The Piano Lesson by August Wilson Research Paper

The Piano Lesson by August Wilson - Research Paper Example The point of the disagreement is the piano. Boy Willie has travelled to Pittsburgh to get his portion of the piano, which is presently in the ownership of Berniece, his sister.   Boy Willie is a ruffian, and thinks that the profit from the piano gives him his finest opportunity to surpass the social and economic persecution that has troubled the men in his family (Boan 73). Yet, his vision of a better life is prevented by the refusal of Berniece to put on sale what is, she believes, a very important symbol the family’s history. All over the play, therefore, the piano becomes a criterion through which conflicting perceptions of the past could be assessed. The outcome is that Wilson has re-interpreted the difficulties of bearing the weight of history, which is at the core of his other stories, into an issue of how to use history in the most effective way. As Wilson said (Krasner 327): â€Å"The real issue is the piano, the legacy. How are you going to use it?†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Wilson dreamed of writing a ten-play series that would highlight the history of African Americans in his country. He tool on the responsibility of an ancestral ‘griot’ whose obligation was to protect and perpetuate his culture’s history and heritage: â€Å"†¦ the role of the griot is significant since it is with him we mark the beginning of African literary tradition as we know it† (Miller 97). So as to accomplish this he engaged in his ten-play series which would introduce the experience of the African Americans to his fellow citizens and to the rest of the world.