The Piano Lesson Critical Analysis - Research Proposal Example

The play was set in 1936 when the USA was struggling through the great depression and the migration of black Americans to the North with dreams of liberation from subservience yoke suggests variant ways of using history. Leaving a mark is one great way greatly focused in the book on how to use history. A mark reminds people of your existence and presence. Boy Willie expresses this by leaving a mark in the tree “Boy Willie was here” whereas his great grandfather carved “We were here” on the piano wood. Property is another issue in the play that is suggested in the play on how to use history. Emanating from Charles's family once being a property it leaves a mark on the existence of a specific person and their achievements. Being followed by ownership, ownership of anything claims a person's superiority over the properly. Music keeps records of historical events and personal records. The piano is a metaphor in the play-line music and is widely utilized to keep a record of historical happenings.

The piano takes several meanings in the play and its lifetime. As a gift bought via slave exchange, it signifies a person's worth and interchangeability during the slavery era and the white kingship network over blacks. Under Boy Willie, the piano signifies a symbolic attempt to keep the family together and history. The carving on its wooden parts is a narrative of the present and past historical events of the slaves and the family story line. The piano being passed from one generation to another helps keep the past family historical memorials within the family.

Ghosts in the play were used to associate the play with the African American culture a trait they inherited from their African ancestors. Since the slave’s culture dissolved into white folks' Christianity, the writer used ghosts to remind African Americans of their origin and preserve their spiritual beliefs. Therefore the ghost reserves historical events of the African American folks (Wilson, N.P).