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The Piano Lesson Study Guide

by August Wilson

The Piano Lesson study guide contains a biography of August Wilson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Over one hundred years ago, the Charles family was owned by the Sutters of Mississippi. When Papa Boy Willie's wife and son were sold to a neighboring farm for a piano, Boy Willie used his skills as a master woodworker to carve their likenesses into the piano - as well as a pictorial representation of their family history, from Africa to the present.

Decades later, the descendants of that family - the brothers Wining Boy, Doaker, and Boy Charles - decided that the piano could not remain in the Sutters' possession. It was the soul of the family. They succeeded in stealing the piano, but Sutter caught up with Boy Charles in a Yellow Dog train car, and burned him and four hobos alive. These five became the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog, avenging…

Read the full The Piano Lesson Summary

• The Piano Lesson Summary
• About The Piano Lesson
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Quotes and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of Act I, scene 1
• Summary and Analysis of Act I, scene 2
• Summary and Analysis of Act II, scenes 1 & 2
• Summary and Analysis of Act II, scenes 3 & 4
• Summary and Analysis of Act II, scene 5
• The Ghosts of The Piano Lesson
• Related Links on The Piano Lesson
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 5
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• The Piano Lesson: Major Themes
• The Piano Lesson: Essays
• The Piano Lesson: Questions
• The Piano Lesson: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• August Wilson: Biography