Inherit the Wind E.K. Hornbeck Character Analysis
This Cynical Journalist
Inherit the Wind is an intense drama written by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence based on the John Scopes trial of 1925. In this story, Bert Cates is put on trial for going against the Tennessee law prohibiting the Evolutionary theory of the creation of mankind being taught in schools. With the trial being held in Hillsboro, most of the people at the event were against Bert Cates with it being so unorthodox. Some people though, shared Bert Cates's logic. E.K. Hornbeck, a mid-thirty year old city dweller and journalist who, through his writing skills, helped prove Bert Cates’s innocence.
E.K. Hornbeck could be described as a mean spirited and sarcastic man. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, no matter how harsh it was. When asked if he had a place to stay in Hillsboro, Hornbeck replied,” I had a nice clean place to stay madam, and I left it to come here”(14). This rudeness might have been from being in a new unknown area which he’s not used to. Or, he could naturally be a person of mean spirit. Along with his mean spirit came his never ending sarcasm. Hornbeck could find a way to crack a joke in basically every conversation he had in this play. When deciding to buy a hot dog or a bible, Hornbeck said,” Now there poses a pretty problem! Which is hungrier – my stomach or my soul?”(15). Hornbeck would use his sarcasm to criticize anything as simple from buying a hot dog to anything as complex as other people’s religion. Although he seemed very confident, he possibly could have been using his sarcasm to cover up his insecurity of being in a new town with unknown people. Either way, many people dealt with Hornbeck’s manners in a polite way, despite how much they might have not enjoyed it.
The people in this play would reply to Hornbeck’s actions and words in a polite manner, despite his fluent sarcasm. Everyone, at first, believed Hornbeck was a very cynical man coming to Hillsboro strictly for business. When Rachel discovered his article
Inherit the Wind is an intense drama written by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence based on the John Scopes trial of 1925. In this story, Bert Cates is put on trial for going against the Tennessee law prohibiting the Evolutionary theory of the creation of mankind being taught in schools. With the trial being held in Hillsboro, most of the people at the event were against Bert Cates with it being so unorthodox. Some people though, shared Bert Cates's logic. E.K. Hornbeck, a mid-thirty year old city dweller and journalist who, through his writing skills, helped prove Bert Cates’s innocence.
E.K. Hornbeck could be described as a mean spirited and sarcastic man. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, no matter how harsh it was. When asked if he had a place to stay in Hillsboro, Hornbeck replied,” I had a nice clean place to stay madam, and I left it to come here”(14). This rudeness might have been from being in a new unknown area which he’s not used to. Or, he could naturally be a person of mean spirit. Along with his mean spirit came his never ending sarcasm. Hornbeck could find a way to crack a joke in basically every conversation he had in this play. When deciding to buy a hot dog or a bible, Hornbeck said,” Now there poses a pretty problem! Which is hungrier – my stomach or my soul?”(15). Hornbeck would use his sarcasm to criticize anything as simple from buying a hot dog to anything as complex as other people’s religion. Although he seemed very confident, he possibly could have been using his sarcasm to cover up his insecurity of being in a new town with unknown people. Either way, many people dealt with Hornbeck’s manners in a polite way, despite how much they might have not enjoyed it.
The people in this play would reply to Hornbeck’s actions and words in a polite manner, despite his fluent sarcasm. Everyone, at first, believed Hornbeck was a very cynical man coming to Hillsboro strictly for business. When Rachel discovered his article