Comparing Plato's Allegory Of The Cave And Inherit The Wind

In Lawrence and Lee’s Inherit the Wind, the play discusses topics such as religion and

science and explores the price of new enlightenment and change in the modern society. This

story is not new, though, and in a way exemplifies Plato’s Allegory of the Cave written centuries

before Inherit the Wind. It also has themes of Doug McGruder’s “Privileged Distress”, where in

today’s society the once privileged class is now forced to deal with a change in their way of

thought and life and the distress it puts on them. Although the book was written in the 1950s and

based on the Scopes Trial which happened in 1925, the themes discussed are still relevant to

today’s world. Both the Allegory of the Cave and the Privileged Distress represent ideas of

ignorance

and enlightenment in Inherit the wind that appear in the world today.
Plato, a famous ancient Greek philosopher, made his Allegory of the Cave to explain his idea
that there may be new forms and ideas of our world that society just does not know about, but if
they did would soon be fast to reject.

In the Cave, there are three men locked to a stone forced to

stare at shadows their entire lives, while in Hillsboro there is a secluded town full of people who

base their whole world on the bible. In both these stories, the seclusion of the people show how

warped their view is of the world, and neither have a chance to learn new truths. Then, in the

Cave, one of the men escape and sees that the shadows are not their entire world comes back to

tell the others, while in Hillsboro, the schoolteacher Mr. Cates teaches evolution to his students

attempting to bring a new world view into their otherwise ignorant society. In both these cases, a

is this a subtopic?

vague

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person realizes that their society is not necessarily wrong, just not the full truth, and both try to
explain the new idea to the peers. Finally, in the Cave the two other men kill the third guy as
soon as he attempts to free them, while in Hillsboro Mr. Cates is locked away and becomes the
enemy of the town. In both cases, the others immediately reject the possibility of another answer
representing how society has always been quick to reject any sense of change in their way of life
or beliefs. Both Plato and Lawrence and Lee knew how the world worked in their time and used
their respective stories to convey their theme to others.
The “Privileged Distress” is described as being the new anguish and difficulty the privileged
must go through every time the world around them must change.

Many examples of this are seen

in Inherit the Wind, like when the entire town revolted against the fact a teacher tried to teach a

new idea but ignored the time a man chopped the head of his wife. This shows how the

selfishness of the town how they are ok with a gruesome murder because it does not affect their

lives at all, but when someone dares challenge something they do not agree with they

immediately want that person to be silenced. Another example is when Reverend Brown leads

the prayer meeting and begins condemning and damning everyone that supports Cates – even his

own daughter – before Brady stops him. The reverend’s distress is shown here when he begins

cursing everyone, even his own family, because they have adopted a new worldview different

from the one he always assumed was right. Lastly, Brady shows his distress has reached a

maximum point when he dies after the trial realizing he won the battle but lost the war. His death

symbolizes the death of the old ideas in society and how the privileged can either die with it, or

accept the new ideals. While the distress of the townspeople in Hillsboro cannot be compared

to
the isolation and hate Cate must have felt, their pain is still real and represent the pain the real
privileged go through in society.
how does this related to "Inherit the Wind"?
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there's really only her

Although the book was written in the mid-1900s, the themes discussed throughout can still
be applied to today. One of the biggest themes is the constant search for truths. Just like in the
story, society is still trying to find both scientific and moral truths today and can be met with
harsh reactions when presented differently. Another idea still relevant today is the freedom of
thought and the role of censorship. As Drummond stated towards the end, no thought should be
censored because someone believes it to be wrong as it there is in America a right to be wrong,
and that argument is still being used today when people try to censor someone with who they do
not agree. A final idea presented in the play is how both politicians and regular people will give
up their ideals for their own personal gain. This is shown when Mrs. Grubbs lets the people
coming in sleep in her home as long as they have money, showing how fickle people are in
actually holding up the truths they hold on tightly to. Inherit the Wind portrays ideas and themes
that will relate to society for a long time to come.
Using both Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and the Privileged Distress Inherit the Wind shows
the ignorance of society. The cave shows how people react to change. The privileged distress
shows the anguish the privileged go through. These ideas are society.