Research Guide to American Literature

0 Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present

TOPICS FOR RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION

1. Pressed to take sides, Doaker, the siblings’ uncle, remarks: “Ain’t nobody said
   nothing about who’s right and who’s wrong.” Students will do well to take
   Doaker’s words to heart; indeed, each sibling’s claim is valid. Instead of sup-
   porting one sibling over the other, Wilson dramatizes the emotional costs of the
   conflict on the family and by extension, the community. In a 1987 interview with
   David Savran (included in Jackson R. Bryer and Mary C. Hartig, pp. 19–37),
   Wilson pinpoints the “central question” of the play as: “How do you use your
   legacy?” Neither sibling alone offers a definitive answer. At first glance, Boy
   Willie’s claims seem easily dismissed. Arrogant, brash, and disruptive, he has
   played a part in the death of Berniece’s husband and seems willing to exploit
   others to get what he wants. His repeated insistence that he will cut the piano
   in half suggests a disregard for his family’s struggles. And yet, Boy Willie clearly
   knows of and takes pride in his family’s past, especially the heroics of his father
   and grandfather. For him, buying the land his grandfather farmed as a slave is
   a way to honor the past. Using Wilson’s discussion of the play’s central conflict
   and his assessment of Boy Willie and Berniece as starting points, students could
   develop an analysis of the merits of each of their positions.


2. In “Ma Rainey and the Boyz: Gender Ideology in August Wilson’s Broadway
   Canon” (Marilyn Elkins, pp. 123–160), Kim Marra points out dichotomous
   images of black women, noting the ways Wilson supports the negative idea
   that “black matriarchy is... complicit with white supremacy in the economic
   and sexual emasculation of the black male.” Focusing on images of women and
   women’s roles in The Piano Lesson, students could develop an analysis arguing for
   or against Marra’s assessment: Do Berniece and other female characters support
   and/or resist racism and mainstream culture? How do the actions of women
   affect the black male characters? Do they participate with mainstream culture
   to emasculate and disempower black men? Alternatively, students can examine
   male images in the play: How is masculinity performed in the play and does it
   undercut racist attitudes about black men? How do male characters speak about
   and treat the female characters? Is it respectful and/or demeaning? For addi-
   tional criticism on female images, students can also consult Sandra G. Shannon’s
   “The Ground on Which I Stand: August Wilson’s Perspective on African
   American Women,” Harry J. Elam’s “August Wilson’s Women,” and Missy Dehn
   Kubitschek’s “August Wilson’s Gender Lesson” (Alan Nadel, pp. 150–199).


3. To counteract the “glancing manner” mainstream American culture casts upon
   blacks, Wilson interweaves Afrocentrist elements and perspectives into the play,
   what Mary L. Bogumil calls “the African roots, the atavistic connection, African
   Americans have to their ancestors.” Symbolized by the supernatural, they stand
   out in this mostly realistic play. Berniece’s adherence to mainstream values is
   underscored by her insistence that Boy Willie, and not an avenging spirit or ghost,
   killed Sutter. Doaker and the other men, however, insist on the latter. Despite her
   disavowal of the men’s beliefs, Berniece understands the power of black cultural
   practices as suggested by her reluctance to marry Avery Brown, a former share-
   cropper turned preacher. Boy Willie criticizes Brown for his willingness to accept
   inferior social status for economic security, a “turkey at Thanksgiving” rather than