Lexi Riehl
Mr. Hershey
English II
October 9, 2009
Characterization in Inherit the Wind
Written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, the play Inherit the Wind is a fictitious spin off
of the historical Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, which hotly debated the concept of evolutionism vs.
creationism and, in general, a person’s right to think. In the play, a young man by the name of Bert Cates
is prosecuted for teaching evolution in school and breaking the state’s “creation-only” law. His case is
taken to court where he fights against the highly exalted paragon of religious devotion, Matthew Harrison
Brady. Henry Drummond, an almighty but rather infamous attorney, stands by and defends Cates
throughout the whole trial. In the midst of this all, Cates’ lover, Rachel Brown, is torn between her love
for Bert and her loyalty to her father, the Reverend Jeremiah Brown. As the play progresses and the
characters struggle through the intensity of the trial, many of them undergo drastic changes from the
beginning of the play to the end. This development, or characterization, of characters such as Matthew
Harrison Brady, Henry Drummond, and Rachel Brown throughout Inherit the Wind reveals the play’s
theme that appearances are not reality.
To begin with, the character Matthew Harrison Brady divulges the theme of Inherit the Wind by
going through a series of changes from beginning to end. At the start of the play, Brady is overflowing
with confidence, and he has a surefire attitude about him. When he first arrives in town, he assures the
citizens that “The whole world will be watching our victory over Drummond” (29). These words portray
the true extent of Matthew Harrison Brady’s confidence. Brady is also a very proud person at the
beginning of the play. He has a masterful knowledge of the Bible, and he’s not afraid to show it. When
he is on the stand at the trial, he says, “I believe it is not boastful to say that I have studied the Bible as
much as any layman” (85). Brady may declare that he is not boastful, but he sure is prideful. In addition
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to being confident and proud, Matthew Harrison Brady is also very heroic at the beginning of the book.
To the citizens of the town of Hillsboro, Brady is their savior, come to defeat the malevolent Henry
Drummond and cleanse their town of the evil and sinful ways of evolution and its followers. In the play,
the citizens set up an entire welcoming party for Brady, including a fair like setting, a lunch buffet, and
the tribute of christening him Honorary Colonel of the State Militia. However, things are very different
for Matthew Harrison Brady at the end of the play. In the closing pages of Inherit the Wind, Brady makes
a drastic leap from hero to zero. He finds he is unable to hold or even get the attention of his audience
after Drummond finishes questioning him. Brady quickly loses popularity amongst the people, and
realizes that he is no longer the idol he was at the beginning of the play. Furthermore, Brady begins to
seem unsure of himself, and he loses the confidence that he had at the start of the book. When Drummond
asks Brady if a day in the Bible could be more than twenty-four hours, Brady very hesitantly responds, “It
is…possible…” (97). These words show that Brady begins to doubt himself and his advantage in the trial.
He starts to wonder whether or not Drummond could actually win. Also, Matthew Harrison Brady is
overcome with a sense of humiliation at the end of the book. When Brady attempts to make a speech at
the conclusion of the trial, Drummond does nothing but ridicule and mock him, causing the audience to
laugh at Brady. The jibes from Drummond and the laughter from the people greatly embarrass Brady. He
says to his wife, quite despairingly, “Mother. They’re laughing at me, Mother!” (102) Poor old Brady is
so embarrassed by everything that he looks to his wife for comfort. Ultimately, Matthew Harrison Brady
dies at the end of the play, but he still reveals the theme of the book by developing and changing his
character from beginning to end.
In the same fashion that Matthew Harrison Brady reveals the theme of Inherit the Wind, Henry
Drummond also exposes the theme by undergoing changes in character. At the opening of the play,
Drummond is extremely unpopular with the townspeople. To put it simply, he’s downright hated.
According to Reverend Brown, Drummond is “A vicious, godless man!” (27) Reverend Brown also says,
“Henry Drummond is an agent of darkness. We let him in our town!” (27) These brutal statements alone
show the pure abhorrence that is ebbing out of the town’s citizens. Plus, when Melinda, the little girl, first
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sees Drummond, she gasps and exclaims fearfully, “It’s the Devil!” (36) Drummond’s character also
seems very unsympathetic at the beginning of the book. When he gets Brady on the stand, he ruthlessly
batters him with questions and even goes so far as to embarrass and mock Brady. For example,
Drummond says, “Extend the Testaments! Let us have a Book of Brady! We shall hex the Pentateuch and
slip you in neatly between Numbers and Deuteronomy!” (101) These words, directed at Brady from
Drummond, are rather unnecessary and cruel on Drummond’s part. In addition, Henry Drummond
appears to be a very intimidating and malicious evolutionist. He is immediately portrayed as the bad guy
in the story; the person defending Cates only in order to wreck the townspeople’s faith in the Bible.
According to Brady, “He wants to destroy everyone’s belief in the Bible, and in our God!” (98) Yet, at the
end of the play, Drummond develops into a different character entirely. No longer is he an evil, horrible
man. On the contrary, Henry Drummond actually becomes more popular with the townspeople, instead of
being hated by them. Towards the end of the trial, the audience starts to applaud and cheer for Drummond
and laugh at his jokes while they completely ignore anything that the once great Matthew Harrison Brady
has to say. Furthermore, Drummond reveals a sympathetic side that he never showed in the beginning of
Inherit the Wind. Even though Drummond seems to purposely try to embarrass Brady during the trial in
the beginning half of the play, he is very compassionate towards Brady at the end, especially after he dies.
For example, Drummond, referring to Brady, says, “There was much greatness in this man” (126). This
extensive compliment reveals a totally different side of Drummond. Likewise, Drummond changes into a
tolerant, more accepting man at the conclusion of the book. Instead of trashing and fighting against the
Bible as he seemingly did in the first place, Henry Drummond actually defends religion and shows a
tolerance of it by packing both the Bible and the book on evolution together in his briefcase. All in all,
Drummond goes through a series of drastic changes in character that ultimately divulge the theme of the
play.
Not only do Matthew Harrison Brady and Henry Drummond change from the beginning of the
play to the end and therefore uncover the theme, but so does Rachel Brown. At the start of Inherit the
Wind, Rachel is very desperate to try and get Bert to just throw himself at the mercy of the court and
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admit that what he did was wrong. She visits him when he is still in jail and pleads with him to apologize
about teaching evolution and promise never to do it again. For example, Rachel says, “Bert it’s still not
too late. Why can’t you admit you’re wrong?” (8) This statement expresses just how deep Rachel’s
desperation really is. Furthermore, Rachel is extremely dependent in the first half of the play. When she
first speaks to Brady about Cates, Brady wants her to testify against him in court. Of course, this
distresses Rachel, and she doesn’t know what to do. Therefore she turns to other people for help and
advice; she depends on them to tell her what to do. For instance, at one point Rachel, quite distraught,
runs to the jail and calls down, “Bert, can you hear me? Bert, you’ve got to tell me what to do. I don’t
know what to do-” (31) Rachel depends on Bert to tell her exactly what she needs to do so that everything
will be fine again. Also, Rachel Brown appears to very fearful and scared at the beginning of the book.
She frightened that Bert will be convicted and end up in jail, she’s mortified at the prospect of possibly
having to testify against him in court, and she’s terrified of what her father will do if he finds out that she
is in love with an “evil-utionist.” Rachel is constantly acting anxious about everything, like a timid little
rabbit. When she is speaking to Drummond about when she was a little girl she says, “I wanted to run to
my father, and have him tell me I was safe, that everything was all right. But I was always more
frightened of him than I was of falling. It’s the same way now” (55). These words express the extent of
fear that Rachel feels, especially towards her father. Rachel is a very weak, nervous, and worrisome
character throughout the whole first half of the book. Nevertheless though, she goes through such
dramatic changes by the end of the book that she is perhaps the best example of how the theme of the play
is revealed through the changes of the characters. In the closing pages of Inherit the Wind, Rachel is
noticeably more confident and sure of herself. She makes a number of decisions, such as packing her bags
and leaving her father, apologizing to Bert, and reading the evolution book. She doesn’t hesitate in these
decisions; she is undoubtedly self-assured, practically a new person. Rachel is also much more
independent at the end of the play. Just the fact that she chooses to leave her father shows that she can
make her own decisions and that she doesn’t need daddy to be there to hold her hand for the rest of her
life. When asked by Cates where she is going, Rachel responds, “I’m not sure. But I’m leaving my father”
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(124). These clear, concise sentences from Rachel greatly portray her newfound independence. In
addition, Rachel is significantly more knowledgeable and wise in the second half of Inherit the Wind.
Just by reading the evolution book, she teaches everyone the concept of tolerance. Rachel may not
understand the book, and she certainly may not like it, but she’s willing to put aside the differences in
belief between her and Cates so that they can have a happy life- together. After the trial, when Rachel is
talking to Bert about the evolution book, she says, “This is your book, Bert. I’ve read it. All the way
through. I don’t understand it. What I do understand, I don’t like. I don’t want to think that men come
from apes and monkeys. But I think that’s beside the point” (124). Through these words of wisdom,
Rachel sets a perfect example of how a sensible, and tolerant, person should act. Rachel completely
transforms into a mature, intelligent woman at the end of the book, much unlike the scared child she
appeared to be from the start, and this change on Rachel Brown’s part ultimately helps to expose the
theme of the play.
In the end, Inherit the Wind’s theme that appearances are not reality is revealed through the
drastic changes that the characters undergo throughout the play. Matthew Harrison Brady appeared to be a
confident, proud, and heroic person in the beginning of the book. However, he turned out to be nothing
more than a humiliated man who was began to doubt himself and lose his grip on his people. On the other
hand, Henry Drummond was a terrible man in the first half of the play. He was ruthless, unsympathetic,
hated, and evil. By the second half of the play, though, Drummond became much more popular with the
townspeople, and he showed a sympathetic and tolerant side of himself- the exact opposite of how he first
appeared. Then there was Rachel Brown: a frightened, needy, desperate little soul at the start of Inherit
the Wind. However, she transformed into a confident, independent, wise young woman by the end. These
dramatic changes and developments that the characters experience from the very first word of Inherit the
Wind to the last punctuation mark show beyond a doubt that appearances are not reality. They show that
things aren’t always what they seem, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and that it’s what’s inside that
really truly matters.