Play Analysis: The Piano Lesson By August Wilson

Understanding one’s history and their relationship to it is very important to learning how to use that history, as we see in The Piano Lesson by August Wilson. In the play, the relationship between the piano and the Charles’ family history is the most important because it creates the tension between giving up one’s family history for gain or preserving one’s history. For me personally, the most important relationship is that of Boy Willie and Berniece. The reason that is the most important relationship to me is because I am also faced with the decisions about what to do with my family history, just like they are. The siblings’ tension is a more personal and relatable tension. As for the play, the piano acts as an image for family history since …show more content…
Doaker goes on to explain, “Say it was the story of our whole family and as long as Sutter had it… he had us” (45). The piano is a special object for the Charles’ family, as the forced substitute for their family members, and then as a centerpiece of their lives while their family learns to play it and carves it. Berniece is the most attached to the piano, and in her tirade at Boy Willie, she talks about the blood, sweat, tears and prayer poured out on the piano for 17 years. On the other hand, Boy Willie, who does not feel such a strong emotional tie to the piano, wants to sell the piano for monetary gain. Thus, the piano causes the divide between Boy Willie and Berniece.
The reason the relationship between the piano and the family history or legacy is the most important is because of how it drives the plot and creates tension between the characters. It even seems to summon and expel the ghost of Sutter. Furthermore, the piano is a physical representation of something very personal and emotional, and most people don’t have this tangible type of material object which represents their family