Inherit the Wind

Today had the chance to sit on the boat and read another RA favorite book, hmm... it was a Tisch acting student, which means it was a play!  Oh well, we’ll count it.  Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s classic play, Inherit the Wind.  The play debuted in 1955 and is a fictional story based on the 1925 Scopes Monkey trial, the fight between creationism vs. evolution.  Bertram Cates, a young school teacher, is charged with breaking the law by teaching students in his class about a different way in which the world may have begun, through an evolution of “ape to man.”  The two main characters are Brady (the conservative lawyer fighting to get an indictment of Cates) and Davenport (a well-known lawyer who is ushered into town to defend free speech and the rights of citizens).  The story is a classic of how we as a society have evolved and changed from a focus of our country on Christian beliefs to a very individual rights focused society.  The book really captures the era well and the story flows and while a period piece, it still makes you think.  An interesting twist at the end when we see that Cates is found guilty, but receives the chance to appeal, and the lawyer who fights against him dies of a heart-attack.  Cates doesn’t understand why his lawyer would be sympathetic to Brady’s death, and finds out that Davenport is really someone who supports all free speech, even if it is smothering others abilities to follow their beliefs.  The story is well known for the chilling battle between the two lawyers.  Again, it is a dated piece, but the drama is there, though the language and story itself doesn’t really fit today’s storyline.  A classic for sure, but it’s a play and not a book, so pass on this one!