The Significance Of Family In August Wilson's The Piano Lesson

In August Wilson’s, The Piano Lesson, there are multiple characters that struggles with things that happened in the past. The character Bernice Charles is often shown fighting with her brother. Another thing Bernice fight is her family’s history and this is shown through her daughter’s lack of knowledge of her family’s history. In The Piano Lesson, Bernice, struggles with her family’s history which reveals that one cannot run or hide from their roots and their history. When Bernice’s brother, Boy Willie, comes into town he wants to sell the piano. Bernice automatically denies Boy Willie saying that the piano holds too much value that can only be appreciated by those in the Charles family. Bernice’s devotion to the conservation conservation of her family’s history can be questioned because she does not explain the family history and the significance of the piano to her daughter. Bernice’s lack of acknowledgement of her family is one of Boy Willie’s arguments to convince Bernice in letting him sell the piano. Bernice’s struggle with her family’s history is …show more content…
Bernice wants to keep the piano because her mother and father both are directly connected to it. Her father was said to have died protecting it and her mother spent more than ten years of her life polishing it and making sure to preserve it. However, previous to Sutter’s ghost she never touched it. Only her daughter played it, but she was not old the significance it holds in their family’s history. In The Piano Lesson, written By August Wilson, the character Bernice Charles struggles with her family’s history which reveals that one cannot hide or run from their past and in Bernice’s case her family’s harsh history. Bernice would try to ignore her family’s history. However, she had to acknowledge her past in playing the piano to save her