Summary
On the courthouse lawn, two workmen discuss what to do
about the “Read Your Bible!” banner. One of them says they should
leave it up. Brady walks up, followed by a crowd of reporters, all
of them except Hornbeck taking notes. A British reporter asks Brady
his opinion of Drummond. Brady admits that the two of them were once
friends and that Drummond supported his 1908 presidential campaign.
He counters that even if is own brother, much less Drummond, were
challenging popular belief in the Bible, that would not stop him
from standing up for his beliefs.
Brady dismisses the reporters and then strikes up conversation with
Hornbeck. Brady calls Hornbeck’s reporting biased, and Hornbeck
responds that he writes as a critic, not an objective reporter.
Brady invites Hornbeck to Reverend Brown’s prayer meeting, and Hornbeck
says he won’t miss it. Hornbeck walks off, and Reverend Brown, escorting
Mrs. Brady, approaches Brady. After some chit-chat, Reverend Brown
strikes up the prayer meeting sternly from the podium. Drummond
enters and receives glares from the preacher. To quick response
from the crowd, Reverend Brown runs through the story of God’s creation
of the world as told in the Book of Genesis. Rachel enters in the
midst of the crescendo of call and response.
As Reverend Brown’s back-and-forth oration with the crowd reaches
a frenzied pitch, the preacher asks the crowd if they curse and
cast out the man who denies the story of Genesis, referring to Cates
by pointing at the jail. The crowd responds furiously, which causes
Rachel to shake. Reverend Brown asks the crowd if they should pray
for God to bring his hellfire down on Cates. He goes further, comparing
Cates to the Pharaohs and asking for “his soul [to] writhe in anguish
and damnation.” Rachel interrupts and asks her father to stop condemning
Cates. Reverend Brown calls out for the Lord to punish those who
want to forgive Cates.
Brady, who has been growing uncomfortable with Reverend Brown’s
sermon, interrupts. He cautions Reverend Brown and suggests that
the preacher should not try to “destroy that which you hope to save.”
Brady quotes the book of Proverbs and reminds the crowd of the Christian
message of forgiveness before dismissing them. The crowd leaves,
singing “Go, Tell It On the Mountain.”
After the crowd is gone, Brady approaches Drummond. Reminding
Drummond of their former friendship, Brady asks why Drummond has
abandoned him. Drummond replies, “All motion is relative. Perhaps
it is you who have moved away—by standing still.” These words surprise
Brady, and after a moment of startled silence, he walks backward
offstage, leaving Drummond alone.
Analysis
The fundamentalist and evolutionist factions in the play
come into starker conflict in this scene. Whereas Drummond’s compassion
for Rachel at the end of Act I delineates kindness as the mark of
an open mind, the events of the prayer meeting thrust us back to
the fundamentalist perspective. By constantly shifting between these
perspectives, Inherit the Wind works as dramatic
theater, presenting one confrontation after another.
