Plot Summary
The Piano Lesson is set in Pittsburgh in 1936, with all of the action taking place in Doaker Charles’ residence. The parlor is dominated by a 137-year-old upright piano covered with totems in the style of African sculpture.
The play begins at sunrise. Doaker’s nephew, Boy Willie, knocks on the door and enters with his buddy, Lymon. Two people have traveled from Mississippi to sell watermelons.
Willie hasn’t seen his sister Berniece, who lives with Doaker, in three years since he’s been imprisoned at the notorious Parchman Prison Farm.
Willie requests a congratulatory drink from his uncle: the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog had drowned Sutter in his own well. Willie plans to sell the family piano and use the proceeds to purchase Sutter’s land, which his forefathers farmed as slaves.
Doaker, on the other hand, is certain Berniece will not part with the piano. Moreover, Avery Brown, a preacher who has been courting Berniece since the death of her husband Crawley, has previously attempted to convince her to sell it. Willie devises a plan to contact the prospective buyer directly.
“Get on, get away,” Berniece yells from offstage. Berniece swears she has seen Sutter’s ghost and has heard him scream out Boy Willie’s name. She believes her brother pushed Sutter into the well. She is shaken and refuses to assist with his ideas.
Three days later, Doaker’s brother Wining Boy, a traveling, washed-up recording star, sits at the kitchen table with the men to discuss the previous occurrences. Willie and Lymon were on Parchman Farm, according to Wining Boy.
Willie describes how some whites tried to pursue Willie, Lymon, and Berniece’s husband Crawley away from some wood they were pilfering. Crawley resisted and was slain, while the other two were imprisoned. The men discuss Parchman and sing an old labour song.
Doaker then tells Lymon about the piano’s history. Under slavery, the Charles family was owned by Robert Sutter, the recently deceased-grandfather. Sutter’s He wanted to create a gift out of his friend’s piano but couldn’t afford it.
As a result, he exchanged the instrument for a full and half-grown slave—grandma Doaker’s Berniece and his father.
Though Sutter’s wife first enjoyed the piano, she grew to miss her slaves and became critically ill as a result. So Sutter commissioned Willie Boy, Doaker’s grandfather, to carve the faces of his wife and child into the piano.
Willie Boy, on the other hand, carved his mother, father, and numerous scenes from his family’s past in addition to his personal family.
Years after slavery ended, Berniece and Boy Willie’s father, Boy Charles, became obsessed with the piano, believing that as long as the Sutters possessed it, they held the family in servitude. As a result, he, Doaker, and Wining Boy took it on July 4, 1911.
Later that day, lynchers set fire to Boy Charles’ residence. He fled to catch the Yellow Dog, but the mob halted the railway and set fire to his boxcar. Boy Charles died along with the hobos in his vehicle, all of whom became railroad spirits.
Willie and Lymon attempt to relocate the piano as Doaker finishes his narrative. Berniece appears and orders Willie to stop because the piano is their inheritance. Berniece recalls their mother, who practiced the piano until the day she died.
She accuses Boy Willie of perpetuating their family’s cycle of robbery and murder, blaming him for her husband’s death. Berniece’s daughter, Maretha, is heard crying upstairs in terror as Sutter’s spirit reappears.
The next morning, Wining Boy walks in with a suit he has been unable to pawn. He sells his outfit to Lymon shrewdly, suggesting that it has a magical impact on the ladies. Lymon and Boy Willie intend to go to the neighborhood movie theater and meet some women.
Berniece appears later that evening, preparing a tub for her bath. Avery enters and makes a new proposal to Berniece.
Berniece refuses and asks why everyone tells her she can’t be a lady without a man. Shifting the subject, Berniece requests that Avery bless the house in order to exorcise Sutter’s ghost.
Avery offers that she create a choir at his church using the piano. Berniece responds that she leaves the piano alone to avoid arousing its ghosts.
Boy Willie enters the shadowy house with Grace, a local girl, several hours later. They start kissing and knock over a lamp. Berniece appears downstairs and orders them to leave. Lymon returns, looking for Willie, while Berniece is cooking tea.
He is sick of one-night stands and longs to meet the right woman. When thinking about Wining Boy’s magical clothing, he pulls a bottle of perfume from his pocket and hands it to Berniece before kissing her.
Willie tells Maretha about the Ghosts of Yellow Dog the next day, and the final scene begins the next day. He has already contacted the buyer regarding the piano. Berniece appears and orders Willie out of her home once more.
They dispute again, and Willie recalls his father, claiming that he merely intends to do what his father may have done. Willie and Lymon start moving the piano. Berniece leaves and returns with Crawley’s gun.
Suddenly, an inebriated Wining Boy enters the scene, playfully breaking the tension. He sits at the piano, concealing it from Willie, to perform a song he penned in remembrance of his wife. Grace enters after a knock on the door.
Kate and Lymon set a date for the movie, and Sutter’s presence is quickly felt. Grace and Lymon escape, leaving only the Charles family and Avery in the house.
Avery makes a motion to bless the piano. Boy Willie intervenes, mocking Sutter as Avery tries to exorcise him. He rushes up the stairs, but an unseen force pulls him back. He charges back up and faces Sutter in a life-or-death battle.
Berniece suddenly realizes what she must do and begins to play the piano. “I want you to assist me,” she sings, honoring her forefathers.
The house becomes serene. Willie reappears and asks Wining Boy whether he’s ready to board the train heading south. Willie bids his sister farewell, and Berniece expresses gratitude.
What is The Piano Lesson’s message?
August Wilson’s play “The Piano Lesson” premiered in 1987. The drama is set in 1930s Pittsburgh and follows the narrative of a family’s conflict over an old piano with significant symbolic resonance.
“The Piano Lesson’s” message is multifaceted, but a significant topic is the tension between the legacy of the past and the promise of the future.
The piano in the play reflects the family’s history and cultural legacy, which gives them immense pride and identity. It is, however, a bitter reminder of the family’s past of captivity and the horrible traumas that came with it.
The play examines the various ways in which family members attempt to reconcile their history with their present and future goals. Berniece, the protagonist, is emotionally bonded to the piano and believes it has a powerful connection to her ancestors.
Boy Willie, her brother, however, wishes to sell the piano and use the funds to purchase property in Mississippi, where he hopes to accomplish his dream of becoming a prosperous farmer and breaking away from the cycle of poverty that has plagued his family for centuries.
The piece tackles complicated concerns about the value of tradition, the meaning of inheritance, and the significance of human ambition through the battle over the piano.
Finally, the play implies that there are no simple answers to these concerns, and that each character must forge their own route toward reconciling the past and the present in order to create a better future for themselves and their children.
What does The Piano Lesson’s ending mean?
The ending of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” is subject to interpretation and left some ambiguity. Berniece is playing the piano in the final scene of the play, with her deceased ancestors coming in the room as ghostly apparitions.
According to one reading of the finale, Berniece has accepted her family’s history and has adopted the piano as a sign of her cultural background. By playing the piano, she acknowledges the significance of the past and its role in molding her identity.
The appearance of the ancestors means that Berniece has made peace with her ancestors’ legacy and is now ready to carry it forward.
Another view is that the ending is enigmatic, and Berniece’s relationship with the piano, as well as her family’s past, remain unresolved.
The sight of the ancestors could be interpreted as a reminder of the past’s continual presence in the present, as well as the difficulty of ever completely escaping one’s history.
Finally, the finale of “The Piano Lesson” might be taken in a variety of ways, and the reader or spectator must decide what it means to them.
Regardless of perspective, the finale emphasizes the need of confronting the past and the ways it continues to affect our lives and identities.
What is the significance of the title The Piano Lesson?
August Wilson’s drama “The Piano Lesson” is titled from the core conflict, which revolves around a family relic, an antique piano. The piano has been passed down through the family for generations and is rich in cultural and historical importance.
The drama delves into the conflict between several family members on what should be done with the piano. Berniece, the protagonist, regards the piano as a symbol of her family’s history and cultural heritage and is hesitant to part with it.
Boy Willie, her brother, on the other hand, sees the piano as a means to an end and want to sell it in order to purchase land and begin a new life.
The play’s title, “The Piano Lesson,” is intended to bring attention to the piano as a symbol of the family’s legacy and the difficult decisions that must be made in order to reconcile the past with the present.
The piano provides a strong link to the family’s history and identity, but it also embodies the tragedy of slavery and the sad memories that come with it.
Finally, the play encourages us to evaluate what we are prepared to give up in order to pursue our own aspirations and ambitions, and what we are willing to keep in order to preserve our sense of self and cultural heritage.
Is The Piano Lesson a Ghost Story?
August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” is not a classic ghost story, although it does have supernatural elements. The play is set in Pittsburgh in the 1930s and centers on a family feud over an old piano.
The characters are tormented by their ancestors’ legacies throughout the play, notably their experiences with slavery and its consequences.
The deceased ancestors of the family arrive in the room as ghostly apparitions in the last scene of the play, while Berniece plays the piano. The presence of the ancestors shows that they continue to have a strong influence on the family even after they have died.
Some readers see this event as a literal manifestation of the supernatural, while others interpret it as a symbolic reflection of the family’s history and cultural heritage.
While “The Piano Lesson” is not a classic ghost story, it does incorporate supernatural elements to highlight slavery’s legacy and its impact on African American families.
The presence of the ancestors is intended to emphasize the continual presence of the past in the present, as well as the difficulty of ever completely escaping one’s history.
The Piano Lesson’s Characters
August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” has a number of rich and completely developed characters, each with their own distinct personality, past, and motivations. Here are some of the play’s main characters:
Berniece: The play’s protagonist and the owner of the antique piano. She is very protective of her family’s history and cultural heritage and is hesitant to sell the piano, despite the fact that it would provide her and her daughter with financial security. Berniece is haunted by her ancestors’ memories and fights to overcome the anguish of slavery.
Boy Willie: Berniece’s brother and the play’s main adversary. He is adamant about selling the piano and using the funds to purchase land in Mississippi, where he aspires to become a prosperous farmer. Willie is ambitious and motivated, yet he is often indifferent to his family’s emotional needs.
Doaker: Berniece and Boy Willie’s uncle and the family patriarch. He acts as a go-between for Berniece and Boy Willie, as well as providing historical background for the family’s experiences with enslavement and migration.
Avery: A preacher who has a romantic interest in Berniece. He is a compassionate and understanding character who offers spiritual instruction to Berniece and her family.
Berniece’s daughter, Maretha. She is a modest and discreet character who is crucial to the family’s conflict over the piano.
Boy Willie’s companion, Wining Boy, is a musician and con artist. He serves as both comic relief and a reminder of the grim realities of Black American living during the Great Depression.
These and other characters in “The Piano Lesson” are vividly drawn and contribute to the play’s complex thematic tapestry.