Whether it's a lightsaber passed down from father to son in Star Wars, or a beautiful musical instrument, heirlooms have great significance in works of fiction and literature. Many authors use heirlooms as a reminder of the past, enabling the reader to see the reaction of the inheritor. While the younger generation's reaction may be good or bad, it is always significant as a marker of how the characters deal with the past. In the play, The Piano Lesson, August Wilson, through the use of an heirloom piano, studies the effect of the past on different characters as they try to move into the future Berneice, the current possessor of the piano, a symbol of the past rejects her past by refusing to play the piano. Berneice is a character who is constantly …show more content…
Bernice rejects the lessons of the past by trying to remain stagnant. Her rejection of her past leads to her rejection of her future, as she refuses to date the preacher, who is highly interested in her. Thus, Berneice's resolution in the story is embracing the piano, calling on the help of her ancestors to help her. Before the play ends, she is warned to keep playing the piano, or her past will once again come back to haunt her. Berneice's brother, Boy Willie, contrasts with Berneice's reaction to the piano in that in his anger, he can only see the power that the piano offers him. Boy Willie, unlike Bernice, actively remembers and talks about his past, and is willing to play the piano. However, his telling of his family's story is filled with anger as Boy Willie spitefully thinks of his father as weak. For him, the piano is a ticket away from the injustice in his life. Boy Willie wants to use the piano to buy his family's former owner's land, escaping the oppression he found in his past Boy Willie's resolution is wrestling with a ghost over the sale of the piano, eventually leaving empty