In The Piano Lesson, a play by August Wilson, the characters create conflict over a piano. Boy Willie and Berniece, two 1930’s African American siblings, each own a half of the piano. Because Berniece and Boy Willie’s ancestor engraved images of their family’s history into the piano, this instrument holds great importance to them. Despite this shared agreement, Berniece and Boy Willie hold different opinions about the piano’s true value and purpose. While Berniece wants to keep the piano for its sentimental value, Boy Willie desires to sell it in order to buy land from Sutter, the white, dead, and original owner of the instrument. Throughout the play, these two siblings fight over ownership of the piano. According to Berniece’s belief, the