The Piano Lesson by August Wilson

Berniece, in contrast, symbolizes a much staid, respectful African American personality that is god-fearing and maintains immense respect for her culture, heritage and ancestors. We see this contrast exhibited very betimes in the play when Willie boy arrives after Berniece is asleep and upshot to loudly make his presence known. After a fewer moments of hollering and causing a ruckus despite Doaker's admonitions to the contrary, Berniece enters dotty and demanding an end to the noise: "It's five o'clock in the morning and you lessen in here with all this noise. You can't come like frequent folks. You got to bring all that noise with you" (4). This sets up the contrast in their personalities that impart be symbolized by their positions on the future of the family " lenient."

To Berniece the soft represents a reaffirmation of respect for her ancestors and their struggles. It represents hanging on to the adept source of historical and cultural unity that remains at heart the family. Maretha's playing of the indulgent symbolizes that she will be the next coevals to adopt its music and its burdens. As Berniece emphatically tells Willie Boy, "Money can't barter for what that diffuse cost. You can't sell your soul for money" (Wilson 50).

Willie Boy just now sees the potential opportunity that can come from selling the piano. He is willing to sacrifice its symbolic values in coordinate to get ahead in the present. He cannot understand why Berniece will not let him sell it

to get up. Berniece, in contrast, sees the symbolism in the piano as something that must be maintained as some(prenominal) a blessing and a curse. She explains to Willie Boy it is their family history, representing different chapters mature and bad that act as novels of their family heritage. The piano symbolizes the pain their ancestors endured ? a prime reason they are now living.

As she tells Willie Boy about Mama Ola's sacrifices and nurturing of the piano, she is also alluding to the symbolic value the piano represents, "Mama Olin polished this piano with her tears for seventeen years. For seventeen years she rubbed on it till her hands bled...she rubbed and cleaned and polished and prayed everywhere it...seventeen years' worth of cold nights and an empty bed. For what? For a piano? For a piece of wood?" (Wilson 52). Mama Olin did it for much more and Berniece is awake of this but Willie Boy is willing to sacrifice it to take service of opportunities.

We see more symbolism when Willie Boy gives his suite to Lymon, because Lymon will need it for women and jazz-playing both opportunities for him. Willie Boy thinks that money is the key to everything, oddly success. For Berniece, her ethics cannot permit her to sell for money a piano that human lives were bought and sold over, one that her father and she victoriously appropriated. She knows firsthand how much it meant to her parents. The rich owner of the piano, Sutter, allegedly burned a car on the Yellow Dog railroad, killing i
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