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The Piano Lesson Is A Play That Was Written By August Wilson.

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The Piano Lesson is a play that was written by August Wilson. The story is used in a collection of plays by Wilson to show the struggles of African Americans throughout the twentieth century The story takes place in 1937 Pittsburgh with an African American family that battle within themselves on whether or not to keep a family heirloom, a carved piano. Wilson hits hot points of the past and today with his view on civil rights and the power of death. In The Piano Lesson is a tool that allows the reader to see that August Wilson wants to address that death should not be feared, all races should be held to the same standard, and that woman should be allowed to express themselves without the oppression of men. If one let’s death control their …show more content…

He is in a literal battle with a member of the dead and he survives. Had he not overcome death previously Willie would have suffered the consequences. He is able to live another day because of the fact that he is not afraid to die. Racial tensions still have a large impact on modern society that need to be changed so that all are considered equal. Wilson starts by pointing out the racial inadequacies in society using the scene where Lymon and Boy Willie go to collect their wood, “Me [Lymon] and Boy Willie got away but the sheriff got us. Say we was stealing wood. They shot me in my stomach” (Wilson 37). The police assume because the men are black that they are stealing the wood. Discrimination, in the end, is the long build up of misunderstandings between people who at first glance seem to be unsimilar. This is shown by the incident with the wood. The police believe that Boy Willie and Lymon are stealing the wood, even though they were given permission to take some of the wood for themselves. By assuming that they are thieves, they draw a line between blacks and whites. They then spread this assumption to others who conclude the same thing which further strengthens the division. This leads to entire populations hating other populations from one misunderstanding. Hatred carries influence, and hatred is a powerful tool that Wilson shows that the whites dominate. For example, “And he go and fix it with the law that them is his berries.

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