Week 1

Both plays should be complete. This is a period of discovery. Have them free write on their expectations (which they've already gauged) and the reality.

• Did their expectations meet the reality of what Wilson presented?
• What kinds of things were different? How did they feel about what they read?
• Are they believing that Wilson is publishing propoganda, or are they willing to approach the text with an open mind?

Historical elements

• Slavery
• Joe Turner
• Yellow Dog Railroad (yes, there is such a thing!)
• Mississippi Delta
• The Great Migration
• The Great Depression

This is a great week to have them pull out those study sheets and share their information.

Week 2

Characters

Begin the discussion of the plays with the leading male characters:

• Seth
• Boy Willie
• Herold Loomis

What kinds of things do they want out of life? They come from different backgrounds (see exposition on Seth's background and hear Doaker tell of Boy Willie's). How do those backgrounds impact the way they see the world? In spite of their differences what kinds of things make them similar? How does Herold Loomis fit into this discussion? What does he want?

Look at the kinds of people who live in the Boarding House. What do they want out of life? Do you think each character is special to the drama? If so, how? What about in Piano Lesson? What does Berniece want? Doaker? Wining Boy?

Bynum (note the name) claims to "bind" people who want to be bound. How does that work? Do you believe that he can do such a thing?

Selig, who brings Seth sheet metal for dustpans, also claims to bring people together. In fact, he calls himself the "people finder." What has his family's original occupation (during slavery) and his current occupation got to do with one another? What do you suppose Wilson was trying to accomplish with such a character? Is there a similar character in Piano Lesson? (be careful with your answer here, just because you can't see him doesn't mean he isn't there!)

Account for Loomis' behavior throughout the drama? Is he someone to be wary of as Seth suggests?

Weeks 3 - 4

Major Themes:

• Movement - Who's moving in these plays (don't discount minor movement)? Consider Herold Loomis' migration north, Avery's constant movement in the elevator (north and south), Doaker's work on the train taking him north and south, Boy Willie coming from South to North (Lymon plans to stay), Selig travels all over, Wining Boy, too never stays in one place too long. All of them (with the exception of Seth) have immediate and personal connections to the South. Is anybody getting anywhere?

  What is Wilson's point with all this moving around? What about Doaker's speech about trains going east and west and north and south? What do you think of the African American Migratory efforts? Has it been a good move? Bad? What do you think Wilson thinks?

  
   
• Religion - What elements of Christianity exist in these plays? Who is religious and what religion do they practice? Consider the juxtaposition of Christianity with traditionally non-Christian concepts
   
  • Avery's unsuccessful attempt to rid the house of Sutter's ghost while Berniece successfully calls up the spirits of her ancestors for help Seth's Christian attitude regarding Bynum's "voodoo" immediately followed by his dancing the Juba and his reaction to Loomis' reaction to their dancing.
     
  • Loomis' vision deserves special attention here. Describe what he sees and its significance to all that has been discussed regarding these plays. Wilson makes a point of referencing that vision again at the end of the play. Why? What does Loomis mean by "I'm standing! I'm standing! My legs stood up!"
     
  • Who is the "shiny man" that Bynum is looking for. What does it mean to shine? How does that relate to the last lines of the play: Bynum says, "Herald Loomis, you shining. You shining like new money." Compare the last scene of Joe Turner's Come and Gone with the last scene of The Piano Lesson.
     
  • Is Wilson making a value judgement on Western Religion vs. the more traditional African religions? Is there anything terribly un-Christian about spirits?
     
  • The Movement and the Religion relate directly back to an African consciousness. What does that mean? In what ways do these characters display a subconscious (?) awareness of their African heritage? Is this a good thing for them or a bad thing? Would it be better for them to just put all those "old fashioned" ideas out of their head and get on with being an American? Why? Why not? What is gained by acknowledging their heritage? What is lost by not acknowledging it? What have these characters lost or gained by either acknowledging or not acknowledging their heritage?
  
   
• The Piano - Consider the carvings on the piano in The Piano Lesson. What lessons are learned in the play? What do the carvings represent to each of the characters? What about the moral elements of owning the piano…to whom did it rightfully belong? Why?
   
• Slavery - What are the effects of slavery on both sets of characters? How do you know? What about Jim Crow? Can you see anything in either of the plays which might be directly related to Jim Crow laws?
   
• Music - How does Wilson use music throughout both dramas? The Blues was a major influence on him. How does that influence manifest itself in both The Piano Lesson and Joe Turner's Come and Gone? Is the music simply a natural element of the drama or is there some larger purpose for its inclusion. Consider your research on the Blues while you formulate your response.

Week 5

This is a good opportunity to show the Hallmark Hall of Fame version of The Piano Lesson. It stays fairly true to the original, and the students get to hear the dialogue (in case they cannot hear the specific southern accents) and the music. There is a particularly moving scene in which the men in the drama share a moment with a familiar work song (the film is valuable if for that scene only).

Conclusion:

It's a good idea to make the students freewrite for about five minutes every day that you discuss some aspect of the either of the plays. This keeps them grounded in the moment that Wilson is trying to convey. At the conclusion of the discussion it is often helpful to have them go over all their free writing and discuss what they have learned. What kinds of things do they know now that they didn't know at the start? Do they appreciate the function of literature in society? Do they think they know what the function of literature is?

A good writing exercise at the end of a black literature discussion such as this would be:

Using only the characters you have met in these two dramas tell me what you think it means to be black in America.