Inherit the Wind

Inherit the Wind Summary | Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

The play opens on the lawn of the Hillsboro Courthouse. The stage is set with the inside of the courtroom to one side of the stage, with the Courthouse Square and town Main Street on the other side of the stage. A character named Howard enters with a fishing rod and tin can, hunting for worms. A girl named Melinda enters looking for him.

The two discuss the weather and Howard finds a worm. He frightens Melinda with it, and then tells her she was a worm once. The two argue over whether people originated from worms, and Melinda threatens to tell her father about his opinion. Howard says that her father was once a monkey, and Melinda runs away. Howard continues searching for worms, and the action shifts to the courthouse.

Rachel, the daughter of the town religious leader Reverend Brown, has entered the area, clearly hoping not to be noticed. She heads into the courthouse and calls for the bailiff, Mr. Meeker. He enters and has clearly been shaving and getting ready for the day. Rachel asks to see Bert Cates, and urges Meeker not to tell her father she has come. Meeker agrees and brings Cates up to the courthouse. Meeker notes that Cates, who is a schoolteacher, is not the usual type of prisoner he deals with in the Hillsboro Jail.

Meeker leaves the two alone to talk. Cates tells Rachel she should not have come, but Rachel says she wanted to come. She is worried about Cates, so Cates tries to make her feel better by telling her that conditions in the jail are good. Rachel urges Cates to apologize for breaking the law, and Cates tries to change the subject by noting that someone named "Brady" is coming to town.

Rachel says the town is excited to see Brady, and again urges Cates to admit his mistake. She is clearly worried that Brady, whom she says is running for president and is "the biggest man in the country," will put Cates in jail. When she asks Cates why he committed his crime, he tells her it was because he believed he was right. He goes on to say that he was teaching Darwin's "Origin of Species," which describes how the planet evolved over a long period of time rather than being created in seven days by God.

Rachel tells him there is a law against teaching this, and that the whole town is against Cates. Cates says that the issue is complicated. Rachel reacts angrily to this and asks him why he "can't be on the right side of things?" Cates responds that her view of right comes from her father, and Rachel runs away. Cates chases her and the two hug each other.

Meeker re-enters, interrupting their embrace, and Rachel leaves. Meeker begins sweeping and then stops, telling Cates how excited he is that Brady is coming to Hillsboro. He adds that he voted for Brady twice in presidential elections. He adds that he once heard Brady speak, and notes that he was impressed by how loud Brady was. He asks if Cates has a lawyer, and Cates tells him that a Baltimore paper is sending him a lawyer. Cates then decides to return to his jail cell, and Meeker leaves with him.

Action on the stage shifts to the town square, where a storekeeper is opening his store for the day. He and Mrs. Krebs discuss the weather and the two joke about the devil and the warm weather. A grumpy Reverend Brown enters and shouts offstage for a banner to be put up. Workmen enter and Brown tells them that he wants Brady to see the community's spirit. The workmen immediately put the banner up, while the townsfolk and Brown discuss the excitement of the day.

Bollinger enters and notes that the train is on its way with Brady on board. The townsfolk note that when he comes many others will also come to town, bringing much needed business. Melinda enters selling lemonade, and the audience is finally able to see that the banner says. "Read Your Bible." Other enterprising citizens appear, selling hot dogs and fans. Mrs. Blair appears and tells Howard to pay attention to Brady, then starts combing his hair.

The colorful Elijah enters. He is described as a "holy man" and he sets up a stand selling Bibles. Hornbeck then enters and looks with "contempt" at the small town with its colorful people. Mrs. Krebs asks him if he has a place to stay, and he replies that he is staying at the Mansion House. He then chooses a hot dog rather than a Bible and begins talking to Elijah, who asks if he is an evolutionist. Hornbeck introduces himself as a newspaper writer, and tells Elijah that he has read his "stuff" (referring to the Biblical Elijah). Elijah says he does not read or write, clearly missing the point of Hornbeck's wit.

A monkey grinder enters with his monkey. Hornbeck calls the monkey "Grandpa" and asks whom he is testifying for. The monkey takes a penny from Melinda, and Hornbeck says that this proves the monkey is the father of the human race. Timmy notes that the train is coming, and Brown gets the townsfolk moving toward the station. Hornbeck remains, and tells the monkey (using verse) that he is about to meet a man who is perhaps the strongest of his "descendants." He adds some satirical lines about Brady's power.

Hornbeck then asks the Storekeeper his opinion on evolution, and the Storekeeper notes that opinions are "bad for business." As he hears the crowd returning, Hornbeck warns the monkey that a crowd has come to town to see its "competition" (referring to Cates). The crowd comes back singing songs and waving signs criticizing Darwin and welcoming Brady to town. Hornbeck retreats to watch from the back of the stage.

Brady enters, accompanied by his wife Mrs. Brady, Reverend Brown, and District Attorney Tom Davenport. He is described as a "gray, balding, paunchy" man. The crowd sings "Old Time Religion," and then Brady begins to speak. He greets the townsfolk warmly and the stage directions tell the reader that everyone is impressed with his power and magnetism. After discussing the weather briefly, he declares that he has come to fight an invasion of liberal thought from the North. He asserts that he is there to protect the Bible.

A photographer enters and asks for a picture. Mrs. Brady insists that she should not be in the picture. Brady and the Mayor pose for a picture, and the Mayor makes a nice speech congratulating him on his achievements. These include helping to get Woodrow Wilson elected as president and helping women get the vote. The Mayor is interrupted by the photographer, who snaps a picture. Mrs. Brady urges her husband to put his jacket on, and Brady arranges another picture with Brown and the Mayor by his side. The Mayor then finishes by giving Brady an honorary commission as a colonel in the state militia.

The group then moves toward a buffet table. Davenport introduces himself, and Brady promises to work as a team in prosecuting Cates. Brady flatters the women who have worked to prepare the buffet and proceeds to eat a big meal despite his wife's warnings. Brady asks about Cates, and Davenport and the Mayor reply that he is well known. Rachel starts to defend Cates and then becomes embarrassed. Her father urges her to speak more, and the audience learns that she is also a schoolteacher.

Brady calls Cates a heathen, and when Rachel defends him Brady calms her down. The two then move to one side and speak quietly. Bannister and Davenport discuss who the defense attorney will be. When the Mayor boasts to Mrs. Brady that the person will have a hard time against Brady, Hornbeck re-enters the scene and argues that this is not so. Continuing to speak in verse, Hornbeck announces that his paper (the Baltimore Herald) is sending himself to report on the trial and Henry Drummond to act as Cates' lawyer.

The assembled crowd is shocked by this news, and Bannister notes that Drummond represented two child murderers in Chicago. Brown denounces him as an agnostic and a "godless man." Hornbeck walks offstage. Brown says that they cannot let Drummond into the town, and the mayor promises to check the town ordinances to find a way to keep him out. Brown says that he saw Drummond in court using an affirmative defense, or in Brown's words "perverting the evidence to cast the guilt away from the accused." Brown goes on to describe Drummond as a kind of devil. His graphic description soon scares Melinda away.

Brady and Rachel re-enter, and Brady learns that Drummond is coming. After showing concern at first, Brady soon puts on a brave face and notes that Drummond will attract attention to the case. He compares himself as a kind of David up against the Goliath of evolutionist thought. He goes on to say that Rachel will be the prosecution's "star witness" against Cates. Brady then proposes a toast to their success. Mrs. Brady then notes that Brady needs a nap, and the two move off.

The scene once again shifts to the courtroom, where Hornbeck is looking around while eating an apple. He hides when Rachel enters in obvious distress, and Hornbeck offers to give her advice. He then goes on to ask her whether she is on Cates' side, and tells her how he has been writing about Cates as a hero fighting against an unjust law. Rachel is surprised that he is supporting Cates, and Hornbeck offers her a bite of his apple. He reassures her that he is not the Biblical serpent offering Eve the forbidden fruit.

Rachel is impressed with Hornbeck's article, and she expresses hope that locals could read about evolution. She expresses surprise at his support given his cynicism, and Hornbeck reports that he is always a fan of the underdog. Rachel notes that he makes "it sound as if Bert is a hero," and then notes that she thinks Cates should have followed the rules set out by the school board. Hornbeck asks if she teaches her students about the nature of existence and she replies that "All the answers to those questions are in the Bible."

Hornbeck cannot believe she is this napve, and Rachel responds that she must be right if an important person like Brady comes to their little town to maintain the law. Hornbeck replies that Brady is in Hillsboro for publicity and little else. She notes that Brady is a champion of "ordinary people," and Hornbeck replies that progress has made these people obsolete.

The scene shifts to the town square once more, where the Storekeeper is closing up and discussing the heat with Mrs. McCain. Melinda enters and watches the monkey and the organ-grinder. They then leave, and Melinda is left alone on stage with Hornbeck watching from the shadows. Drummond then enters casting a long shadow, which terrifies Melinda, who she believes is the Devil. She runs off and Hornbeck steps out to welcome Drummond "to Hell."