The Ghosts Of The Yellow Dog Analysis

The action of the play takes place in the kitchen and parlor of Berniece’s sparsely furnished home in 1930’s Pittsburgh. Doaker lives with his niece, Berniece and her eleven year old daughter, Maretha. Just up from Mississippi, Boy Willie and his friend Lymon sweep into his sister Berniece’s house with aspirations of selling a truckload of watermelons. The Boy Willie motives for driving to Pittsburgh are by no means, of innocent but to sell the Charles heirloom the piano, which is kept undisturbed in the parlor for more than seven years. Boy Willie has not seen his sister in three years, having spent his time on Parchman Farm. Berniece enters on the stairs and chides her brother for making such a hollering sound. Willie never minds his sister and calls his uncle Doaker for a drink as they all have a cause to celebrate; the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog have drowned Sutter in his own …show more content…
Winning Boy who tries to present the image of a successful musician and gambler enters the house. Doaker and Winning Boy talk about the death of Winning Boy’s ex-wife Cleotha. When he reads the letter that informs about her death he reminisces on their marriage that is ruined by his need to wander. The Ghosts of the Yellow Dog and their many victims come up for the conversations, Winning Boy relates a time where he has spoken to the ghosts at the junction of the Southern cross of the Yellow Dog. Finally when he has left the place the stroke of good luck has hatched on to him. Boy Willie and Lymon share about their experiences in the Parchman Farm where Winning Boy and his brother, Doaker have spent their life time in the past. Boy Willie feels sorry for the death of Crawley that has made them unwillingly to serve Stovall. The men reminisce about the Parchman and start to sing an old work song. When Boy Willie asks Winning to play the piano, he hesitates and Doaker starts