1. Why is Cates arrested?

2. Who represents the prosecution in the play?

3. What biologist’s research and ideas led to what we know as the theory of evolution?

4. How does Howard offend Melinda in the first scene?

5. During what time of year does the trial take place?

6. Why does Rachel testify against Cates?

7. What happens when Brady arrives in Hillsboro?

8. What does the banner hanging in the center of town say?

9. What title does the judge use to address Brady?

10. What is Drummond’s reaction to Brady’s title?

11. What does Drummond say in response to Cates’s description of the townspeople’s treatment of him?

12. When did Rachel start to fear her father?

13. What does Hornbeck do when Brady holds an informal press conference?

14. Which biblical story does Reverend Brown recite during his town prayer meeting?

15. Why does Reverend Brown condemn his own daughter’s soul to anguish?

16. What real-life court case provided the inspiration for Inherit the Wind?

17. How do Rachel and Cates know each other?

18. Who is Tommy Stebbins?

19. Why is Rachel dismissed from the witness stand?

20. What unusual and unexpected courtroom maneuver does Drummond make?

21. What is the significance of the radio man’s presence at the trial?

22. What is Cates’s sentence?

23. What does Brady recite in his delirium after he becomes ill?

24. How does Brady die?

25. Which pair of characters leaves together on the evening train?