Characters In Inherit The Wind

Inherit the Wind is a play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. It is based upon the monkey trial of 1925. Henry Drummond is the defense attorney for Bertram Cates. While Matthew Harrison Brady is the prosecuting attorney. Cates is on trial for teaching the theory of evolution, rather than the teachings of the holy bible. Rachel Brown is the 22-year-old daughter of Reverend Jeremiah Brown. She is someone who dislikes controversy. Rachel is a fearful character at the beginning of the play. She is a character that is transforms throughout the play, through her experiences and the decisions she decides to make. The reader can truly realise Rachel’s transformation by comparing her character in the first and the last act of the play.

The audience is introduced to Rachel when she visits Cates in jail.

She is nervous because she does not know what to expect. She is fearful because she knows her father will not approve of her visiting Cates. Rachel tries to convince Cates to admit he was wrong. She wants him to be on the "right side of things”,she says “Bert it’s still not too late. Why can’t you admit you’re wrong?” (7). This statement shows Rachel’s desperation to please everyone. She wants him to be on the side of her father, the only side she’s ever been exposed to. Rachel’s father Reverend Brown, taught his daughter to fear any thoughts that she might have that are different than the teaching of the bible. For Rachel, it was simply just better not to think at all. Before the trial, she is dependant on Cates to tell her what to do. She says to him, “Bert, can you hear me? Bert, you’ve got to tell me what to do. I don’t know what to do-” (28). This show us that she does not think for herself. She depends on people to tell her how to think and what to do. In this act Rachel is a weak and easily manipulated character that does not think for

herself.

In the second act of the play I believe Rachel is very confused and she starts questioning the teachings of her father and The Bible.

Rachel is very confused as she loves Cates, a man who believes in freedom of thought. Yet Cates’ beliefs oppose her father’s strict teachings of the bible. Rachel is very conflicted and does not know what to do. I believe Rachel’s transformation begins after testifying when says to herself “I wanted to run to my father, and have him tell me I was safe, that everything was alright. But I was always more frightened of him than I was of falling. It’s the same way now” (48-49). This shows when Rachel starts resenting her father. She no longer finds comfort in her belief. Her transformation continued at the prayer meeting. When her father orders the whole town to pray that Cates be destroyed, Rachel defends Cates. She starts thinking for herself, she realises what her father was doing was wrong. Her father calls for her to be destroyed too. Disappointed, Rachel faces the fact that her father and his beliefs, are very small-minded and

intolerant.

Rachel is very independant by the end of the play. The fact that she chooses to leave her father shows that she is no longer fragile, confused and trying to please everyone. It shows that she can make her own decisions and think for herself. When asked by Cates where she is going, Rachel responds, “I’m not sure. But I’m leaving my father” (110). This clear, concise decision greatly portrays her newfound independence. Rachel is significantly more tolerant. By reading the evolution book, she teaches everyone the concept of tolerance. Rachel does not understand the book. The parts she does understand she does not like, but she now believes everyone has the freedom to think for themselves. Rachel says the Cates, “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” (111). This quote 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 fearful and intolerant young women she was.

Rachel Brown's extreme change ultimately helps to expose the theme of the play. The character of Rachel Brown went through a series of changes from beginning to end. She came out a better woman. More importantly a women that can now think for herself.