Inherit the Wind - Henry Drummond

Henry Drummond

When it comes to justice, people like to think that they know how to distinguish right from wrong, forgetting that somebody’s right can be somebody else’s wrong. Henry Drummond, one of the main characters in Lawrence and Lee’s play, Inherit the wind, causes us to reflect about our society’s principles. He is the defense lawyer in the famous trial that shook the world, The Monkey Trial. Drummond’s personality is build up gradually and his true self is revealed at the end of the play. The reader learns at first about his physical appearance and background, tries to grasp his true nature from other characters reactions, and finally discovers the depth of his character through his thoughts and speech.

Henry Drummond appearance is negatively exaggerated by his background. He has a bad reputation as a defense lawyer arguing for the rights of criminals and winning for some of the most brutal murderers. This makes religious people think that he “is an agent of darkness” (27). So, the fact that he is “hunched over” (35) and not exactly a handsome man gives him a frightening resemblance to the devil. “You look into his face, and you wonder why God made such a man. And then you know that God didn’t make him, that he is a creature of the Devil, perhaps even the Devil himself!” (28). However, the prosecutor attorney, Harrison Matthew Brady, is happy to measure his forces against Drummond’s strong reputation in order to magnify the importance of his own anticipated victory, comparing his opponent with the dragon that St. George had killed: “If St. George had slain a dragonfly, who would remember him” (29).

Henry Drummond’s personality is more fully developed through his interactions with the other characters. He is calm and patient with the ones who try to intimidate him. When Brady is laughing at his suspensors, Drummond shows his ability to turn an apparent drawback into an advantage: he gains the courtroom sympathy with a joke about the fashion in...