ALLUSIONS IN INHERIT THE WIND—Presentations 2015 Scroll Down for More Info
The underlined people, places, and things in the following quotations are allusions made in the play, Inherit the Wind. [An allusion is
an indirect or casual reference to something.] You will explain one allusion to your classmates. You can read your information (no
PowerPoint) Make sure that your verbal explanations are clear, thorough, and accurate. You will only get partial value for partial
explanations. You will take notes on the allusions presented in class. They will be part of your final Inherit the Wind test.

Your task is to do some research on the allusion assigned to you.

You will be given a number that corresponds to the allusions listed below.
 You must find information in texts or on the internet and complete the following tasks:
1.
Establish context for the allusion and read the full line (s) that contain the allusion. Be sure to read
the full sentence that contains your allusion. (2 points)
2.
Find pertinent information on the allusion, using resources in the library or on the internet. Be
sure to tell your audience exactly where you found your information. You must do some research, even if
your allusion is familiar to you. (4 points) NO WIKEPEDIA!!
3.
Explain why the authors used the allusion in the play and why it is effective (4 points) Once you
have researched the allusion, you should see how the authors have used the allusion to further develop an
idea in the play. Make sure you explain this section very clearly.
***page numbers may not be correct for some play books***
1. "... Heavenly Hillsboro. The buckle on the Bible Belt." (Lawrence and Lee 13)
2. "I seen him once. At a Chautauqua meeting in Chattanooga." (8)
3. "…From the wicked modern Sodom and Gomorrah" (p.28)
4. "I must be thinking of another Elijah." (14)
5. "Whose tread has the thunder of the legions of the Lion-Hearted!" (p.15)
6. "Mr. President Wilson wouldn't never have got in the White House..." (p.19)—also connect to suffrage**
7. "two child murderers" -Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb (p.24 )
8. " If the enemy sends its Goliath into battle, it magnifies our cause." (p.25)
9. "If St. George had slain a dragonfly, who would remember him." (p.26)
10. "B. Cates: boy Socrates, latter-day Dreyfus, Romeo with a biology book." (p.29)
11. "B. Cates: boy Socrates, latter-day Dreyfus, Romeo with a biology book." (p.29)
12. "B. Cates: boy Socrates, latter-day Dreyfus, Romeo with a biology book." (p.29)
13. Wake up Sleeping Beauty." (p.31)
14. “Don’t worry. I’m not the serpent, Little Eva. This isn’t from the Tree of Knowledge” (29)
15. "Henry's Lizzie rattles into town." ("Tin Lizzie") (p.31)
16. "Colonel Brady's virginal small-towner has been had- / By Marconi and Montgomery Ward." (p.31)
17. "Colonel Brady's virginal small-towner has been had- / By Marconi and Montgomery Ward." (p.31)
18.“Like Barnum and Bailey coming to town.” (p. 44)
(Biblical Eve and the serpent)
ACT 2
19. "I recollect a story about Joshua." (p.78)
20. " You suppose Houdini could do it?" (p.78)
21. " Et tu, Brute." (p.67)
22. "A fine Biblical scholar, Bishop Usher." (Ussher) (p.85)
23. "Now I suppose you can quote me chapter and verse right through the King James Version" (p. 76)
24. “I am more interested in the Rock of Ages, than I am in the Age of Rocks.” (84)
25."Now take this place where the whale swallows Jonah" (p.78)
26. “And the advance of man’s knowledge is more of a miracle than any sticks turned to snakes, or the
parting of waters!” (p.83)—see Moses
27. “If, ‘In the beginning’ there were only Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, where’d this extra woman
spring from?” (p.80)
28. “The Word tell us that the World was created in Seven Days”(p.58) See The Book of Genesis
29. "Would you like to ban Copernicus from the classroom..." (pp.79-80)
30. "You only thought you missed the Coronation of Charlemange ! (p.101) ACT 3
31. “a mélange of Moorish and Methodist;” (95) Do both.
32. “Hail the apostle whose letters to the Corinthians were lost in the mail?” (112)
33. "Brady brandishes his speech, as if it were Excalibur." (p.106)
34. “From the hallowed hills of sacred Sinai, in the days of remote antiquity, came the law … (p 105)
35. “The mighty Evolution Law explodes with the pale puff of a wet firecracker.” (103) (research
creation/evolution laws in the United States and or in public education)
Allusion Marking Rubric
Speaker and
Situation
Pertinent
Research
Information
Not given
Speaker Given 1
Context somewhat
Established 1
Context Clearly
Established 2
Did not provide a
source for the
information__ (-1)
Provided___
Limited and/or
irrelevant
1 2
information given.
All pertinent
information given.
Very clear and
thorough.
4
Relevance of
allusion and its 1
effectiveness not
clearly explained.
Relevance of
allusion and its 2
effectiveness not as
clear as it should
be.
Good information
given, but maybe
missing some
important or
3
specific detail(s)
Good explanation
of relevance of
allusion and its 3
effectiveness.
Missing some info.
/4
/10
Allusion Marking Rubric
Speaker and
Situation
Pertinent
Research
Information
Not given
/4
/10
Pertinent
Research
Information
Context somewhat
Established 1
Context Clearly
Established 2
Did not provide a
source for the
information__ (-1)
Provided__
Limited and/or
irrelevant
1 2
information given.
All pertinent
information given.
Very clear and
thorough.
4
Relevance of
allusion and its 1
effectiveness not
clearly explained.
Relevance of
allusion and its 2
effectiveness not as
clear as it should
be.
Good information
given, but maybe
missing some
important or
3
specific detail(s)
Good explanation
of relevance of
allusion and its 3
effectiveness.
Missing some info.
/10
Excellent
explanation of
relevance of
allusion and its
effectiveness.
4
Name_____________________________________
Not given
Relevance to the
Play
/4
TOTAL
0
0
Speaker Given 1
Context somewhat
Established 1
Context Clearly
Established 2
Did not provide a
source for the
information__ (-1)
Provided___
Limited and/or
irrelevant
1 2
information given.
All pertinent
information given.
Very clear and
thorough.
4
Relevance of
allusion and its 1
effectiveness not
clearly explained.
Relevance of
allusion and its 2
effectiveness not as
clear as it should
be.
Good information
given, but maybe
missing some
important or
3
specific detail(s)
Good explanation
of relevance of
allusion and its 3
effectiveness.
Missing some info.
/2
/4
4
Speaker Given 1
Allusion Marking Rubric
Speaker and
Situation
Excellent
explanation of
relevance of
allusion and its
effectiveness.
Name_____________________________________
/2
Relevance to the
Play
/4
TOTAL
0
/2
Relevance to the
Play
/4
TOTAL
Name_____________________________________
Excellent
explanation of
relevance of
allusion and its
effectiveness.
4
PURPOSE: Deliver PERTINENT information on an allusion in Inherit the
Wind.
AUDIENCE: Mr. Milligan and your classmates.
 Take this seriously. Be prepared and rehearsed. You must project
your voice so that ALL classmates hear your information. Do not
expect to get full marks if you have not done the assigned tasks.
 Make sure that your verbal explanations are clear, thorough, and
accurate. You will only get partial value for partial explanations.
 Make sure that your information for #2 is accurate and pertinent.
That is, make sure that what you present about your allusion is
relevant to the play.
Make sure that you re-read the directions for this assignment so that you
don’t leave things out. SAMPLE below
Sample Allusion
 You will need to make note of your information
and your reference(s).
 You will receive a grade out of 10 using the allusion
rubric.
PURPOSE: Deliver PERTINENT information on an allusion in Inherit the
Wind.
AUDIENCE: Mr. Milligan and your classmates.
 Take this seriously. Be prepared and rehearsed. You must project
your voice so that ALL classmates hear your information. Do not
expect to get full marks if you have not done the assigned tasks.
 Make sure that your verbal explanations are clear, thorough, and
accurate. You will only get partial value for partial explanations.
 Make sure that your information for #2 is accurate and pertinent.
That is, make sure that what you present about your allusion is
relevant to the play.
 Make sure that you re-read the directions for this assignment so that
you don’t leave things out.
EXAMPLE #1
Quotation: " You know why I did it. I had the book in my hand, Hunter’s Civic biology. I opened it up,
and read my sophomore science class Chapter 17, Darwin's Origin of Species" (Lawrence and Lee 7).
1. Speaker: Bert Cates.
Situation: (This is where you provide context for the passage)Rachel is talking to
Bert; she is trying to get him to admit that teaching Evolution in his classroom is
wrong. She asks him why he taught the theory of evolution to his students. The
quotation is part of his reply to this question. Bert explains that the theory is in their
school biology book and he feels that his students should be exposed to it despite the
fact that Hillsboro law forbids teaching the theory of evolution.
2. Origin of Species: In 1859 Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution in a book
called, The Origin of Species (Bowler 2). He thought the belief of divine creation was
wrong, and in this book, was one the first scientists to publicly make such suggestions
(2). Darwin persuaded Victorian scientists to take evolution seriously, but the theory
did not get widely accepted until the beginning of the twentieth century (3). The
religious and scientific controversies raised by this book outlived Darwin and
continue to present day (3). [83 words] This information came from a book by Peter J.
Bowler called Evolution--History of Darwinism.
3. The authors used this allusion in the play to make a clear connection between the
historical Scopes trial and the fictional events in the play. By making reference to the
actual book written by Darwin, the authors add an element of realism to the plot line.
The reader is compelled to see how, despite that know they are reading a work of
fiction, that the events occurring in Hillsboro could happen in the real world.
Therefore, the use of the name of the actual book lends an element of verisimilitude to
the story and makes the reader view the play more seriously.
Works Cited
Bowler, Peter J. "History of Darwinism". Evolution. New York: Pendant Publishing,
2004. Print.