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Slavery In The Piano Lesson By August Wilson

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The power behind memories A commonly used quote reads “Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose” (Arnold). In “The Piano Lesson”, August Wilson creates a theme of holding onto the things that you love and the effects of slavery. Boy Willie fights over the piano to gain success while Berniece fights over it because she holds onto the dear memories of the Piano and the meaning behind it. In this play, the piano symbolizes the family history of the Charles family and it creates a theme of memory and slavery. The Piano’s History symbolizes all the wrongs about slavery. Doaker: "[Willie Boy] carved all this. […] He got a picture of his mama…Mama Esther…and his daddy, Boy Charles. […] He got all …show more content…
When Sutter seen the piano with all them carvings on it he got mad." (1.2.119) This symbolizes the Charles family and how because of slavery they lost those close to them that they love. The piano was so admired before it was sold that they were willing to sell and separate a family by giving human bodies away. When Robert Sutter exchanged Boy Willie and Berniece’s great grandmother and grandfather for the Piano, Sutter’s wife truly began to miss them. Since she missed them so much, Sutter had their family carved into the Piano. That comes to show how they viewed slavery. They saw the Charles Family individuals as something that could be traded for something “better” in their minds. When the family was carved into the piano, the memory of those that they lost would be in their minds forever for each time

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