The Women of Brewster Place | Teaching Key Figures

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Ben - The first black man in Brewster Place, this character arrived in 1953, just prior to the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Topeka decision.

Kiswana Browne - This character leaves her middle-class family, turning her back on an upbringing that she feels ignored her heritage.

Melanie Browne - See Kiswana Browne

Butch Fuller - This character succeeds in seducing Mattie and, unbeknown to him, is the father of the baby she carries when she leaves Rock Vale, Tennessee.

Etta Mae Johnson - This character grew up with another character in Rock Vale, Tennessee,...
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