Wissler1
Miranda Wissler
Mr. Hershey
English II
October 4, 2009
Characterization in Inherit the Wind
In the book Inherit the Wind Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee teach us that
everything is not as it seems. The characters change throughout the whole book. Henry
Drummond, Rachel Brown, and Matthew Harrison Brady are all examples of people who
change. Lawrence and Lee use characterization to reveal the theme that everything is not as it
seems.
First of all, Drummond’s change in character accents the appearance vs. reality. Henry
Drummond was disliked very much. In the beginning many people called him names. Reverend
Brown said, “a slouching hulk of a man, whose head juts out like an animal’s” (28). No one
supported Drummond. The townspeople did not like him at all. Reverend Brown called him “a
vicious, godless man!” (27). As the book went on Drummond became more respectful toward
the people. Drummond said, “I can’t imagine the world without Matthew Harrison Brady”
(125). Drummond also said, “You smart-aleck! You have no more right to spit on his religion
than you have a right to spit on my religion! Or my lack of it!” (125). At the end of the book
Henry Drummond was more tolerant. He tolerated people better than he did when he first
came to Hillsboro. You could tell he could tolerate other people more because he was
Wissler2
concerned when Brady died. Other people also become more tolerant toward him. The people
did not like him and what he was here for. But as the book progressed, people gained more
respect for him. You could tell they respected Drummond more because they weren’t making
as rude of comments about him, like they weren’t calling him the “Devil” anymore. They also
became more tolerant of him.
In addition to Drummond, Rachel’s character also brings out the appearance vs. reality
theme. Rachel Brown was servile in the beginning of the book. Rachel said, “a schoolteacher is a
public servant: I think he should do what the law and the school-board want him to” (33).
Rachel did not like Drummond very much. When she heard he was coming she was not very
happy. Rachel is also very opinionated. She said what she wanted to say. However, she did not
tell here father that she was scared of him. She never told him how she really felt about him. As
the book went on Rachel was still very opinionated. In the end, Rachel told her father that she
was scared of him and what she really thought of him. She even ran of with Bert Cates. Rachel
knows Bert Cates because they work at the same school. They both are schoolteachers. Rachel
did not teach about evolution and creation because the kids she taught were too young to
understand what she was saying. Bert Cates on the other hand taught his class about creation
and evolution. Rachel’s character changed a little throughout the book. She became more
opinionated towards the end of the book. She also got the guts to tell her father what she really
thought.
Finally, Matthew Harrison Brady’s character also highlights the theme appearance vs.
reality. Matthew Harrison Brady was glorified by the town in the beginning. The townspeople
Wissler3
threw a parade and gave him the name Colonel Brady. Brady really wasn’t a colonel, but they
just called him that. Almost everyone loved Brady. The whole town glorified him. Matthew
Harrison Brady had a big ego. He liked to have things his way and his way only. Everyone was on
his side. Brady thought he could have everything his way. But as the book went on, no one was
on Brady’s side anymore. They all switched sides so they wouldn’t be on Brady’s side anymore.
They all decided that Brady had way to big of an ego for them and they decided that they didn’t
believe in what he believed in. Once the book was towards the end, no one glorified Brady like
they did in the beginning. They did not have any parades, picnics, and they did not call him
Colonel Brady anymore. Brady thought that was a little unfair but he had to live with it. Brady
and his wife believed in the same thing. Mrs. Brady was on Matthew Harrison Brady’s side the
whole entire time. Mrs. Brady acted like Brady’s mother. Sometimes she treated him like a
child. Matthew Harrison Brady’s character changed a lot throughout the book. In the beginning
he had a big ego, he was glorified, and he was very cocky. Towards the end, Brady did not have
an ego anymore and the townspeople did not glorify him anymore.
Characterization is revealed by Lawrence and Lee to show that everything is not as it
seems. Throughout this whole book the characters changed at least a little bit. Drummond
changed a lot because he went from being disliked very much to being respected. He is not
respected fully but they somewhat respect him. Rachel changed a little bit. She went from
being kind of quiet to being very opinionated. Rachel kept her thoughts to herself about her
father in the beginning but then in the end she told her father how she really felt. Matthew
Harrison Brady changed drastically. He went from being one of the most popular people in
Wissler4
town to being someone that people did not glorify anymore. Every character changed in their
own way.