Inherit the Wind: SparkNotes Literature Guide by SparkNotes

Inherit the Wind: SparkNotes Literature Guide by SparkNotes

Author:SparkNotes [Sparknotes Editors]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Study Guides
ISBN: 9781411475854
Publisher: Spark
Published: 2014-09-10T00:00:00+00:00


Analysis

As in the first scene, the playwrights communicate some of the key thematic ideas of Inherit the Wind in its stage directions. As the scene opens on the courtroom, “[t]he shapes of the buildings are dimly visible in the background, as if Hillsboro itself were on trial.” Indeed, the drama of the courtroom scenes plays out against the ever-present backdrop of the town and its people. This rural, conservative, and religious Southern town opposes the members of the defense, who must struggle to gain a voice for their ideas—concepts that much of contemporary society accepts as elementary biology.

The three potential jurors in this scene are similar, typical townspeople of Hillsboro. None of them betrays strong convictions or exceptional intelligence. Although all of them profess to be Christians, none stand out on the basis of extraordinary faith. Bannister emphasizes his eagerness to watch the trial from the jury box, like a show. His illiteracy, like that of the mountain man Elijah, points to Hillsboro’s backwardness. Dunlap differentiates himself by professing membership in the Matthew Harrison Brady cult of personality, and Drummond rejects him on these grounds. Drummond’s interrogation of Sillers is the first sign that the religious faith of the Hillsboro townspeople may not run much deeper than simple conformity. When Sillers admits that he leaves religion to his wife, we see the townspeople’s Christianity in a new light. We know that people in Hillsboro go to church and profess a belief in God, but we now wonder whether such behavior may be mere formality paid as a price of citizenship in the town, a lip service empty of spiritual meaning. Drummond exposes Sillers’s flimsy religious faith by probing deeper than Brady or the other people of Hillsboro are capable. Sillers may not be an atheist or an agnostic like Drummond, but his convictions do not run deep.

This first courtroom scene highlights important differences between Brady and Drummond—in background, perspective, manners, and behavior—that recur in their interactions throughout the play. They serve as foils to each other, as each accentuates the distinct traits of the other. While Inherit the Wind as a whole explores an abstract conflict between religious fundamentalism and freedom of thought, the face-to-face conflict between the forceful personalities of Brady and Drummond lends this conflict a physical embodiment. Because the trial, in part, depends on the mood of the town and the opinions of its residents, each attorney attempts to win the audience’s respect, recognizing that the crowd will influence the judge and jury.

Brady tries to alienate Drummond from the courtroom crowd by harping on Drummond’s suspenders, attempting to cast him as a freak from the big city. But Drummond’s fashion choice proves to be premeditated, for he turns the tables on Brady by telling the crowd he bought the suspenders in Brady’s Nebraska hometown. This unexpected twist marks Brady’s first moment of embarrassment before a crowd that is predisposed to support him. Drummond continues to use this strategy—turning Brady’s own words and attitudes against him—to humorous and ironic effect throughout the trial.



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