The Piano

In the play The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, the piano is a symbol of many things. First, it is a symbol of family. Bernice and Boy Willie’s grandfather, Willie Boy, carved the piano by hand for his master Mr. Sutter. The carvings consisted of the faces of their grandmother and father, the marriage of their parents, a funeral of a family member, and also the splitting of their family which was common during slavery. This piano was a physical memory of their family history. Second, the piano symbolizes domination. The piano was Sutter’s property and so was the family. They were his slaves. This is also why Miss Ophelia liked the piano so much because “she had her piano and her niggers too.” By stealing the piano from Sutter, Boy Charles, Bernice and Boy Willie’s dad, stole the family freedom as well.

The piano symbolizes a better life for many of the characters. When Wining Boy played it he became a recording star. Also if Boy Willie sells the piano he can buy all three parts of Mr. Sutter’s land which will give him the resources he needs to work for him and be self-sufficient. As for Bernice, she is sees the piano more on the sentimental aspect. To her the piano symbolizes memories. The memory of her mother and how she would, day after day, “polished this piano with her tears for seventeen years.” The piano to Bernice is the remembrance of her mother’s struggle after her husband died. She was left alone all because of a piano. Last, the piano is a symbol of the past due to all the family history carved into it. It is also a symbol of death because Boy Charles was murdered because of the piano, and when Boy Willie and Lymon tried to move it they heard the ghost of Sutter. These are the things the piano symbolizes.