Comparing Inherit The Wind By Jerome Lawrence And Robert E. Lee

In the fantastic play “Inherit the Wind” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee the epic and historical battle of evolution versus the Biblical account of creation was revealed in the downtown Hillsboro courthouse. The play illustrated the dramatic nature of the original Scopes “Monkey” trial that took place in Dayton, Tennessee in the year 1925. In the original trial the two opposing attorneys were William Jennings Bryan as the prosecutor and Clarence Darrow as the defense. However, in this vivid play the diverse yet similar characters of Matthew Harrison Brady as Bryan and Henry Drummond as Darrow are set at odds as their opposition of beliefs led them to fight each other’s differences.

The prosecuting attorney Brady is a complete opposite

of Drummond. In Brady’s pursuit to make the Biblical account of creation prevail in the schools against liberals such as Drummond who oppose and revile what Brady considers to be the only logical explanation of the world’s creation. In the play Brady was the man of the Bible believing community. Brady was the perfect prosecuting attorney to have in this trial; it would not have been right for anyone else to attempt to defeat the intimidating defense attorney Drummond. Brady had ran several times in the presidential race but with no avail as he was never actually elected. Although he was not elected he was still held in high regard for at least running the race. Therefore because of Brady’s well known stature as a leader in the aspect of defending the Christian religion against the “modern” and new theories of evolution he was chosen and brought to Hillsboro to be the man to destroy the new theories of evolution.
There are many reasons that made Brady such a unique person and some of these include his: large size, excellent orating ability, fundamental beliefs, outstanding ability to undermine the evolutionary theories, and as stated earlier, his political position. His large size was important because it made his character the jovial and intimidating character that was likeable by most everyone. It was his excellent orating ability that gave him the edge over many others who lack the kind of assuring and first-rate speech quality that Brady had mastered. His fundamental beliefs allowed him to have a very solid foundation that he could take advantage of as to gain favor by those who had similar beliefs and also to allow him to make bold statements of faith. In the play he was also a leader in the resistance of evolution, making him a very important and almost necessary man to have in the trial.
Brady was also an important figure to have in the prosecuting stand for the reason that he was not only determined to defeat evolution but also the attorney who defended the evolutionary teachings, who in this case, also happened to be a once friend but now long time rival of Brady, Henry Drummond. The two were separated by their different views of life as Brady wanted to continue in the traditions of God and His laws, and Drummond wanted to move with the crowd and society to whatever the most recent scientific discovery had theorized.
When Brady arrives in Hillsboro the day before the beginning of the trial he is welcomed with applause and respectful greetings.

The welcome that he receives accurately reveals who Brady was and what he meant to the people there. He wasn’t just some distant politician who had come simply to make himself a name and standing in that part of the country. To the people of Hillsboro he was a great man, a man worthy of applause, a parade, and even a buffet lunch. Brady had come to defend, and the people knew it, and were ready to help the man in their common pursuit to defeat evolution. He is so liked by the people there that he is even given an honorary title by the mayor as Honorary Colonel in the State

Militia.
Brady is the leader among the common people, making a connection with the people with their shared beliefs and standings. Therefore he was able to feel relaxed and a little too cocky as he eventually was not just fighting for the people but also for his ego. He was not in the least perfect but definitely wanted to be. Brady’s overconfidence eventually lead him to accept Drummonds want to call him to the stand. Brady answers Drummond’s questions but as he does he makes a fool out of himself as he mixes up his Biblical knowledge and in the end supports Drummond. It was as if Brady knew he was going to come out on top after the trial, but he was over confident which made him completely forget that it was not really himself that the towns people liked but it was really what he stood for that the people liked. Truthfully, the people liked Brady but they wanted more of what he stood for to prevail and not just himself to prevail.
Drummond, the defendant, was also the perfect man to be chosen to defend the new and changing views of evolution. In the play he was similar to Brady in that he was brought up in a decent home, a loving family, and with traditional values. Brady and Drummond became friends but eventually their contrasting views about life and the way to view it pulled their friendship apart never to be pulled back together. Drummond then became prominent in his group of people just as Brady became prominent in his. They were of a like trade, they enjoyed what they did, and they were good at what they did, it was only their different views of life and creation that they were not on the same team. It was as if they had been on the same baseball team in middle school but then they graduated with the one going to play on one college team because of one reason while the other went to play for another college for another reason. Essentially the two were playing the same sport but on opposing teams because of different choices of different colleges.
As Brady was the man for the creationist, Drummond was the man for the evolutionist, as Brady was a big man, Drummond was also a big man, and as Brady was a good orator, Drummond was alsoa good orator.

Just as they were similar in background they were also similar in their conduct. From their speech to their largeness they were alike. They were also the best that each side had to offer. Drummond could quickly change his views to fit what constantly changed while Brady was the one who had the ability to stick with what he believed. He wasn’t going to change his views to fit what the new theories brought about but he was willing to stick up for what he believed making him a prominent and respectful man. Drummond was also willing to stand up for what he believed although he was even more brave than Brady because at that time there were still so many that believed in the Bible that it was a very hard thing to stand up for an evolutionary theory that so many were adamantly opposed

to.
Drummond arrived in Hillsboro to receive welcome from only one person who also happened to be a liberal man working for the newspaper. Unlike Brady, Drummond is not the highly respected, in fact, Drummond is held in low regard because of his evolutionary standings. It was not so much his person but rather what he stood for that made the people disregard him and call him a devil. It was in this same way that people treated Brady, with a like to his opinions, not his being. As the trial begins Drummond interrogates people asking them odd questions and treating them with disrespect unlike the way that Brady treated people, that is, with respect to their lives. Although they both possessed a quality of being able to be rude to the opposite team, much like the way that one college team would be mouthy and rude to the other.
Eventually the trial ends; there was officially no winner but unofficially everyone watching the trial knew that Drummond had come out on top. Although because of their extreme similarities one might think that they would be an even match and that neither would come out on top but I the end because of how the two contrasted each other Drummonds differences seemed to be a little more excellent as he was able to lower Brady’s pride.
Over all, Matthew Harrison Brady and Henry Drummond had their similarities, from their upbringing to how they were both the best that the fundamentalists and modernists had to offer. While they were the same in some aspects they were they were also different in that Brady was on the creationist side and Drummond was on the evolutionist side. Brady was also the respectful, considerate one while Drummond was the aggressive and rude one of the two. These two characters will be seen as some of the most perfect opposites for time to come, as their legacy of greatly defending their beliefs lasts for ages to come.