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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Boy Willie threaten to do to the piano?

2. Berniece claims she saw what before she left the house on the day that Wining Boy went to the city?

3. Which member of the Sutter family desperately wanted the piano?

4. What beverage do the men drink while discussing Parchman Prison?

5. Which character used to polish the piano every morning?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Boy Willie and Lymon end up in Pittsburgh?

2. What does Boy Willie believe about the laws of the white man?

3. How does Wining Boy say that ghosts have affected his life?

4. What lesson does Boy Willie give Maretha on the piano?

5. How does Boy Willie respond to Doaker's intrusion as he is attempting to move the piano?

6. What does Avery tell Berniece when he comes to visit her while she is preparing a bath?

7. What does Berniece ask Avery to do after Maretha has seen Sutter's ghost, and how does Avery respond?

8. What reaction does the family have to Boy Willie's sudden arrival at their doorstep?

9. What does Lymon tell Berniece he is looking for in a woman?

10. When Boy Willie and Lymon realize that they cannot move the piano, how do they respond?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Music is another way for the Charles family to preserve their family history.

Part 1. Create a list of three scenes within the play during which music is present.

Part 2. Explain why the music of the play acts as a symbol of the Charles family history.

Part 3. Choose two characters from the Charles family and compare / contrast their relationship to music. This comparison could be regarding the piano music or the family singing.

Essay Topic 2

There are many examples of prisons throughout this play, which are figurative, symbolic, and literal. Choose two examples of imprisonments that the characters find themselves in and compare/contrast the impact of the imprisonment in one of the character's lives. Briefly explain what that character does to fight against the various imprisonments in his or her life.

Essay Topic 3

This history of slavery within the Charles family repeats itself throughout the text. Briefly explain the ways that slavery has affected the Charles family in the past, the present, and the future?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 900 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample