The Piano Lesson

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The Piano Lesson (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

Characters Discussed

Boy Willie Charles, who is thirty years old, with an infectious grin and a boyish charm. He is brash, impulsive, and talkative. He is proud, and he believes that he and whites occupy the world equally. Boy Willie is an independent thinker and possesses a strong sense of what he believes. His immediate goal in the play is to get a piece of land, because, as he says, when you “got a piece of land you’ll find everything else fall right into place.” For him, land is the key to equality, dignity, and freedom.

Berniece, Boy Willie’s sister....

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• The Piano Lesson (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
• The Piano Lesson (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
• The Piano Lesson (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
• The Piano Lesson (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)

See Also:

• August Wilson (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
• August Wilson (Identities and Issues)
• August Wilson (Drama)

See Also:

• - The Piano Lesson summary and study guide in the eNotes.