Family In The Play 'The Piano Lesson'

In the play, “The Piano Lesson,” one of the most prominent themes is the theme of family. Family is a big part of this play, from the very first page you can tell how important family is to the Charles family. They might fight a lot but you can tell they care for each other as well. The major conflict in this play is over the piano. To me the piano represents the Charles family. It was very rare for a black family to be able to trace back their ancestry even two generations, let alone 5. People had died for this piano and that is why it was so important to the characters. The piano is what brings the Charles family together, it is a symbol of who they are and who their family used to be. This is why the piano is so important, it is a physical object that represents their past and their
present. Throughout the play, Berniece seemed to be the most interested in keeping the piano. Although they all had the ancestry connection, the piano was more to her. It was a reminder of everything she and her mother had sacrificed for their family. “For seventeen years she rubbed on it till her hands bled. Then she rubber the blood in… mixed it up with the rest of the blood on it.” (52) In this quote said by Berniece, she is talking about how her mother spent the last years of her life slaving over the piano because it was the last thing that would remind her of her husband who died trying to steal the piano from Sutter's house. “I used to think them pictures came alive and walked through the house. Sometime late at night I could hear my mama talking to them.” (70) To her mother, the piano was a way to communicate to her late husband. That’s why she had Berniece play all the time, because her Mother claimed to be able to hear her father through the music. This frightened young Berniece, she did not want to end up like her Mother one day. That is why she does not want to play the old piano anymore. At the same time, she still understands why the piano is so important, where Boy Willie only sees how it can benefit him financially. Berniece can see the bigger picture when it comes to the piano. She understands that it is not just an object that does not mean anything to the family. She knows how much detail her great-grandfather put into making that piano, how the piano represents her family as a whole not just herself and her brother. She knows what the piano meant to her father and how it means to Doaker and Wining Boy. On page 50, Berniece says, “Money can’t buy what that piano cost. You can’t sell your soul for money.” To me, this is the most powerful line in the whole play. Berniece perfectly sums up what that piano meant to her great-grandfather, her father, her mother and the rest of her family. The piano represents the soul of her family, not just her own. It includes the dead and the alive. The piano brings them together and makes them one. This play helped the viewers see that there is a way to make something horrible and see the good in it.
I am not condoning the way slaves were treated, but by telling this story about their family, it shows the reader that you do not have to be defined by what society is telling you happened. The piano tells a story of the happiness and heartbreak the Charles family had encountered during this period. The piano helped the Charles family embrace their past, by taking the piano back they were able to take back their lives. At the end of the play, when the family and Avery are performing the exorcism, Berniece calls on the aid of her ancestors, “I want you to help me. Mama Berniece. I want you to help me. Mama Esther. I want you to help me. Papa Boy Charles.” (107) Berniece is calling on them to help ward away the evil spirit of Sutter. By doing this she is embracing her past. She is embracing how her mother used to talk to her father through the piano, she is embracing everything that has happened to the family and is asking for their help. This works, and it is the perfect way of ending the play because it really enhances the idea that family is the most important theme in this
play.