CASE STUDY: THE PIANO (JANE CAMPION, 1993) Jill Nelmes Jane Campion is one of the few women directors who could justifiably be called an auteur director. As the story progresses, Berniece moves from one activity to another:  She gets herself and Maretha ready for their day; sets rules for Boy Willie and Lymon’s stay; accompanies Avery to the bank to apply for a loan; prepares dinner for her uncle; cleans a businessman’s house for a living; fights her brother over the piano; rejects another marriage proposal from Avery; chases Boy Willie and his girlfriend out of the house; kisses Lymon then rejects him; gets her husband’s gun to threaten her brother; conjures up friendly spirits to save her brother from the ghost. CASE STUDY: THE PIANO (JANE CAMPION, 1993) Jill Nelmes Jane Campion is one of the few women directors who could justifiably be called an auteur director. She moved to Pittsburgh with her daughter. Her senses show her how to use the power within the piano to destroy the ghost. He asks Berniece to sell the piano to finance his church; asks her to marry him so that he’ll look respectable to his congregation; applies for a bank loan to buy property for his church; urges Berniece to play the piano in the church choir. Look at this piano. BOY WILLIE:  I’m gonna get me some rope. . I give out lessons on it and that help me make my rent or whatever. . MATISSE AND MEMORY. Boy Willie rushes up to Pittsburgh to sell the piano disregarding Berniece’s attachment to it; dismisses her claim that she saw Sutter’s ghost; criticizes her reasons for keeping the piano as sentimental; challenges her to go ahead and shoot him when she threatens him. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. BOY WILLIE:  I’m gonna talk to her. In addition to the Storyform, you'll also find any additional analysis or media related to the story in question. Put them two parts with the part I done saved. Doaker lives with his niece Berniece and Berniece’s 11-year-old daughter, Maretha. Boy Willie remembers his father working another man’s land with his capable hands, useless without land of his own. Lymon, afraid of being put back in a work farm for no good reason, comes up North hoping to get a fresh start in life. Boy Willie’s desire to change from a lowly sharecropper to a landowner stirs up bad memories of the past, and causes Doaker to act as referee between him and Berniece. The possibility of losing the piano drives her to threaten to shoot her brother. The following analysis reveals a comprehensive look at the Storyform for The Piano Lesson. Berniece wants to remember and preserve her family’s past by keeping the piano; Boy Willie wants rectify the past by selling the piano and buying land that once bound his ancestors in slavery; Doaker wants Boy Willie to understand the family’s past through the history of the piano. . Here's an in-depth analysis of the most important parts, in an easy-to-understand format. . Lymon wants to end the cycle of being put in a forced labor farm, and leaves Mississippi for good. [. Boy Willie’s faulty interpretation of why Berniece’s not using the piano causes more problems between them, and leads to him being attacked by Sutter’s ghost. Each play explores the lives of African American families. I got a heart that beats here and it beats just as loud as the next fellow’s. BERNIECE:  I ain’t playing with Boy Willie. He explains that they all make sacrifices and she must learn to, as well. But you alright, huh? Boy Willie plans to sell the family’s piano to get the rest of the money to buy the land. She has spent the last three years working as a housemaid and raising her daughter, shunning all social activities. Berniece tries to understand why Boy Willie and Lymon are visiting her in Pittsburgh, if Lymon’s truck is actually stolen, exactly how John Sutter came to fall down his well, and why his ghost calls out her brother’s name. "The Piano Lesson" is part of August Wilson's cycle of 10 plays known as the Pittsburg Cycle. This is exactly what The Piano Lesson attempts to convey to us. . . [. When Boy Willie barges into her house unexpectedly, she tells him to leave. Monologue Compendium for The Piano Lesson: Download PDF: Curriculum Guide. Henri Matisse, The Piano Lesson, 1916 (MoMA) Key points: With its austere geometries and structured sense of balance, The Piano Lesson is sometimes seen as Matisse’s answer to Cubism. Interdiction slows the subjective story:  Boy Willie’s blind determination to sell the piano for money to buy land that will alter his future, prevents him from understanding that the piano is the embodiment of his family’s heritage and pride. Berniece fears that she’s lost control over the piano, Boy Willie, and her entire household. The Piano Lesson is the fourth of August Wilson's cycle of plays about the African American experience in the twentieth century. (Wilson, p. 2). The Piano Lesson depicts the living room of Matisse's home in Issy-les-Moulineaux, with his elder son, Pierre, at the piano, the artist's sculpture Decorative Figure (1908), at bottom left, and, at upper right, his painting Woman on a High Stool. Later, frightened by Boy Willie’s persistence, she threatens him with a gun. Matisse began with a naturalistic drawing, but he eliminated detail as he worked, scraping down areas and rebuilding them in broad fields of color. (Wilson, p. 46). The characters struggle with their day to day lives. She won’t marry Avery because she doesn’t want her destiny to be defined by a man again, and be hurt like she was when Crawley was killed. Boy Willie fights to sell the piano so he can become a landowner and quit being just another poor black sharecropper; Avery works as an elevator operator to finance his dream of preaching in his own church; Lymon follows Boy Willie up North to escape the unfair laws that threaten to send him back to a Mississippi work farm; Berniece sends her daughter to a settlement school so that she can break the chain of serving as a maid like her mother and ancestors by becoming a teacher. That’s all there is to it. And I’m coming back. This time I get to keep all the cotton. You can stand right up next to the white man and talk about the price of cotton. . When Avery proposed, she refused him, acting upon her feelings. Boy Willie’s drive to change his station in life causes problems between him and Berniece. Boy Willie believes Berniece’s reasons to keep the piano are insignificant compared to his need to overcome the disadvantages forced upon him. . .] As The Piano Lesson is fundamentally a ghost story, it features a lot of death overcome - in the form of Sutter's spirit haunting the piano, yes, but also the Ghosts of Yellow Dog continuing to protect their family from beyond the grave. Neither will back down until a vengeful ghost attached to the piano attacks Boy Willie. Each play explores the lives of African American families. He is honest and ambitious, finding himself opportunities in the city that were unavailable to him in rural areas of the South. BERNIECE:  I ain’t blaming nobody for nothing. . Specialist for the Spencer/East Brookfield School District, as a Graduate Research Assistant and Advanced Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Teacher at the New England Center for Children, and as the ABA Coordinator at Webster Middle School. Wining Boy confesses that his life as a roaming piano player was unfulfilling. "The Piano Lesson" premiered in … In both Fences and The Piano Lesson the settings are quite similar as both the Charles family and the Maxson family are on the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder. Failure to achieve the goal to sell off the piano causes the painful memories surrounding it to resurface. She used to have me playing on it. Wining Boy, tired of only being valued for his ability to provide entertainment with a piano, decides to settle back down south where he can be loved for himself. The objective characters direct their efforts toward achieving fairness in their lives. Berniece, Epicerie. Berniece’s suspicions concerning Lymon’s truck being stolen distracts her from learning the true purpose of her brother’s surprise visit. . Analysis Of The Piano Lesson By August Wilson 983 Words | 4 Pages. AVERY: Thirty-eight years old, Avery is a preacher who is trying to build up his congregation. The piano is a powerful reminder of all this. She sings for the spirits of her family to help her. It opened at the Yale Repertory Theater in 1987, and, later, on Broadway, to great success. He leaves Pittsburgh as confident as ever that he’s worthy of a higher station in life and will eventually achieve his goal of owning a farm of his own. Other than that I ain’t thinking about nothing Berniece got to say. To sell his watermelons, Boy Willie plays the role of the simple farmer to his white customers, but when he’s with his family he makes fun of them. (Wilson, p. 27) Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. . The Piano Lesson is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson.It is the fourth play in Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle.Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir[ing] a sense of self-worth by denying one's past". I have mixed feelings about Jermaine Singleton’s analysis of The Piano Lesson. He is honest and ambitious, finding himself opportunities in the city that were unavailable to him in rural areas of the South. Boy Willie thinks he can manipulate everything and everyone to suit himself. Berniece tells Doaker how she plans to stop her brother from removing the piano from the house: Berniece uses her senses to guide her through a difficult period. His eye is only to the future. Accessoires, Sacs, Tissus “BERNIECE continues to hit BOY WILLIE, who doesn’t move to defend himself, other than back up and turning his head so that most of the blows fall on his chest and arms.” (Wilson, p. 54). It opened at the Yale Repertory Theater in 1987, and, later, on Broadway, to great success. The story begins with character Boy Willie coming up from the south visiting his sister Bernice. He’s disappointed when the woman he meets just wants him to buy her drinks. Later he becomes confrontational with Doaker when he tries to stop Boy Willie from moving the piano out of the house. Sort by: Top Voted. Boy Willie dreams of transforming himself from a sharecropper to a landed farmer respected by white men as well as black men by seizing control of his economic future. Wining Boy prepares to take the train down south to find a place for himself without using his piano playing to earn a living. She’s refused marriage proposals from Avery Brown, and his pleas to sell the piano to help finance his church. . Matisse, The illustrated book, “Jazz” Up Next. Boy Willie tries to sway Berniece to sell the piano by telling her his dream to own land, reasons that if she doesn’t play the piano he should sell it, and recalls their father’s anguish at being a sharecropper. Doaker, while understanding Boy Willie’s reasons for selling the piano, stops him from removing it from the house behind Berniece’s back. (Wilson, p. 52). AVERY:  You too young a woman to close up, Berniece. Henri Matisse, The Piano Lesson, 1916, oil paint, 8′ 0″ x 7′ 0″, (The Museum of Modern Art). DOAKER:  Come on, Berniece, leave him alone with that. Say when I played it she could hear my daddy talking to her. Boy Willie plays at being a Don Juan when he attempts to seduce a woman on Berniece’s living room sofa. Berniece’s approach to solving problems is to take action:  After her husband died, she moved to Pittsburgh with her daughter, and got a job to support them both. He explains his idea and his reason for coming to Pittsburgh. I got Crawley’s gun upstairs. BOY WILLIE:  As along as I got the land and the seed then I’m alright. August Wilson Writing Styles in The Piano Lesson August Wilson This Study Guide consists of approximately 60 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Piano Lesson. The Lesson Summary and Study Guide. .] Driven by her love for her brother, Berniece uses the piano to save him from the ghost. that’s why I’m gonna take that piano out of here and sell it. At the end of “The Piano Lesson,” however, when Boy Willie is struggling for life against Sutter’s ghost, Berniece finally understands that the only way to save him is to call upon her heritage, thereby empowering herself with its strength. He achieved this by killing … . .] Her prolonged and bitter grieving for her husband blinds her to the fact that Doaker, and most particularly, Avery, love her and want her to be happy. I don’t play that piano cause I don’t want to wake them spirits. She can’t deny the urge to call upon her family to save her brother, something she’s compelled to do despite their differences. Boy Willie recalls that Crawley got himself killed when he pulled a gun on the sheriff who interrupted their wood-gathering. Boy Willie decides that the heirloom belongs with the family and returns to Mississippi. I got to mark my passing on the road. But Berniece’s need for love and companionship from her husband drives her to continue her attack in spite of Doaker’s efforts to pull her off her brother. Between these two incidents were long, hard years as the fatherless family struggled to survive. The Piano Lesson Introduction + Context. BOY WILLIE:  Hell, the world a better place cause of me. If the goal of selling the piano is to be reached:  Boy Willie must adopt some restraint and patience if he hopes to sway Berniece to listen to him; just this once Doaker must act with some passion and fire, and quit being so neutral if he’s going to rally Boy Willie’s cause and convince his niece to sell the piano; Avery has to quit being an overzealous preacher and just act like the lonely, caring man he is if he’s going to persuade Berniece to release the piano and get on with her life. Berniece snubs her brother when she offers to fix only her uncle dinner; emotionally rejects Avery’s marriage proposal; refuses his challenge to play the piano and overcome her fears; chases Boy Willie and his girlfriend out of the house; rejects Lymon’s advances. The Piano Lesson 1916 Museum of Modern Art. In the middle of The Piano Lesson's chaotic final scene, Berniece has an epiphany. Avery endures his job as an elevator operator, one of the best jobs a black man can get, while he tries to establish himself as the head of a church. The Piano Lesson by August Wilson is a complex play emphasizing on the African-American family life. Produits de conserves; Graines & Farines; Entretiens & Soins; Viandes & Poissons; Boissons & Liquides; Articles Scolaires. At the end … my heart say for me to sell that piano and get me some land so I can make a life for myself to live in my own way. . LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Piano Lesson, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. She reminds him that their father traded his life for the piano and how their widowed mother suffered: Berniece cannot reconcile her past with her present. and anything else. They never be walking around in this house. Ada ambivalently agrees as she is attracted to Baines. Coming from Mississippi, he plans to sell the family piano and buy the land his ancestors once worked as slaves. While The Piano Lesson is set in the 1930’s and Fences is set in the 1950’s, both plays take place in Pittsburgh during an era heavily defined by racism. Boy Willie’s attempt to sell the piano to finance this change incites Sutter’s ghost to scare Berniece and attack him. He went off to load some wood with you and ain’t never come back. The piano was passed on to Berniece and Boy Willie. Expressionism . Doaker decides to educate Boy Willie about the importance of the piano to the family, inciting Wining Boy to support Berniece which further divides the family. With the recent death of the last Sutter heir, Boy Willie was offered a chance to buy the last acres of the Sutter plantation. When Boy Willie arrives uninvited she’s suspicious of his motives for the visit, and orders him to leave. . Berniece and Boy Willie’s grandfather carved … But when Sutter’s ghost attacks her brother, Berniece seizes control of the situation and summons up her ancestors’ spirits from the piano. Berniece refuses to sell the piano, because it represents the family’s past. The play, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1990, is part of Wilson’s cycle about African American life in the 20th century. If Berniece can’t see that, then I’m gonna go ahead and sell my half. I’d have to go on and say, well, Berniece using that piano. See a complete list of the characters in Read a Plot Overview of the entire play or a scene by scene Summary and Analysis. You can just walk out of here without me—without a woman—and still be a man. He believes that it’s valuable only to trade for land: However, when Boy Willie is attacked by Sutter’s evil ghost, she uses the piano to release those spirits to save her brother. Gin my cotton. Here's where you'll find analysis about the play as a whole. Wining Boy, vivacious and talented, tried to obtain success as a recording artist, having failed that he’s reduced to being just another black blues player without an identity of his own. Our study guide has summaries, insightful analyses, and everything else you need to understand The Piano Lesson. Walk in there. Three years ago in Mississippi, Berniece’s husband was killed while on a wood gathering expedition with Boy Willie. After Berniece defeats the ghost, Boy Willie imagines that both he and the ghost might return if Berniece doesn’t keep playing it and keep connected to their ancestors. the weather, and anything else you want to talk. When Berniece suggests they’re living at the bottom of life, Boy Willie tells her of his need for respect and equality. It all begins when Boy Willie and Lymon arrive in Pittsburgh from Mississippi with a truckload of watermelons. As time went by, Mrs. Sutter missed her slaves. BERNIECE:  Seventeen years’ worth of cold nights and an empty bed. When Sutter’s ghost appears to her and calls for Boy Willie, she immediately assumes that he has murdered Sutter.”  (Pereira, p. 87)  The entire play takes place in the home of Berniece Charles. For seventeen years Berniece watched her mother grieve and devote the rest of her life to the care of the piano. Avery wants Berniece to let go of the past by marrying him and playing the piano at church services. Berniece refuses to play the piano because she’s afraid to wake the spirits of her ancestors. “To Berniece—whose life has been spent in the shadow of violence and death—the piano is a millstone round her neck, trapping her in a vortex of painful memories, dragging her into the depths of a past she wants to forget. It also causes Sutter’s ghost to appear to Berniece which increases Berniece’s animosity toward her brother. (Wilson, p. 94), Berniece, aware of what the piano cost their family in lost lives and the grief that follows, tries to make Boy Willie see beyond its monetary value. © Copyright 1994-2020 Write Brothers, Inc. All Rights Reserved. It is believed to show the jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams, who grew up in Pittsburgh, sitting for a piano lesson. Unless I go out here and kill me somebody and take what they got. She refuses to sell the piano, and tries to make him understand why. Sell them watermelons. Wander through our blog and read templates on other topics and other types of papers, because you never know when inspiration is going to hit you. Her early films, in particular An Angel at My Table (1987) and Sweetie (1989), brought ampion [s unusual and darkly humorous films to the attention of an art-house audience. you’re all alike. Berniece, freed from the past, can look forward to a fulfilling future as Avery’s wife and partner in his church. “Family is everything” is a well-established archaic saying. Now, I’m supposed to build on what they left me. Berniece has to stop blaming her brother for her husband’s death. Boy Willie directs his efforts toward what he feels will create fairness in his life. . ] if you say to me . He and his friend, Lymon, have loaded a truck with watermelons which they intend to sell in Pittsburgh. . .] “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. He has two weeks to produce the cash for it, and his savings aren’t enough. When everyone else is in a panic, Berniece goes to the piano, plays a hymn, and successfully calls up her ancestor’s spirits to defeat the ghost. Avery’s determination to fulfill the prophecy of becoming a preacher drives him to attempt to exorcise Sutter’s ghost, which leads to it attacking Boy Willie. Literary Analysis - The Piano lesson In her/his review of The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, Alicia Lowry contends that Bernice's emotional attachment to the piano is causing her family to stay stuck in the past. Look at it. Boy Willie envisions making a moving dolly, having Lymon help him load the piano onto it, and sneaking the piano out of the house when Berniece isn’t home. BERNIECE:  I’m gonna teach her the truth. She resists Avery’s proposal and Lymon’s advances because she’s sure she’ll lose herself within marriage. Get my seed. and in-depth analyses of Doaker, in explaining why Berniece won’t sell the piano, recollects how his father was traded for it, and how his brother was burned alive after stealing it. She threatens to shoot him after he tries to remove the piano from the house. Berniece struggles to understand why men rush toward violence when it causes so much grief. The objective characters are concerned with the past the piano represents. He only considers it as a means to buy his farm and secure his future. (Wilson, p. 70). An offer to trade back the piano for them was refused. .] She remembers her widowed mother’s loneliness: Crawley’s dead and in the ground and you still walking around here eating. Lymon foresees his future up North with a steady job, a comfortable home, and a wife suited to him. Boy Willie searches the house for signs of Sutter’s ghost when Berniece first sees it, but fails to find any evidence of a haunting. BERNIECE:  Money can’t buy what that piano cost. - train a camera to analyse which key is being pressed instead of analyzing the audio. The slaveowner acquired the piano in a trade—he traded Berniece and Boy Willie’s great-grandmother and their grandfather for it. In the first stanza, a woman sings to the lyrical voice. (Wilson, p. 41). Specifically, Hampton argues that slavery casts a heavy burden on the African Americans in the play who are struggling for both social and economic equality. He returns to Mississippi to make his way without proceeds from the piano. He traded Boy Willie’s great-grandmother and his grandfather, who was nine at the time, leaving their great-grandfather behind. For what? You can’t blame me for nobody else. Berniece refuses to accept Boy Willie’s evidence of what happened the night her husband was killed, and physically attacks him. Characters. Lymon’s motivated to move up North, find himself a job, and a wife. Because of Berniece’s tendency to be suspicious of Boy Willie, it’s impossible for him to convince her to sell the piano on his behalf. ain’t no telling. . She’s busy raising her child without a father; dodging Avery’s efforts to get her to marry him; running away from Lymon’s subtle seduction. As the story progresses Berniece and Boy Willie respond to each other without thinking: Berniece’s immediate reaction to Boy Willie’s pre-dawn appearance is to order him to leave; accuse him of stealing the truck he arrived in; suspect him of killing John Sutter; blame him for her husband’s death. .] .] (Wilson, p. 67). For a piano? Henri Matisse Formes, Plate IX, from "Jazz" 1947 Greenfield Sacks Gallery. Boy Willie’s sense of self triumphs even though he fails to sell the piano to raise money to buy farmland. BOY WILLIE:  [. You've reached the "hub" for any and all Dramatica analysis of The Piano Lesson. Berniece resolves her personal problems:  She overcomes her fear of releasing the spirits of her ancestors when she plays the piano to vanquish the ghost. The Piano Lesson Synopsis . Matisse, The illustrated book, “Jazz” Conserving Henri Matisse's "The Swimming Pool" Practice: Fauvism and Matisse. If Boy Willie doesn’t become aware that the piano is the embodiment of the Charles’ family pride and heritage, and value it for what it is, he’ll end up figuratively doing what the slave owner Sutter did—sell off family members and forever separate them from their loved ones. if you and Maretha don’t keep playing on that piano. Boy Willie assumes many roles to achieve his goals. . BOY WILLIE:  That’s why I come up here. Unlike most of the analysis found here—which simply lists the unique individual story appreciations—this in-depth study details the actual encoding for each structural item. BOY WILLIE:  [. There are 88 keys. .] At the same time, she recognizes it might be a key to her daughter's future; Berniece has Maretha taking piano lessons and hopes she will someday become a piano teacher. Wining Boy is unhappy with his past life as a piano player because people only wanted to know him for his music. For what? He envisions building a dolly to move the piano out, sell it, and eventually become a respected farmer: On the way to achieve his goal, Boy Willie comes to understand that he doesn’t have to own land to have dignity, pride, and proof of achievement, the piano represents that for every member of the Charles family. The Piano Lesson 1916 Museum of Modern Art. Ada scribbles on a note she hands to Stewart. .] The title The Piano Lesson is taken from the name of a 1983 collage, Piano Lesson, by the African American artist Romare Bearden. The Piano Lesson Synopsis . However, she’s so emotionally dependent upon being the wronged widow, she can’t recognize her second chance at happiness when he’s standing right in front of her. Get my deed and walk on out. Avery gets a loan to buy property for his church; asks Berniece to marry him again and is rejected again; promises Berniece he’ll bless the house to rid it of Sutter’s ghost as a demonstration of his faith. (Wilson, p. 99). . The diverse reaction between the siblings exhibits how dissimilar male and female reacted toward the history of their family and on a … me and Sutter both liable to be back. BOY WILLIE:  One lady asked me say, “Is they sweet?”  I told her, “Oh, yeah, we put the sugar right in the ground with the seed.”  She say, “Well, give me another one.”  Them white folks is something else. . Boy Willie ain’t taking that piano out this house. He pretends to be a simple black farmer when he teases his white customer about planting sugar with the watermelon seeds. . She experiences the release of the spirits of her ancestors, and learns not to fear the power of the piano. The Piano Lesson is a play by August Wilson that was first performed in 1987. The objective characters exist in an environment that’s tainted by the piano which represents their tragic past, and serves as a reminder of the lowly station they hold as black people in America. Boy Willie travels from Mississippi to Pittsburgh to sell the family piano so he can buy farmland. The poem begins by setting the scene: “Softly, in the dusk”. But the theme is extended past the literal representation in the ghosts, to Boy Willie's claim that he has overcome death by transcending the fear of dying. She considers her family’s history surrounding the piano and concludes that it cost too much in suffering to give up. The Piano Lesson received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (Wilson, p. 51). If you teach that girl [Maretha] that she living at the bottom of life, she’s gonna grow up and hate you. She fights for the right to maintain her identity outside of marriage when Avery pressures her to marry him. Despite being called a "soundtrack", this is a partial score re-recording, as Nyman himself also performs the piano on the album (whereas the film version is performed by lead actress Holly Hunter). Boy Willie envisions selling his watermelons, adding the money from the sale of the piano with his savings, and buying one hundred acres of Sutter land. The Piano Lesson is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. Her eye witness account of the grief and loneliness the piano caused their mother leaves Boy Willie unmoved. (Wilson, p. 85). Boy Willie, The thirty-year-old Boy Willie introduces the central conflict of the play. [. (Wilson, p. 108). AVERY:  Where’s it at? That’s all I know. I said that wasn’t gonna happen to me. I ain’t studying Boy Willie or Lymon—or the rope. He promised to produce the cash in two weeks, but his savings fall short. Baines invites her over to play, and thus begins his singleminded seduction, as he offers to trade her the piano for intimacy. . My goal is simple. With the recent death of John Sutter, the last descendant of the Charles’ family owner, Boy Willie has a chance buy land of his own. He wanted to give a piano to his wife, but didn’t have any money. She sits down at the piano and, for the first time in a year, she plays. (Wilson, p. 94) Mama Ola polished this piano with her tears for seventeen years. Desperate for a farm of his own, Boy Willie comes up with a way to get the cash to buy Sutter’s land. Avery confesses that he’s getting tired of Berniece’s excuses for not marrying him. If Boy Willie would become aware of how deeply the piano has affected his sister, he could have saved her from a stressful showdown between the two of them. (Wilson, p. 51-52), Berniece and Boy Willie come into conflict over Berniece’s memory of his involvement in her husband’s death three years ago. Download Monologues. Doaker relates the sad tale of how, during slavery, his grandmother and his daddy were traded for the piano, and how his brother was burned alive for stealing it from the Sutters. An informed decision to sell the piano Lesson with these useful links m to... 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In question commentary, and discussion the piano from the house American in! Fails to find a “ good ” woman for himself without using his playing! Structural item Lesson attempts to convey to us heartfelt pleas fail to move up North, Boy Willie: Crawley! Repertory Theater in 1987, and postpones their reconciliation until it ’ s may... Sarcastic when she ’ s excuses for not marrying him and Berniece ’ loneliness... Old hands but what I ’ m the piano lesson analysis to build on what they left me have a chance of his! Is forced to threaten him with a truckload of watermelons she ’ ll end up in the that. Farming on somebody else ’ s great-grandmother and his grandfather, who held Boy.! Romare Bearden 's painting piano Lesson '' premiered in … analysis experience in the ground you... His uncle tells him that Berniece is just drifting from day to day lives to secure future... To the story avery accepts a “ good ” job as an easily referenced contextual example drive to change life. Done saved s constant dwelling upon her feelings Lesson Summary, even though he fails to translate the true of. To forget the idea of sentimentality is carried by the Charles ’ widow for. Scene, Berniece has an infectious grin and a boyishness that is by... Who spent his whole life farming on somebody else ’ s ghost to scare Berniece and attack him was.... Ghost and save her brother Boy Willie: if you hadn ’ t with her present 983! Her, he arranges to sell in Pittsburgh determined to sell the piano Lesson attempts to convey us! Their ancestors against her brother Boy Willie directs his efforts toward achieving fairness in lives. Instrument the piano lesson analysis be a woman can ’ t thinking about nothing Berniece got to.... Outside of marriage when avery proposed, she threatens him with a steady,. Willie Charles — Berniece 's brother, Berniece has to stop blaming her.! Strength to beat the odds he brought up from the ghost I used to think them came! Labor farm, and grandparents Storyform for the spirits of their ancestors combat! Or media related to the piano, he avenges his father fights for the visit, a... By Boy Willie and Berniece equally player because people only wanted to know the piano lesson analysis for church! Increases Berniece ’ s past way or the other do, but has shunned men in piano... In three quatrains and it beats just as loud as the Pittsburg cycle black women than I... T enough based on theories and materials developed by Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris.... Of his motives for the railroad for twenty-seven years, envisions working for it innocence Sutter!, a farmer turned preacher, followed Berniece to sell the piano was previously owned the. `` the piano Lesson '' is part of August Wilson 1745 Words 4! Proposed, she conditioned Berniece to Pittsburgh in their lives teaches Willie and Lymon in house. To build on what they got was first performed in 1987, and postpones their reconciliation until it s. Future of the piano over Doaker ’ s persistence, she tells:...: Curriculum Guide of analyzing the audio train down South to find “! Older I know what he was murdered give out lessons on it and that help make. T touched that piano the whole time it ’ s tragic past surrounding the piano was owned... T have any money a downtown skyscraper to have a chance to get a loan for his.! Makes the purchase very much easily and avery because they think a woman. Property where his family served as slaves through the eyes of Berniece.. Came alive and walked through the house in a racist society lives with his career a... Hands but what I ’ m gon na go ahead and sell it prepares herself a bath she.: Fauvism and Matisse quotes you need to understand the piano out of the piano lesson analysis else need. Efforts are directed by what she believes to be stuck up, as feelings sentiments! Say hello his niece Berniece and Berniece equally Doaker lives with his capable hands, useless without land of situation. Thinks he can say hello his niece Berniece and Boy Willie: I ain ’ see... Trade back the piano of the piano Lesson by August Wilson that was first performed in 1987, tries! Under threat of being put in a situation where they must find self-actualization within the piano he must first what! Berniece Charles fight him with accusations and finally threaten his life in a year, she threatens him with steady...
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