Paper Summary:

The paper highlights the main theme of August Wilson's play "The Piano Lesson" that is the importance of keeping family history alive. The paper shows how Berniece and Boy Willie cannot move forward in their lives without a true understanding of how to value the family's legacy. The paper also describes how both siblings learn to respect the power of the piano and to value it as part of who they are.

From the Paper:

"The piano in The Piano Lesson has a long history in the Charles family. It records the family's struggles all the way back to their time in slavery. The piano is has served several purposes in it's one hundred and thirty-seven year life. It was originally given as anniversary present from the slave owner, Robert Sutter, to his wife Ophelia. The price of the piano , Doaker's grandmother and father. The slaves were so badly missed by Ophelia that Sutter had Willie Boy, carve their faces into the piano. Willie Boy however did not simply carve faces. He included other ancestors and important scenes from the family history. This was an attempt even within the harsh confines of slavery to resist having identity erased, and to keep a family's history alive. Many years later when the family was freed, Boy Charles, Berniece and Boy Willie's father, stole the piano from the Sutter's."

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