KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS SETTING The play takes place in Hillsboro. It is a small fictional town that is meant to resemble Dayton, Tennessee, where the Scopes trial was held in 1925. LIST OF CHARACTERS Major Characters Matthew Harrison Brady – a politician and lawyer. He is the prosecuting attorney for the state against Bertram Cates and a three-time presidential candidate. Henry Drummond – the lawyer for the defense. He is famous for taking the cases of unpopular clients.
Rachel Brown – the daughter of Hillsboro’s minister and the girlfriend of the defendant, Bertram Cates. She is a teacher. Bertram Cates – the defendant, who is a teacher. He taught his students about Charles Darwin’s Origins of the Species in spite of the fact that it was against the laws of his state. E. K.
Hornbeck – a reporter for the Baltimore Herald. He comes to Hillsboro to cover the Cates trial. He considers the people of Hillsboro thoroughly backward in their thinking and looks on at the trial in amused contempt. Reverend Jeremiah Brown – Hillsboro’s minister.
He is a hard- hearted man who feels no qualms about convincing the town to condemn Bert Cates and his daughter as incorrigible sinners. Minor Characters Melinda – a girl of the town who thinks is the devil’s work. Howard – a boy of the town who was in Cates’ class and half- believes the theory of evolution. Meeker – the clerk of the court. Mr.
Goodfellow – a store owner. He refuses to take a stand, for he says it is bad for business to have an opinion. Mrs. Krebs – a woman of the town who is perfectly in line with the normative beliefs of the Hillsboro. Cork in – a worker who paints the banner. Bollinger – a member of the band that plays for Brady’s arrival.
Platt – a man who is happy to see the town the object of so much attention. Mr. Bannister – one of the men of the town who admires Brady greatly. He is chosen to be on the jury because he does not know how to read. Mrs. McClain – a woman who tries to sell Hornbeck a fan from the funeral home.
Mrs. Blair – Howard’s mother. Elijah – a man who comes in from the countryside to be in town for the trial. He condemns evolution and sells Bibles, even though he does not know how to read or write.
Timmy – a boy who announces Brady’s train. Mayor – a man who follows the normative beliefs of the town and will bend the laws to suit the popular tastes. He tries to find a way to ban Henry Drummond from Hillsboro. Mrs. Brady – a woman who is both wife and mother to her husband. Tom Davenport – the town lawyer.
He is represents the prosecution and assists Brady. Judge – a man who is closed to the process of deliberation. He refuses to let Drummond call witnesses to testify about evolutionary theory. He judges the court with an obvious bias towards the state’s case. Jessie H. Dunlap – a man who is rejected from being on the jury because he believes in the Bible and in Brady in the same breath.
George Sellers – a man who is chosen to be on the jury because he leaves religion to his wife. Harry U. Easterbrook – a radio man seen in the last act of the play CONFLICT Protagonist: The protagonist is Henry Drummond, the lawyer for the defense of Bert Cates. He represents independent thinking and freedom from censorship. Antagonist: The antagonist is Matthew Harrison Brady, the lawyer for the prosecution. He represents censorship and lack of independent thinking.
Climax: The climax occurs when Drummond puts Brady on the witness stand and proves the narrow-mindedness of the state and Brady’s thinking. When Brady is made to look ridiculous, Drummond gains the support of the audience in the courtroom. Brady is visibly upset over the turn of events and can barely speak. Outcome: The play ends as a comedy.
Drummond wins a moral battle over Brady and proves that everyone should have a right to independent thought, for censorship of ideas is wrong. Although Cates is proven guilty by the narrow minded Hillsboro jury, the judge only fines him $100, and Drummond promises to appeal the verdict. PLOT (Synopsis) The play opens with the town’s excitement over the upcoming trial of one of its schoolteachers, Bert Cates. In his classroom, Cates dared to instruct his students in Darwin’s theory of evolution, violating a state law that prohibits the teaching of evolution. A well-known defense lawyer has agreed to take Cates’ case. An even more famous and popular attorney and politician, Matthew Harrison Brady, has agreed to be the lawyer for the prosecution.
When Brady arrives, he is greeted with a great deal of fanfare. In response to his welcome, he gives a speech that is greatly praised; he is then honored at a picnic. The town’s minister, Reverend Brown, welcomes Brady warmly, and Hillsboro’s mayor presents him with an award as an honorary colonel of the state militia. At the courthouse, Rachel Brown visits the defendant, Bert Cates. She is Cates’ girlfriend, a fellow teacher in his school, and the daughter of the town’s minister. Rachel begs Bert to say he made a mistake in presenting evolution to his class in order to stop the trial from beginning; she is fearful of what will happen to Cates during the trial.
E. K. Hornbeck, a reporter form the Baltimore Herald, arrives at the courthouse to see Cates. He praises the defendant for being so brave.
Rachel does not think that Cates deserves to be praised, for he broke the law and opposed the teachings of the Bible. In the courtroom a few days later, the selection of the jury begins. Brady looks for people who are believers in the Bible and who think that evolutionary theory is evil. In contrast, Drummond looks for people who have not formed opinions about evolutionary theory and who are not overly religious. Drummond objects to the fact that Brady is being called Colonel Brady by the judge; he claims it gives his opponent an unfair advantage.
The mayor is brought in to resolve the issue. He also grants Drummond the title of ‘Colonel’ on a temporary, honorary basis. Now both lawyers are called Colonel. After jury selection, Rachel Brown talks to Drummond and asks him to call off the trial. She tells him that Cates is shocked that people are treating him so cruelly.
She also claims that Cates is now very nervous about his trial and fearful of its outcome. Drummond advises Rachel to stand beside Cates; he warns that if the trial is called off, Cates will be branded as a coward. Rachel then reveals that the prosecution wants her to testify against Cates. Brady has taken her aside and questioned her about Cates’ belief in science and evolution.
She admits that she is fearful of supporting Cates, largely because she fears her father, Reverend Brown. Her mother died when she was a child, and she has always been afraid of the man who raised her. Rachel confesses to Drummond that she is terribly upset and confused. Drummond tells her that a wise person is one who can say she does not know the answer..