Featured Text: The Piano Lesson
The Piano Lesson is a play that follows the lives of the Charles Family, as members question and challenge various aspects of their identity. At the center of controversy is a family heirloom---an engraved piano that depicts the successes and struggles of three generations of the Charles Family from being enslaved to the present. Throughout the course of the play, members struggle with the idea of selling the piano to invest in real estate and build upon their legacy or to preserve the piano as a reminder of their legacy.
August Wilson was a man of humble beginnings.3 In response to bullying from his classmates, he began to immerse himself in reading and writing as a personal escape. In his poetry, he sought to depict the rich people-people interactions he found in his neighborhood. He aspired to share their stories through complex characters and vivid dialogue. These same characters later found their way into his plays. His most defining works comprise the Century Play Cycle. The overarching purpose of the Century Play Cycle was to embody the social and political realism of each decade of the 20th century. Although the action of the play is fictional, he intended to evoke real conditions in a distinct historical context, and that helps make the play resonate with the study of factual history. The Piano Lesson was the fourth play in the cycle, and it debuted on November 26, 1987.4
The Plot
In The Piano Lesson, the Charles Family inherits an heirloom piano that has faces and memories of earlier generations beautifully carved into the legs of the piano. Boy Willie (nephew/son) who desires to be an entrepreneur recognizes that the piano has not been played for years. He strategizes about how to sell the piano, gain a profit, and use the money toward the purchase of property that once belonged to the late Mr. Sutter.
Historically, Mr. Sutter was the slave-master and owner of the Charles family. In fact, he traded Great-Grandmother Berniece and her young son in order to purchase the piano as an anniversary gift for his wife. Overtime, because Mrs. Sutter began to miss her slaves, Mr. Sutter asked Great-Grandfather Willie Boy to engrave the piano with the faces of the Sutter children. Great-Grandfather Willie Boy took this opportunity to carve faces and memorable moments from the Charles Family into the wooden legs of the piano. Mr. Sutter was enraged with this act of disobedience, but Mrs. Sutter was enamored by the realistic carvings of the slaves that she had come to love and miss so deeply. Years later, in a desperate attempt to preserve the family’s history and dignity, relatives and friends of the Charles Family plotted to steal the piano from the Sutters and replace it in the Charles home, where it yet remains in the opening scene of the play.
Unlike her brother, Berniece refuses to sell the piano because she believes that it symbolizes the family’s strength, history, and legacy. In the midst of ideological conflict, various members of the family are visited by the “Ghost of Mr. Sutter,” who appears numerous times, but says very little. Through a series of bouts with the “Ghost of Sutter” and with one another, Boy Willie and Berniece realize that the piano’s sole purpose is to bring peace into the home through music---to settle every uneasy soul, including Mr. Sutter’s.
Plot: The Ongoing Conversation
August Wilson adds dimension and vivacity to characters in the play through their use of informal language in dialogue. These seemingly improvised, hilarious, challenging, and even saddening conversations create and maintain the momentum of the play. At the beginning of the production, Wilson uses this casual, conversational tone to reveal characters that are understandable and relevant to audience members. Through his artful use of words, Wilson sets the stage for an ongoing dialogue among his characters about the challenge of striving toward future goals when the past seems to be domineering the present moment.
Through a close study of character dialogue, I want my students to be able to trace the directions of a conversation (ebbs and flows), its intended purpose, and its overall effect when the conversation has closed. This exercise will ultimately help students realize how words shape an environment---whether spoken intentionally or in a moment of indiscretion. This analyzing of the text naturally creates opportunities for personal reflections and group discussions. Furthermore, elements from both experiences can be used in future play-writing projects.
The Conflict
The major conflict of the play is the characters’ struggle to define success and legacy. In previous generations, the Charles family owned neither the products of their talents not even themselves. They have had to respond to that historical injustice, and Willie Boy and Berniece are now trying to work out how best to "own" the legacy of their family talents, oppression, and struggles. Because the two characters have different opinions about what constitutes success and legacy, contention begins to develop among siblings. Relationships become strained, and the family structure begins to implode. Adding to this tension, the Ghost of Sutter begins to visit the home in unpredictable intervals. His references are allusive; his haunting presence makes family members frantic. In spite of all confusion, a solution must be agreed upon that will guard the virtues of respect and peace.
Conflict: A Conflicting Interest
In The Piano Lesson, characters are reminiscent of the modern family due to their honest and realistic interactions with one another. In some instances, their reactions appear spontaneous, making them even more endearing. This spontaneity of conversation highlights the synergy that people experience when in the presence of individuals who share some of their same passions or the lack thereof. On the other hand, this unfiltered spontaneity has the ability to consume reason and discretion. Indeed, familiarity among characters often leads to frank rebukes and discussions that become emotionally-charged and even volatile. The differing levels of emotion reveal character triggers, illuminate areas of emotional brokenness, and emphasize the need for family members to work together and reach compromise.
Through a close study of the evolution of conflict, I want my students to be able to identify the exposition, rising action, and climax of the most pertinent conversations. By completing this exercise, students will be able to explain which “triggers” lead to explosive debates of value. With this information, students will draw inferences about why certain “triggers” affected different characters, based upon what they know about the character and his or her history. This survey of information can then be applied to the study of teenage interpersonal relationships. Students will be able to draw cross- comparisons between fictional characters in the play and everyday interactions with their peers. Through the process of reflection, I want students to realize the fragility of human emotion, the need to create healthy boundaries for communication, and the importance of remaining attentive to nonverbal communication.
The Resolution
While in the midst of another argument, the “Ghost of Sutter” suddenly appears. In an act of chivalry fueled by frustration, Boy Willie volunteers to fight the Ghost of Sutter to the death. As this wrestling between man and spirit unfolds, Boy Willie is witnessed being physically over-powered---almost suffocating at the hands of Mr. Sutter. The conflicts in the play are resolved when Berniece sings a spiritual prayer while playing on the piano. Her song lyrics are a desperate cry to her ancestors for strength to drive away the “Ghost of Sutter” and the oppression that he represents. As she passionately delivers the song, the haunting ghost of Sutton leaves, and Boy Willie is saved from death. After some time passed, the two agree that the piano should stay in the home, and that Berniece should continue to play piano---because its sound peace and joy maintains peace and joy in the home.
The Resolution: The End in Sight
Wilson’s use of literary devices gives readers insight into the life, actions, and motivations of his characters. For example, Wilson uses figurative language devices, like the extended metaphor and imagery, to describe what happens in the final scene:
“The sound of a train approaching is heard; the noise upstairs subsides. Come on, Sutter! Come back Sutter!”
From these lines, the reader can infer that Sutter’s tormenting spirit has been carried away by a train. This train is cited earlier in the text as a place of decision; a place where two roads diverge; a place of brokenness---ultimately a place of healing. In essence, when Berniece called for the strength of her ancestors, she found new strength that transcended the history of the piano itself--- she found the means to an end that she deeply desired. Through her voice and passion, she ushered in confidence, vision for the future, and healing from the past. In this last frame, the audience sees how she has transformed to become Master over the past and a Forerunner for the future. She has “taken ownership” of her family’s legacy in a new and deeper way. Through a close study of literary devices in select scenes, students will be able to understand and analyze text for deeper meaning. The ability to look beyond the surface will allow students to better understand character motivations. Through such exercises, students will sharpen their sense of discernment---a skill that can be translated to real-life situations. My aim is to help students determine the advantage or disadvantage of a moment of interaction. In this way, students can strategically position themselves for future success.
I believe that this play will be relevant to my students because the central conflicts presented in the play are relevant to students’ lives. My students often come from broken or non-existent homes, and their sense of familial belonging is strained. Students often consider school an exciting, caring refuge, and they consider their actual residence an unwanted, cold space. With the usage of this play, I want to give students permission to be authentic---responding to the ebbs and flows within the Charles family; engaging in character and personal reflection about how the extremity of their condition impacts and or alters their convictions. Conversely, I want to emphasize that The Piano Lesson also depicts how a powerful and rich family legacy, created by talented and determined ancestors, can transcend historical oppression. In this unit, my students will look for strength and pride in their history that can be used for motivation. This study intimately connects with the context of the Greenwood District: the cultural complexity of its uprising, its powerful and rich legacy, and its current aptitude for future development.
Throughout the study, this unit continues to call into question: How much of our past are we responsible to maintain, and how much we are empowered to build upon? Is the past a forecast of the future, or are the two separate entities that can be can aimed in entirely different directions?
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