Bill Williams Character Analysis

A friendly man who sits next to Griffin in the black section of the bus on the way to Mississippi. In contrast to Cristophe, who is abrasive and menacing, Bill is warm and empathetic, eventually giving Griffin tips about how best to navigate the hazardous streets of Hattiesburg, where a black man can quickly find himself in grave danger at the hands of racists. What’s more, Bill becomes a model of courage when he refuses to let the bigoted bus driver keep him from getting off at a rest stop to use the bathroom. While the driver yells at him to come back, Bill simply pretends he can’t hear, and when he returns, he points out that he heard the driver calling somebody named “Boy,” which is not his name. He then triumphantly returns to his seat, and all of the black passengers regard him as a “hero.”