Themes: Past and Present
Wilson's collection of plays focuses on the African-American experience throughout the 20th century while also addressing, directly or indirectly, the enduring impact of slavery.
The Charles family in Wilson's work embodies the southern Black experience across the 19th and 20th centuries. Wilson crafted his characters to symbolize this historical journey. After the 1863 emancipation of slaves, numerous former slaves remained on the land, becoming tenant farmers, or sharecroppers, for their previous owners. Their earnings were minimal, natural disasters posed substantial threats, and the cost of living was inflated as white store owners dominated the markets where Black sharecroppers traded goods. Many sharecroppers found themselves ensnared in a cycle of debt to their former masters, enduring severe poverty, which was further aggravated by widespread white hostility.
The promises of the Reconstruction Era were abruptly halted, and the enforcement of "Jim Crow" laws, which mandated racial segregation, highlighted the ongoing influence of American, particularly southern, racism. The swift industrialization in the North during the late 19th century offered possibilities of higher wages, improved working conditions, and a better standard of living. This led many rural Blacks to migrate North, and during and after World War I, this migration increased significantly.
In the play, the Charles family were formerly slaves owned by the Sutters, working on Sutter's land. After emancipation, they remained on the same land as sharecroppers, renting from their former masters while working for themselves. Eventually, part of the family relocated to Pittsburgh, leaving Boy Willie behind.
Boy Willie chooses to stay on the land and not migrate North. His aspiration to own, rather than rent, the Sutter land is a notable exception. This reflects Wilson's own interest in exploring what "the fabric of American society would be like if Blacks had stayed in the South and somehow found a way to develop economically and integrate into that particular area." Boy Willie's father's ambition to reclaim the piano mirrors Boy Willie's wish to remain on the land. Both father and son believe that reclaiming their heritage of slavery and transforming it through labor and family connections will redefine their relationship with their family and history.
Boy Charles believed the piano represented "the story of our whole family, and as long as Sutter had it ... we were still in slavery." In a similar vein, Boy Willie aims to alter the family's ties to their slave history by breaking the cycle of master and slave, owner and renter, by becoming the owner of the land the Charles family has worked for generations.
The primary conflict in the play revolves around the piano's future, driven by Boy Willie's desire to alter the past by transforming the present. This conflict arises because the piano's history carries great importance, and each family member responds to its past in unique ways. Consequently, the piano illustrates a lesson about history: it can change significantly depending on who tells it and their motives for doing so. Understanding this lesson is crucial for comprehending contemporary race relations in America and the significant divide between black and white experiences in history.
Just as Boy Willie's desire to change the past fuels the play's central conflict, the resolution depends on Berniece's decision to reconnect with it. After her mother's death, Berniece refused to partake in the "ancestor worship" her mother valued, which involved playing the piano to honor the bloodshed for it. Ironically, Berniece's current perspective on the piano is almost as practical as Boy Willie's; both see it merely as "a piece of wood."
However, when Avery's Christian exorcism fails, Berniece turns back to her mother's ritual practices to protect her brother and banish Sutter's ghost. She plays the piano and calls upon the spirits of the deceased for help. Wilson describes her actions as "a rustle of wind blowing across two continents," and her invocation of her ancestors and expression of gratitude for their assistance mirrors African rituals of ancestor worship. Thus, the piano's lesson also encourages African Americans to value family connections and acknowledge their personal ties to the legacy of slavery.
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