There are thousands if not millions of people who constantly fight for their beliefs every single day, however, they have commonly been regarded as godless or sinners by others . This is the case of the one and only Henry Drummond, the best lawyer in all of America. In the play Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Drummond takes the lead in being Bertram Cates' lawyer during the Scopes trial, which concerns the alleged teaching of evolution in a Tennessee public school. When he arrived in Hillsboro for his trial in July 1925, it was clear that he was not welcomed by the townspeople. He was well known among them as a ruthless lawyer and was considered a creation of the Devil or perhaps even the Devil himself. Despite all the bad publicity, he is actually an admirable character because he is open-minded, courageous and has integrity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Henry Drummond is a very open-minded character, shown through his various actions throughout the show. His open-mindedness was depicted in the scene where he saw Rachel and Cates arguing about whether or not to continue the trial. Drummond realized the circumstances of the situation and gave Cates a decision: “I will change your request and we will cancel the whole thing – on one condition. If you honestly believe that you are wrong and that the law is right. Then to hell with it. I'll pack my bags and go back to Chicago, where it's nice and cool in the shade” (Lawrence and Lee 52). Drummond knows that the Butler Law is unjust because it prohibits a fundamental human right, the right to think. However, he knew that the defendant's opinion took priority over his. If the person who is defending prefers to accept the punishment knowing that they have actually broken the law, then it would be a waste of time. Furthermore, Henry Drummond once again shows his open-mindedness towards the end of the play when he was packing his bags to leave once the court case was over. He took the Bible in one hand and Darwin's On the Origin of Species in the other, balancing them equally as if it were a set of scales. He half smiled, half shrugged, placing them both in his briefcase and went on his way. Drummond does not appreciate the importance of the Bible to Darwin's Origin of Species nor, conversely, does he treat all books with the same respect. He has read both books and believes that both can coexist. Drummond's open-mindedness throughout the play made him more admirable. Secondly, Henry Drummond's courage is strongly demonstrated throughout the play. For example, he expressed to Cates that he prefers to focus his talents and efforts toward more challenging cases that most would find impossible to win. Not only was the trial considered a sure defeat for the defense, but Cates was also considered a pariah by the citizens because they thought his expression of his right to think was sinful. Drummond's courage is evident in this scene because he refuses to let the difficulties of the case stop him, he accepted it knowing that there was a high probability that he would lose and tarnish his reputation. His courage allows him to defend people accused of horrible things, while other lawyers wouldn't take on such a difficult case to win. Also, during the court trial, when it was the defense's turn to question people, Henry Drummond introduced many expert scientists to give the jury a little insight into evolution since none of them had a clue what it was. However, the.
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