Lawrence and Lee's purpose for this scene is to delineate each side of the conflict. With stage directions that state the situation is "as if Hillsboro itself is on trial," the playwrights suggest that the narrow-minded thinking that promotes censorship — thinking that is prevalent in Hillsboro — is on trial.
The prospective jurors that Drummond and Brady question are males who are not particularly well educated. Through the jury-selection process, the two attorneys challenge each other, revealing one another's strengths and weaknesses. Because Drummond is a foil for Brady, the men's differences are magnified whenever they are in each other's presence. Brady is self-assured and smug because he has the spectators on his side. Drummond, although alone in his fight to defend Cates, never wavers from his mission to defend academic freedom.
Lawrence and Lee portray Drummond as a sophisticated city dweller from the North, a sharp contrast to Brady and the simple townspeople living in the rural South. For example, Drummond exhibits a sense of humor about his purple suspenders, which incurs Brady's sarcasm about Drummond wearing the "latest fashion." Brady's self-importance is evident when the issue of his title as Honorary Colonel in the State Militia arises, and the audience sees that Brady is impressed with the title. Drummond, on the other hand, thinks the title is ridiculous and is mildly entertained when the mayor of Hillsboro gives him a temporary title of Honorary Colonel in the State Militia.
