KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS

SETTING

The play takes place in Hillsboro. It is a small fictional town that is meant to resemble Dayton, Tennessee, where the Scopes trial was held in 1925.

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Major Characters

Matthew Harrison Brady - a politician and lawyer. He is the prosecuting attorney for the state against Bertram Cates and a three-time presidential candidate.

Henry Drummond - the lawyer for the defense. He is famous for taking the cases of unpopular clients.

Rachel Brown - the daughter of Hillsboro's minister and the girlfriend of the defendant, Bertram Cates. She is a teacher.

E. K. Hornbeck - a reporter for the Baltimore Herald. He comes to Hillsboro to cover the Cates trial. He considers the people of Hillsboro thoroughly backward in their thinking and looks on at the trial in amused contempt.

Reverend Jeremiah Brown - Hillsboro's minister. He is a hard- hearted man who feels no qualms about convincing the town to condemn Bert Cates and his daughter as incorrigible sinners.

Table of Contents | Printable Version