In the book “The Warmth of Other Suns”, Isabel Wilkerson portrays the many struggles that black people had 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 many 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 some of the issues they had to face. 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 main point in “The Warmth of Other Suns” is The Great Migration and what caused it. It was most definitely caused by black people being treated incredibly unfairly.
…show more content…
Boy Willie and his friend Lymon drove up to see Boy Willie’s sister, Berniece, and his uncle, Doaker. They also planned to sell a truck full of watermelons. Boy Willie planned to go back home once they were done with that and once they have hopefully sold the piano, but Lymon wanted to stay. It was hard for Lymon to find a job back home, so he wanted to see what options he had in a new area. I connected this with “The Warmth of Other Suns” because it reminded me somewhat of The Great Migration. Both situations included people leaving the place where they live to find a better job or even a better life. There was a man back where they lived with the last name of Sutter who owned a farm, but he died very recently. It was Boy Willie’s goal to purchase the farm, and he knew he could do it if he was able to sell the piano. However, Berniece was not going to let that happen. This was because it was a very valuable family heirloom. There were many carvings of their family history on it, carved by Doaker’s grandfather. Another interesting fact is that the piano was actually stolen from the Sutter’s house. The main family was enslaved by the Sutter’s, until they were traded for a piano from a man named Mr. Nolander. Even though they were no longer enslaved by the Sutters, Boy Charles, the great grandfather of Doaker, felt that their whole family would still be enslaved by them until the piano was out of their house. This is what lead him to steal the piano, and it is now in the possession of Berniece. This act was due to Boy Charles wanting the piano, but it was also due to him wanting his family to be completely free. In “The Warmth of Other Suns”, the goal of every black slave is to be free. That is common in both books. Just like the main characters in “The Warmth of Other Suns”, the family in “The Piano Lesson” would do
Boy Willie and his friend Lymon drove up to see Boy Willie’s sister, Berniece, and his uncle, Doaker. They also planned to sell a truck full of watermelons. Boy Willie planned to go back home once they were done with that and once they have hopefully sold the piano, but Lymon wanted to stay. It was hard for Lymon to find a job back home, so he wanted to see what options he had in a new area. I connected this with “The Warmth of Other Suns” because it reminded me somewhat of The Great Migration. Both situations included people leaving the place where they live to find a better job or even a better life. There was a man back where they lived with the last name of Sutter who owned a farm, but he died very recently. It was Boy Willie’s goal to purchase the farm, and he knew he could do it if he was able to sell the piano. However, Berniece was not going to let that happen. This was because it was a very valuable family heirloom. There were many carvings of their family history on it, carved by Doaker’s grandfather. Another interesting fact is that the piano was actually stolen from the Sutter’s house. The main family was enslaved by the Sutter’s, until they were traded for a piano from a man named Mr. Nolander. Even though they were no longer enslaved by the Sutters, Boy Charles, the great grandfather of Doaker, felt that their whole family would still be enslaved by them until the piano was out of their house. This is what lead him to steal the piano, and it is now in the possession of Berniece. This act was due to Boy Charles wanting the piano, but it was also due to him wanting his family to be completely free. In “The Warmth of Other Suns”, the goal of every black slave is to be free. That is common in both books. Just like the main characters in “The Warmth of Other Suns”, the family in “The Piano Lesson” would do