Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

The play opens on the lawn of the Hillsboro Courthouse. The stage is set with the inside of the courtroom to one side of the stage, with the Courthouse Square and town Main Street on the other side of the stage. A character named Howard enters with a fishing rod and tin can, hunting for worms. A girl named Melinda enters looking for him.

The two discuss the weather and Howard finds a worm. He frightens Melinda with it, and then tells her she was a worm once. The two argue over whether people originated from worms, and Melinda threatens to tell her father about his opinion. Howard says that her father was once a monkey, and Melinda runs away. Howard continues searching for worms, and the action shifts to the courthouse.

Rachel, the daughter of the town religious leader Reverend...