ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how the prospects for bettering one's life become possible for each of the main characters living on the yard – Ephraim, Charlie, Rosa, Sophia, Esther and Mavis – and how the limits of life on the yard are made apparent through comparisons with the minor characters who visit – Prince, Old Mack, Sailors and Soldiers, the Policeman, the Fisherwoman, the Iceman, the Children and Ketch – and who appear to have a measure of greater freedom than the yard inhabitants. It outlines the character that demonstrate how the experiences of the black women are contrasted against those of the black men and how the black yard characters' lives differ from those of the richer people who live outside, as exemplified in an American sailor and soldier and other characters who are heard offstage. Ephraim's dreams of escaping to Liverpool are resonant with the archetypal yard play character of a young bachelor burning with ambition.
