What Is The Scent In Inherit The Wind

The paranoia created by McCarthyism in the 1950s echoed the outrage caused by the 1925 “Scopes Monkey Trial” case, as people in both cases were fighting either for or against the right to hold varying opinions. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee wrote the play Inherit the Wind in response to McCarthyism and based it on the Scopes Trial, warning that threats to freedom of thought will continue in the future if such hysteria is repeated. The play follows fictional characters based on the real participants of the trial as Bertram Cates and his lawyer Henry Drummond fight not only for the right to teach evolution in public schools but also the right to think. Drummond’s determination, wit, and sensitivity compel the Christian Fundamentalist crowd
When all of his witnesses with science backgrounds are declared irrelevant, Drummond quickly comes up with a plan to make Brady his witness as an expert on the Bible. “All right. I get the scent in the wind. We’ll play in your ball park, Colonel. Now let’s get this straight… This is the book that you’re an expert on?” (p. 87). While a fragrance is not visible, its presence can be felt. Therefore, the “scent in the wind” refers to the implication that the case is already biased against Drummond. Drummond has an ability to think quickly because this is not his original plan. Brady’s “ball park,” an idiom meaning a person’s area of expertise, is the Bible, so in order to prove himself correct, Drummond must show the fallacies of the Bible. Instead of admitting defeat, Drummond creates a new scheme that still proves his argument. As he cross-examines Brady, Drummond brings up a story from the Bible in which Joshua makes the sun stand still. He asks Brady, “If they say that the sun stood still, they must have had a notion that the sun moves around the earth. Think that’s the way of things?... Now if what you say factually happened… the earth, arrested in its orbit, shriveled to a cinder and crashed into the sun. How come they missed this tidbit of news” (Lawrence and Lee 89). Drummond assumes the Bible to be correct so that Brady does not object to him
Before the trial begins, he tells Rachel and Cates not to give up or feel bad for being aberrations in the town: “I understand what Bert’s going through. It’s the loneliest feeling in the world—to find yourself standing up when everybody else is sitting down” (Lawrence and Lee 51). Drummond compares Bert’s isolation in terms of opinion to a person standing when everyone else is sitting, or doing a different action from everyone else. Also, the idiom “to stand up for oneself” is hinted at in Drummond’s statement with his comparison that involves standing. Since the idiom relates to defending one’s belief, Drummond tells Cates he must do the same. Because he realizes Bert is alone, Drummond decides to also “stand” with him and defend his principles to the best of his abilities, which requires him to present this stance to the townsfolk of Hillsboro. Additionally, when Hornbeck mocks Drummond for defending Brady after his death, Drummond responds, “Why? Because I refuse to erase a man’s lifetime? I tell you Brady had the same right as Cates: the right to be wrong!” (Lawrence and Lee 127). Drummond’s sensitivity is demonstrated by his refusal to “erase,” or undermine, Brady’s perspective. He understood Brady had the right to an opinion as well. Because of this understanding, Drummond conveys to Hornbeck that even poor opinions must be defended. Drummond’s empathy for all