When the past is often discussed, few truly recognize the importance of how previous trails aid with the development of the future. Knowledge gained from prior actions, and their consequences after, are vital in survival and preparation for upcoming tribulations. In August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, this artful theater production expresses how the past provides the necessary understanding to prepare for the following difficulties. Bernice in The Piano Lesson conveys how the past, and former problems— such as her husband’s death— are astoundingly significant towards overcoming obstacles that will come. Past tribulations can be learned from to overcome new ones, which reveals that the past’s defeats are essential for future triumph.…
When Mrs. Sommers makes way to the dressing room and puts them on she is not thinking about her responsibilities, she is acting on her own personal desires. Chopin writing demonstrates this, “She was not going through any acute mental process or reasoning with herself, nor was she striving to explain to her satisfaction the motive of her action. She was not thinking at all. She seemed for the time to be taking a rest from that laborious and fatiguing function and to have abandoned herself to some mechanical impulse that directed her actions and freed her of responsibility.” She continues on to purchase a pair of boots that she desires and she does not care if they cost her a little more than expected.…
In today’s culture and society, many people will most likely value an expensive car over an ancient artifact. In other words, artistic objects with valuable meanings are less appealing than exotic goods or products to the average person. The short story The Safe, written by Tim Gautreaux demonstrates a situation in which a few workers in a junkyard discover a safe with a fancy sewing machine inside of it. With the exception of one character, Alva, the rest of them find objects with physical value more appealing than ones with artistic and sentimental value. After being exposed to the sewing machine, Alva, Snyder, and Little Dickie develop their own sense of imagination and recognize the importance of sentimental value, which is exemplified…
“Who among us can say we have none of the characteristics of the hoarder? Haven’t we all taken pleasure from buying and owning things?” (Schutza) In this essay Laurie creates a distinctive balance between emotional and logical appeal. Throughout the essay Schutza presents many facts, examples, and professional opinions to persuade the reader that hoarding provides hoarders a sense of security.…
In the book “The Warmth of Other Suns”, Isabel Wilkerson portrays the numerous struggles that black people were forced to go through in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “The Piano Lesson” can be compared and contrasted to “The Warmth of Other Suns” in multiple different ways; one being that it doesn’t go into as much detail about The Great Migration. Instead, it focused on a specific family, and included a few of the issues they faced. Even though the two books are not completely the same, “The Warmth of Other Suns” can definitely influence your understanding of “The Piano Lesson”.…
The Violin by Amy Chua and Two Kinds by Amy Tan are two novels about a mother-daughter relationship. The speakers utilize varying tones when speaking of recollections of their memories. Chua’s and Tan’s use of tense and hostile tones help illustrate the drama in the relationships that blankets the love between the mother and daughter. Amy Tan’s recounts of her past prove to be escalated versions of Amy Chau’s with lesser presence of love; however, love remains a driving force behind both of the mothers’ harsh encouragement. “The Violin” illustrates the mother-daughter relationship of Amy Chua and her daughter Lulu.…
Francisco and his family went through many changes when they crossed into America, but they pushed through the culture barriers and the loss of items with family love and hard work. The children faced langue barriers when they went to School and they never got to stay in one place long. They endured all the hard times by loving and caring for each other. The loss of physical items can be devastating because the longer we have something the more we don’t want loss it, but you truly loss something if you remember it. In the book Rorra took Francisco's pennies and bought two gumballs at the gas station.…
Mrs. Van Daan did not what to sell it because it was very sentimental to her. (Goodrich, Frances, and Hackett). I now wish that I had not taken the fur coat because I knew it might draw too much attention to me while trying to sell it. I would not be here under these kind of circumstances if I just would have said no on the selling the fur…
Why do people value a certain place or a belonging they own? I believe people value a place because it holds a very strong emotional connection and it changes how they normally act outside of this environment. Belongings are pretty simple usually, these things were given to you by a loved one or someone who is very significant in your life. I do not have a place that is meaningful to me…
A 95- year old woman named Corazon could really still flaunt her skills in playing the piano. Who would have thought that at her age she still had the tune that professional pianist could do. A 5-minute video of Lola Corazon was shared on a site while she was playing on the piano the song Csárdás (also spelled as Czardas). The said song was originally from a Hungarian Folk dance.…
Madame Bourgeoisie Poor versus rich, peasants versus nobles, and oppressor versus oppressed: the matchups of not only the century, but all time. Within the lifetime of Gustav Flaubert, a similar war was being waged, with the participants being the working, proletarian class, and the middle class of the bourgeoisie. Gustav was a writer, and despite being good at what he did, he still fell somewhere in between the two, leaning more on the proletarian side. Because of this, he absolutely hated the bourgeoisie, and what they stood for.…
Highmore, Ben. “Familiar things.” Ordinary Lives. London and New York: Routledge, 2010: 58-85.…
In August Wilson’s The Piano lesson, we see what seems to be the irresolute struggle of a woman that dwells on her family’s past and seemingly cannot move on. Berneice Charles, a main character is the sister of Boy Willie, and they are the direct descendants of an enslaved family, living in Pittsburgh during the early 20th century. Throughout the text, Berneice experiences many struggles, which are the result of her inability to accept her family’s troublesome past and embrace her legacy. The Charles family was enslaved and owned by the Sutter family even until early in Berneice’s life. Following their freedom, Berneice loses her dearly loved mother, and her husband.…
Steinbeck helps the reader to understand that humans have a tendency to think the things that they have are permanent, and are often completely at a loss when they lose things they thought were theirs. He does this by using the unexpected deaths of Candy’s dog, the death of Lennie, and the death of Curley’s wife. The first example of this is when Steinbeck depicts the scene of the shooting of Candy’s dog. The reader can see that candy never really put much thought into the idea of his companion leaving his side, and that is what hurts him the most. The second example of this is the killing of Curley’s wife.…
People have many things that they love and they do not let anyone touch those things. My possession to me is very important because it has to do with my family members. The most important things that I possess is my lambs, quilt, and game cube. The lambs I have was something that I owned since I was a little girl. The quilt was given to me when I. On family nights we use to play the game cube.…