Essay on The Symbolism of the Piano in The Piano

The piano, created by Bartolomeo Christofori in 1709, has impacted our society by becoming a popular instrument and a popular medium for musicians to create musical masterpieces. Also called the pianoforte, the piano is one of the most beautiful sounding instruments that can range in sound from as low as a gust of wind, to as high as the shrill sound of a bird. It has evolved over time and become an amazing instrument. The piano was accepted very well in history and it has generated many changes in the music industry. The piano was also used a lot in society and has had many applications grow from it. Without it, many classical masterpieces as well as modern songs wouldn’t have been possible.

Wilson highlights the fact the piano is full of stories that are directly linked to Berniece, which affect her current negative feeling towards it. Also, as a young girl, Berniece had to play the piano for her mom, so she could talk to her dead father. This demonstrates that not only is her family physically depicted on it, but also spiritually connected to it.

In The Piano Lesson, by August Wilson, Berniece struggles with her personal connection with the piano. Her families past reveal her relationship with the piano. The piano meant a lot of things to a lot of different people over the years. The piano is a complex and multilayers symbol; its meanings are both personal and political. For example, Berniece was affected by the piano positively and negatively. She had a sentimental connection with it and never wanted to get rid of it. But the piano had a lot of history behind it and it also carries a lot of meaning to it. Berniece stopped playing the piano for a while because of all the spirits inside of it and how they started to haunt other people. Berniece saw Boy Willie getting attacked by Sutter’s ghost and that made her realize she needs to let go of the past and play the piano again. But what was ironic is that she tried her best to forget the family history that came with the piano, she can never let go of her families past no matter what she does. This reveals that people should come to good terms with their past and learn to overcome it.

In August Wilson’s Piano Lesson Berniece struggles with the past of her family and the violence that is within her family. She de-contextualizes the piano by not telling Maretha about her relatives, whose images are carved into the piano and keeping her in the dark when it comes to her family and the past. With Berniece struggling to keep Boy Willie from selling the piano for land she slowly starts to realize that maybe the uplift that the family needs is just remembrance of their family and their past. The piano is symbol for the legacy or past of relatives and by playing the piano at the end of the play shows that remembering your family’s past or carrying on their Legacy in the smallest way shows that wherever they are that they’re rejoiced

He is unable to play because he will give himself away so we instead watch his fingers move across the air above the piano’s keys as whilst the sound plays in his head and too the viewer. Throughout the film we also see Szpilman pretending to play the piano as he taps his finger across his legs. It is moments such as these that help to maintain Szpilman’s willingness to survive by keeping silent, but also how piano gives fills him with the hope that is instrumental in his survival. In other scenes such as when a German officer asks Szpilman to play piano for him, and allows him to live because of his immense talent we begin to realise that Szpilman’s hope – music, does not only help him to survive mentally, but also physically as he can share the gift that he has to others. It is also important to note that Polanski only music by the Polish composer, Chopin is used throughout ‘The Pianist’. His sad and evocative music brings upon a sad mood, yet one with a hint of hope and with this, the director can more vividly express his ideas a way that dialogue or action cannot.

Boy Willie, however, wants to release the past and sell the family piano so he can have a new start in life and forget the painful past. "The Piano Lesson" is both unique to the plight of African-Americans and universal in its depiction of the human condition (Gale, 2000, p249). The sibling rivalry, past history versus present time and future, storytelling and gender relationships all cross both unique and universal boundaries. To illustrate, even in today's society there are sibling rivalry that pit brother against sister, brother against brother or sister against sister together to the point of bitter battle. In addition, there are still people in today's society that have difficulties in resolving painful past experiences with the present and future. In regards to gender relationships, there are still a lot of mysteries in the realm of love between two people. Bernice is the African-American way, staying true to her roots and not parting with the heritage. Although she finds this painful, she will not part with her heritage. Her heritage is “tangible in the presence of the piano itself” (Sparknotes, 2014). Therefore, even though the theme of this play surrounds itself around African-Americans, the situation can easily be applied to all races and time periods.

She looked just like that. And he put a picture of my daddy when he wasn't nothing but a little boy the way he remembered him." (44) The piano is a symbol of the family because it is literally covered with this history. Doaker states that Boy Charles "say it was the story of our whole family and as long as Sutter had it . . . he had us" (45) Under normal circumstances, a piano would not be something valuable enough to risk your life in order to steal. However, it is clear that Boy Charles viewed it as an important family heirloom, a symbol of their family history. By stealing the piano, he hopes to end the control that Sutter has over them.

He certainly identifies the piano with Ada. He strokes it and dusts it while naked, he tries to pry into its secrets like a lover. Ada even snaps the lid shut on his fingers when they stray into its recesses. It becomes the bargaining tool in their growing love affair and when she sends him her love note it is written on a piano key. At the end, the piano is considered a coffin and Ada throws it overboard of the Maori canoe, to get rid of her past. To start a new life.

As an adult, Jing-mei’s mother offers her the piano once more, and Jing-mei accepts the gift. Appreciating the encouragement and faith her mother bestows upon her Jing-mei decides to care for the piano. The piano piece

In The Piano Lesson each central character learns a lesson. August Wilson uses plenty of symbolism throughout his play, the strongest symbol being the piano itself, representing the family's history, their long struggle, and their burden of their race. Throughout the play, the conflict revolves around the piano, and Berniece and Boy Willie's contrasting views about its significance and about what should be done with it. Berniece is ashamed and cannot let go of the past, or the piano, and Boy Willie wants to move his life forward, and use the piano to do so. Wilson portrays the 'lesson' of the piano as accepting and respecting one's past and moving on with one's life gracefully, through Berniece and Boy Willies contrasting actions and the

The main conflict of the play is the 137 year old piano, which holds the key to the family history. A history which is physically represented in the piano itself both by the spirit believed to be held within and in the many sophisticated carvings.

     The poem Piano, by D. H. Lawrence describes his memories of childhood. Hearing a woman singing takes him to the time when his mother played piano on Sunday evenings. In the present, this woman is singing and playing the piano with great passion. However, the passionate music is not affecting him, because he can only think about his childhood rather than the beauty of the music that exists in his actual space.

Director Jane Campion places a motif throughout her film The Piano that is preoccupied by power struggles between males and females and European colonists and indigenous people. The "Prospero" syndrome is seen in attitudes of the Europeans regarding their belief that European culture, ideology, and religious practices are the only standards of behavior deemed acceptable for human beings, women in particular. The piano then becomes a symbol for the taboos that are placed on the Europeans and their lives. The character of Ada is placed at the center of a struggle between a male character who fully embodies the Kurtz persona with tattoos, close friendships with the Maori, and uninhibited sexual overtures, and one who clings to English ways. Harvey Keitel portrays this character, named Baines, while Sam Neill plays his foil. The character of Stewart embodies the Prospero persona by maintaining an ever-present "businesslike" relationship with the Maori and punishing those who transgress his code of conduct. The punishment of Flora, Ada’s daughter for misbehaving and simulating her mother’s sexual behavior and of Ada herself for loving Baines while conducting and affair at he same time with Stewart himself places a black mark

My life has always been tied to the piano in some shape or form. I can remember the first notes I ever produced. They came from a large Cable upright piano that had sat unused and out of tune for decades. From my early childhood and on my relationship with the piano consisted of nothing more than fleeting encounters. Some days I would sit down and simply play notes I thought sounded nice, but mostly the piano acted as a decoration in my home. It wasn 't until moving to Oklahoma to be with my mother 's family that anything serious developed concerning the piano. I had always been far away from my family, so when I met up with my grandmother we took the time to catch up. She mentioned that my mother used to play the piano quite well. Up until that point I had never given the piano much thought, but I began to think about my mother and all the old piano books she had accumulated from her adolescence. That set in motion my desire to learn how to play and an eventual reappraisal of the way I looked at music and the world around me.

One of the most common musical instruments in many homes is the piano; and most people have the opportunity for even a few lessons in their youth. However, despite the simplicity of its lines and keys (88 keys), 2-3 pedals on the modern piano, and either upright (vertical) or grand style (horizontal), the physics of the piano are both interesting and complex.