The America Play Character Analysis

The Foundling Father

The central character in The America Play, whose monologue occupies Act One and in whose footsteps Lucy and Brazil (his wife and their son) follow during Act Two. Born in a “Small Town” into… read analysis of The Foundling Father

Lucy

The Foundling Father’s wife and Brazil’s mother, who leads her son out West in Act Two, in an attempt to give “a proper burial” to her estranged, Lincoln-obsessed husband. She spends this… read analysis of Lucy

Brazil

The Foundling Father and Lucy’s son, who accompanies his mother to the replica of the Great Hole of History in Act Two to give his father the “proper burial” he deserves. He spends much… read analysis of Brazil

Abraham Lincoln

The president of the United States from 1861-1865, who is still considered one of the greatest American political leaders in history, and who is a central reference throughout The America Play, specifically for Parks’s… read analysis of Abraham Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln’s wife and the famously controversial and maligned First Lady of the United States from 1861-1865. Born into a slaveholding Kentucky family, she excelled in school and took an early interest in politics… read analysis of Mary Todd Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth

The prominent American actor, white supremacist, and Confederate sympathizer who famously assassinated Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. In The America Play, a variety of people dressed as Booth repeatedly reenact… read analysis of John Wilkes Booth