Inherit the Wind Essay Example for Free

Inherit the Wind Essay Inherit the Wind, a play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, was first produced as regional theater in 1955. It is based on an actual trial held in Tennessee over 30 years earlier. The central theme of the play is not religion versus Darwinism. The character Henry Drummond tells the audience the theme when he says that the right to think is on trial. Religion is a metaphor and the motifs come to reveal how and why the right to think is being tried. Drummond makes his case convincingly in several ways. This paper will recount some of the arguments bolstering his thesis. The idea that religion has the right to quash any science which seems to contradict its teachings goes back well over a thousand years. Some of the greatest scientific minds ever known were arrested, prosecuted and murdered in the name of religion. The citizens of this country have not only freedom of religion, but also a tacit freedom from religion. This play examines whether it is constitutional to ban the teaching of science in opposition to biblical canon. In a broader perspective, however, the play, deviating from reality, is a metaphor for all forms of thought crime, such as was prevalent during the period when the play was first performed. The character of the prosecutor, Matthew Harrison Brady, a fundamentalist, relies primarily on the bible, calling it the revealed word. The entire prosecution is based on proving the defendant, Bertram Cates, is a non-believer. This argument is specious on so many levels that constraints of this paper do not permit full rebuttal. The defense argument runs that religion is little more than unproven superstition, calling it an old wives’ tale. The defense made its case more convincingly. Religion is about turning untested belief into absolute fact through the passage of time. American citizens should always have the right to think. To ban science for religion’s sake is ultimately ignorance. References Lawrence, J. and Lee, R. Inherit the Wind NAME OF THE BOOK IT’S IN Ed. (Name of editor) City where published: publisher, date published

Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

The oldest English epic, Beowulf, although composed twelve centuries ago, uses many of the same ideals and values that exist in modern life and modern literature. These attributes are still important, but they do not occupy every aspect of life as in Anglo- Saxon England. Some of the ideals have little use today, such as fate, while other virtues, such as loyalty, are encouraged and highly respected traits. Other values, like fame, have taken on bad connotations in modern day and are not esteemed as they once were. Fate, the idea that destiny is predetermined and nothing can be done to change that, was highly esteemed in Beowulf’s time, but is of little use today. Anglo-Saxon warriors knew that they only had two options when they entered battle; either they live to fight again, or they die honorably amounts their own. Either way was determined by a higher power. The sense of an uncontrollable death left the Anglo-Saxon people without respect for other lives, evident in the amount of fighting in Beowulf, and also an inner gloom, â€Å"evident in the somber tone of Beowulf,† (from the text). Recently, philosophy has broken away from the more religious idea of destiny and moved toward a more logical aproach to life. Obviously, death is still inevitable, but logically, the future should be altered with each decision. Man has become too egocentric to believe someone, besides himself, can control his life. Loyalty, unlike fate, is still respected as it was in Beowulf’s time, but can g...

One Today- Poem Analysis Essay

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama’s second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled â€Å"One Today† that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who’s daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is. Blanco uses several rhetorical devices throughout â€Å"One Today†, more so in the first few stanzas. An example of figurative language he used was the repetition of certain words or similar words in order to create a flow within the poem. My face, your face, millions of faces in morning’s mirrors† is a line in the poem that best represents this. Blanco also uses personification to give a better description of the beauty that he is describing, such as â€Å"plum blush of dusk†. Another use of figurative language found in stanza four is the repetition of the word â€Å"hands† which he uses to represent the many hard-working hands of America and the things they do to contribute to the well-being of the country. The word choice in the poem is a big part of what I think ties the whole poem together, and creates a theme that carries through each stanza. As you read the poem you will notice the excessive use of the word â€Å"one† which is most often featured at the beginning of a stanza and followed by something that connects everyone in the country together. An example of this is the first line in the fourth stanza of the poem, which reads â€Å"One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat and hands†¦ . Another example is the use of words that represent movement. â€Å"Rose, charging, crescendoing, teeming, launching, jetting† are all words used throughout the poem that outline the daily movement that occurs in the lives of American citizens. In the sixth stanza of the poem Blanco gives examples of the many different ways that you may hear U. S residents say hello. I think that he did this to represent the many different cultures that make up the population of the United States, and the vast amount of languages that they speak. I think the tone and voice that this poem has is that of pride and patriotism. The author does this by outlining the good qualities that the United States has to offer. However he does this is in such away that it does not sound like bragging, because he does not boast about all of the beauty or things that America is known for but rather the people who work to make it this way and how these things bring them together. â€Å"One Today† is of course written in a formal manner because of the occasion that that it was written for. That is why it does not contain any humour, abbreveations or informal language. I think that the voice that the author used in this poem fit the occasion perfectly because it was straight forward, easily understandable and relatable to any American citizen. The sentence structure of this poem is unlike a lot of poems that you might see where the lines are of equal length and contain the same amount of sylables. Rather than taking that approach, Blanco’s poem contained senteneces, and lines that were all of different length. For example, in the second stanza blanco included two very long lines that included dashes and comma’s because he was creating a list. Some of the very short lines feautured throughout the poem occur beacause the sentence was too long to fit into the line before and was continued in the next line. After I applied all of these craft techniques to the poem â€Å"One Today† it helped me to better understand why the author wrote it the way that he did.

Should Civil Liberties Be Restricted During Times of War

During Americas most consequential wars, the United States government has restricted civil liberties of the American people despite the nation’s strong rooted foundation for preserving every citizen’s rights. When danger is an ever present factor for the nation due to war or conflict restrictions are often placed on some of the most basic freedoms and liberties. Perfect balancing of these restrictions is vital to the countries wellbeing. One of the most well-known examples of this type of restraint is Abraham Lincoln’s precedent of suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus and issuing martial law. Lincoln’s actions clearly violated the rights of the people that are guaranteed to them under the Constitution. While out of context it wouldn’t†¦show more content†¦Despite the fact that his actions were unconstitutional, they were justified and therefore should be allowed because of the circumstances. Admittedly however, internment of American citize ns may seem too drastic to be considered justified. It can be argued that pure racism was the cause for the demand for punishment of Japanese people and the Niihau Incident was just an excuse; distrust for immigrants and foreigners had already existed before the war. The treatment of the Japanese people within the camps was inexcusable. Camps looked similar to jails, President Roosvelt himself called the 10 facilities â€Å"concentration camps.† Some died in the camps due to inadequate medical care. Records exist of people that were killed by military guards who allegedly claimed that their victims were resisting orders. One source said â€Å"our government had in its possession proof that not one Japanese American, citizen or not, had engaged in espionage, not one had committed any act of sabotage. From a social and humanitarian standpoint, it’s apparent that the taking these people from their homes was cruel and unjustified. President Roosvelt however, saw the big picture. In hindsight it was unlikely that any of the captives of Japanese descent were a threat, all possible precautions were used in a time of such dire crisis. Following in suit of PresidentShow MoreRelatedCivil Liberties During World War II1665 Words   |  7 Pagesstand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II. --President George H.W. Bush, 1988 Many times in history the Supreme Court has been faced with deciding how to treat civil liberties during war time. This raises the question, what restrictions if any should the court allow during wartime. The court is faced with making the decision on civil liberties during wartime for security reasons, and to protect the rights of the individual. While someRead MoreDemocracy And Liberal Democracy827 Words   |  4 Pagescan take full control over the government; restricting the civil liberties of the people. Furthermore, the source argues that too much choice can pave the way for a dictatorship because too much choice separates a society creating instability. The source presents a perspective that criticizes the extent of civil liberties in a liberal democracy. Nevertheless, the source acknowledges the fact that the key concept of having civil liberties such as freedom of choice and freedom of accountability areRead MoreCivil Liberties And Civil Rights851 Words   |  4 PagesCivi l liberties and civil rights are very commonly used statements, which can be carelessly misused. Both statements are similar to some degree, but do hold different meanings. These statements may seem exactly the same, but by true definitions, the difference between both is unmistakable. Civil liberties are the protections against government actions. Civil rights, however, is positive actions of government should take to create equal conditions for all Americans. Civil liberties are rights forRead MorePrimary Source Analysis : Virginian Luxuries1339 Words   |  6 Pagesinclude the relation between white power and African American slaves. On the left side of the portrait, their seems to be a white male kissing an enslave women, which is very ironic during this time period. On the left side of the portrait, it seems to be a white slave owner, whipping an African American slave. During this time, white people were not supposed to have any relationship with people of colored skin, but as history is progressing, societal norms are changing at a very rapid rate. Unequal powerRead MoreEssay Civil Disobedience1280 Words   |  6 Pagesthe government will expand its role and take away liberties of the few. The individual is justified in acting out in civil disobedience when the government restricts the liberties of the individual. When the Declaration of Independence was drafted, our forefathers were defying the laws of Britain. It was an act of treason for men to declare a separation from Britain and to create a newly formed government for America. These men acted in civil disobedience because the laws were unfair to AmericansRead MoreThe Amendment Of The Constitution959 Words   |  4 PagesThe Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution is considered by many to be the catchall amendment within the reconstruction amendments that passed not long after the Civil War. Its due process and especially the equal protection clause have single handily changed the course of American History for all eternity. I believe that there are several key issues that plague the way our highest court approaches matters of sexual orientation and other issues as well. In this document I intend to explore whatRead MoreThe Reality Of Real World1661 Words   |  7 Pagesis capable of joining a manufactured world is through the usage of comic books. Real world events have been and are continuously mixed up with the lives of superheroes such as when heroes were depicted fighting against Hitler and the Nazi’s in World War II. There are two main types of representations of real world events and that is through indirect representation using allegories and metaphors and directly representing them by simply showing the incidents within the comics. Comics represent realRead MoreEssay about Were the Conspirators Right to Murder Julius Caesar?1067 Words   |  5 PagesRome. Evidently, Caesar successfully stopped the civil wars in 45 BC. This allowed the Romans to live in harmony and collaborate on improving their country. It appears that Caesars death marked an epoch in Roman history where civil wars were once again resurrected. Furthermore, Caesar introduced social and economic reforms. In his process of ameliorating Romes social condition, the provinces became richer as the Roman businessmen were restricted from exploiting them. This is crucial because a countrysRead MoreDebate over if the Reconstruction Era was Failure Essay1222 Words   |  5 Pagesabolishment of slavery under the Thirteenth Amendment; which abolished slavery, Fourteenth Amendment; that stated all persons born in the states were American citizens and finally the Fifteenth Amendment which highlighted that the a citizen’s right to vote should not be denied, thus achieving one of the aims of Reconstruction. As a result of those southern states that rejoined the Union, African Americans were legally classed as American citizens, allowing them access to rights that they were previouslyRead MoreRacism in America1431 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Racism in America Introduction Is racism still a problem in America more than fifty years after the Civil Rights Movement, and 48 years after the 1964 Civil Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson? How far has America come from the days when African Americans were lynched by fanatical racist mobs and from the days when Jim Crowe laws trumped the laws set forth by the U.S. Constitution? This paper delves into those and other issues involving racism in America. Thesis: American