Analysis Of Bert Cates Inherit The Wind

The play Inherit the Wind gives the story of a lawyer, Henry Drummond, who comes to Hillsboro to defend a man, Bert Cates, on trial for teaching evolution. Cates’ lover Rachel Brown is someone who firmly believes in God and her father’s teachings. Throughout her childhood, she grew scared of her father and became a faithful woman. She was taught that ideas of evolution that weren’t in the Bible were wrong. Over the span in which Cates was jailed and his trial, she started to grow and realize the nature of the world. In Inherit the Wind Rachel is an important representation of growth through her way of life before the trial, her gradual change throughout involving her relationship with Cates, and her final decision along with acceptance.
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Rachel was someone who was trustworthy and kind. She firmly believed Cates was a good man and only made a mistake once so he should be acquitted from his case. Due to her kind nature, Rachel had tried to help Cates before the trials. She consulted his lawyer Henry Drummond about helping him and gave all her views. Drummond took this information and then asked an important question, “Do you feel what you did was wrong Cates?”, in which Cates said he did not feel it was wrong and so they would have the trial rather than attempting to take an easy way out. Rachel still did not give up and talked to Brady, but her talk exposed many key details that would prove useful to Brady’s prosecution. While this proved negative to Cates’ case, it showed Rachel’s inner feelings and how she was a trustworthy woman who just wanted to help her lover. Once the trial started, Cates was put into a tough spot but Drummond managed to wear down Brady and get the people thinking. After having to be on the witness stand and listening to Drummond’s side, she stopped coming to the courthouse and decided to think over it. This thinking affected her decisions after the