The Piano Lesson and Fences by August Wilson, Essay Example

The Piano Lesson and Fences are plays written by August Wilson, a self-educated man born in Pittsburgh, who flunked out of high school in the 9^th grade. He earned his knowledge through experiences, the library and his involvement with the civil rights movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s. An illegitimate son to a white father and a back mother, he grew up with his mother and five siblings. His birth name was Frederick August Kittle which he later changed to August Wilson. At this time he “began to describe himself as a black nationalist” (Artist Profiles, 2001, para 3). He co-founded the Black Horizon on the Hill, a community theater encouraging the development of local black talent. Wilson lived and understood of the ugliness of racism and it heavily influenced his works. Fences and The Piano Lessons both take place in Wilson’s home town of Pittsburgh. They both illustrate the dilemma and tribulations of the society, culture and racial issues.

In Fences Wilson details the life of a tragic character, Troy Maxson. In the play Troy fights to become the first black garbage truck driver. It is paradoxical that Troy fights for this right and wins, while denying his son the chance of success. Cory has an opportunity to play local football with the hopes of being recognized for his talent and possibly earning a scholarship. Having lost the opportunity himself to play in major league baseball, Troy is angry and denies his son the same chance at football.  Troy uses baseball terms and phrases throughout the play for communication. In Act I when he confronts his son when Cory quits his job, he states “you swung and you missed. That’s strike one. Don’t you strike out!” (Wilson, p. 58)

The fence he has neglected be built for his wife around the house is symbolic of his own inner emotional fence constructed through his anger and hatred of the inequities of the world. The fence is also symbolic in this play of the separation in society between black and white rights and privileges of this era. The subject of death is a major theme in this play with Troy working on a fence for his wife for which he challenges Death to find him after the fence is finished. “Though deeply flawed, he represents the struggle for justice and fair treatment during the 1950’s” (Bradford, 2009, para. 2).

The Piano Lesson deals with the subject of legacy, memories and family history. The two main characters Boy Willie and Bernice are siblings who cannot agree on what to do with a piano heirloom they inherit. Bernice desires to keep the piano as a reminder of the history of slavery the family ancestors endured. Boy Willie feels selling the piano and using the money for success as a proclamation of black intellect and life successes is a better choice. In Act I they discuss the piano and Berniece is adamant “I ain’t selling that piano, Boy Willie. If that is why you came up here you can just forget it” (Wilson, p. 27). Ghosts appear to help guide the two to a common realization and that compromise between them will accomplish both the needs and goals they share. The piano is symbolic of the family and the history through the generations it has been passed through. It becomes the heart of the play and represents the family unit through the rich history; tying together with the present and the future.

The Fence represents economic deprivation and a false sense of true freedom for African-Americans. The Piano Lesson also contains the motif of deprivation and the need to break free of the confines of history. Wilson is meticulous in his representations of the times and reading both  plays gives a real sense for what it was like for the characters living in those eras (Lewis, 2007). Wilson is considered a playwright-historian with dedication to the understanding of enslavement and human perseverance. Both plays embrace the dialect of the times and use of stereotypical myths of color differences.

In both works by Wilson, society expectations are woven throughout the plot and characters. The inequity and prejudices of the time period is quite different from today. African-Americans were seen in a different way, without some of the basic rights and respect shown to the white population. In Fences Troy is constantly trying to change and reshape Cory into what he envisions. Society expectations change with each generation and this plays depicts the difficulties and resistance to change. Wilson’s personal plights of propelling the world to recognize African-American worth and rights are echoed in this story of father and son conflicts.

In The Piano Lesson Wilson is demonstrating the need for society to move forward, however, never forgetting the past events which shape the future. The past becomes the future and the lessons learned are invaluable in preventing the repetition of mistakes. In this play Wilson is detailing the need to remember the past and use that knowledge for a better future; free of fear and full of promise.

Wilson’s plays all have the common basic theme of the inequity bestowed upon the black population dating back to the slavery era. His believe in individuality and basic respect is evident in his works. Wilson himself commented his belief that “as African Americans, we should demand to participate in society as Africans. That’s the way out of the vicious cycle of poverty and neglect that exists” (quoted in Artists Profiles, sec. 3, para. 4). In Fences and The Piano Lesson, Wilson is widely known and respected for his demonstration of the plights throughout history of bigotry and discrimination.

Works Cited

Artists Profiles. “August Wilson.” Retrieved December 22, 2009 from http://www.bridgesweb.com/blacktheatre/wilson.html

Bradford, Wade.  “August Wilson’s Fences.” Retrieved December 22, 2009 from http://plays.about.com/od/plays/a/fences.htm

Lewis, William S. “The Lesson the Piano Teaches: August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and the African-American Experience it illuminates.” Retrieved December 22, 2009 from http://www.tip.sas.upenn.edu/curriculum/units/2007/05/07.05.05.pdf

Wilson, August. “Fences.” Penguin Group: New York. June, 1986.

Wilson, August. “The Piano Lesson.” Penguin Group: New York. October, 1990.