Lymon: Poem Analysis

Here is a quick summary of the whole book. A guy named Boy Willie and another guy named Lymon came to Pittsburgh from Mississippi looking to sell watermelons. He had a truck full of them. The two go into Boy Willie’s uncle, Doaker house (It’s around 5:00 in the morning). Eventually, Boy Willie starts talking about his great plan about how he is going to sell watermelons and the family’s piano to buy the land which his family was once enslaved in (Stutter’s land). Since Stutter died, Boy Willie really wants the land to be his. Since the piano is very valuable to the family and her, Bernice (who is Boy Willie’s sister), does not want to sell the piano at all. After Boy Willie, Lymon, and Doaker finish talking for a while, they hear Bernice yelling …show more content…
I think what he was trying to say is hold on to your roots, and never forget it. Although your roots or past might be painful in memories or heartbreaking to think about, still never forget it, move past it, and get on with life. Always look back, and remember where you came from too. In the play Boy Willie wanted to sell the piano. What he didn’t realize until the end is that it’s not just about the piano, it’s about the legacy behind the piano. It’s about the story, the sentimental value of the piano. He was about to sell a big piece of family history and something that was very valuable to Bernice, to try to gain money. I think his priorities were in the wrong place. Instead of holding on to the piano, he was choosing money so he could buy Stutter’s land, not realizing that it could potentially hurt Bernice or his whole family. Now, Bernice on the other hand, although she wanted to keep the piano she hadn’t played it in years. It was too painful to play because it brought back heartbreaking memories for her. Not realizing that by not playing the piano, she was mentally pushing back her family’s story, and forcing herself to not think about the past, not to think about what happened to their father. She used not, playing the piano, as an excuse for her fears and resentment, …show more content…
Willie Boy is introduced in the story first in the beginning when he and Lymon come to Doaker’s house. Willie Boy shows up very excited to start selling watermelons and to see his family. Willie Boy is a very important part of the story and the author’s theme. Willie Boy is one of the main characters in this story. He was the one who wanted to sell the piano, and he and Bernice had a lot of conflict in the story. He was important to the author’s theme because like I said when he was trying to sell the piano he didn’t realize that he was a major piece of his family’s history and how much it meant to his sister. He was so focused on money and buying Stutter’s land he didn’t understand how serious selling the piano was. He figured since it was just sitting there and Bernice wasn’t playing it, it was going to waste and it wouldn’t matter if he sold it. Willie Boy has a strong relationship with Lymon. They came together from the south to sell watermelon. Lymon wanted to stay, but Willie wanted to go back home after they were done selling the watermelons. They have been friends for a long time and has been through a lot