouldn 't take the Bible literally and that everything isn 't as black and white as they previously thought. Drummond got the crowd laughing at his jokes and exposed the jury to different perspectives and some of them understood him. If the community were to teach evolution and creationism in schools, the children would be more educated and would be able to form their opinions based on what they were taught instead of being thrown in jail for their thoughts. Readers who argue that evolution and creationism cannot coexist may claim that because only some of the jury agreed with Drummond, it will be impossible to get the whole town to accept the idea of evolution and creationism being taught together. While it is true that not everyone in the room was pro-evolution at the time, if a law was passed to allow both subjects to be taught, a new generation of acceptance and learning can sprout

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