What is the plot of The Piano Lesson?
The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano. The brother, Boy Willie, is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land (Sutter’s land) where his ancestors toiled as slaves.
What is the main conflict in The Piano Lesson?
The conflict between Berniece and Boy Willie continues throughout the play. Berniece thinks that selling the piano would be the same as selling their souls. Boy Willie, on the other hand, feels that the best way to honor the memory of his ancestors is by putting the piano to use.
Who killed Sutter in The Piano Lesson?
the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog
Willie asks his uncle for a celebratory drink: the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog have drowned Sutter in his own well.
Why is Sutter calling for Boy Willie?
Though initially Sutter’s wife loved the piano, she eventually came to miss her slaves, falling desperately ill. So, Sutter asked Doaker’s grandfather, Willie Boy, to carve the faces of his wife and child into the piano.
What is Avery’s daytime job?
What is Avery’s daytime job? He is an elevator man.
What was in Avery’s dream in The Piano Lesson?
His vision is an interesting spiritual blend. The three hobos seem to represent the Three Magi or wise men who are said to have witness Jesus birth. However, in Avery’s dream they are hobos, just like the hobos that make up part of the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog.
Why does Boy Willie want to buy land?
Why does Boy Willie want to purchase Sutter’s land? The land that Boy Willie wants to purchase is the land that his grandfather was kept as a slave on, which is very important to him.
Who sees the ghost first in The Piano Lesson?
Review for The Piano Lesson (copy)
| A | B |
|---|---|
| What is the name of Doaker’s grandfather? | Willie Boy |
| Who sees Sutter’s ghost first? | Doaker |
| Who does Lymon want to give the bottle of perfume? | Grace |
| Where did the Yellow Dog get its name? | color of the boxcars |
Why does Bernice keep the piano?
Berniece wants to remember and preserve her family’s past by keeping the piano; Boy Willie wants rectify the past by selling the piano and buying land that once bound his ancestors in slavery; Doaker wants Boy Willie to understand the family’s past through the history of the piano.
Who stole the piano in The Piano Lesson?
So, on July four, 1911, he, Doaker, and Wining Boy stole it, storing it in the neighboring county with Mama Ola’s family. Later that day, lynchers set Boy Charles’s house on fire. Charles fled to catch the Yellow Dog. The mob, however, stopped the train and, when unable to find the piano, set his boxcar on fire.
What is the yellow dog in piano lesson?
As play concerned with trans-generational memory, The Piano Lesson is appropriately haunted by ghosts: the ghost of Sutter, the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog, the ghosts of the ancestors, and, in a less supernatural sense, those of Crawley and Cleotha.
Who sees Sutter’s ghost?