Exploring the Dichotomy of Traditional African American Values vs Christianity and American Customs - Essay Example

Option 4: “The Piano Lesson” Exploring the Dichotomy of Traditional African American Values versus Christianity and American Customs In “The Piano Lesson” by August Wilson, Wilson sets up a unique dichotomy for his characters to explore the differences between traditional African American values and religion and the encroaching nature of American customs and the role that Christianity plays in regional acceptance. More, Wilson explores the inherent conflict that a traditional African-American family feels between maintaining their culture and heritage while being forced to succumb to the world of the white man. With that said, a close look will be taken into the archetype Wilson utilizes as a commentary to explore and highlight the conflict of the Charles family and their attempt to maintain their African-American heritage and values in a world of Christianity and white man culture. To begin with, throughout the works of August Wilson, the “characters are struggling with and wrestling over their ideas of religion and God” (Rudolph 562). With a subtle twist of his internal commentary, Wilson leads his characters into choosing their African-American heritage and traditional religion over the modernity of Christianity because his works run far deeper than to present a mere play. What Wilson is giving his readers is a true glimpse into the heartache and trauma present when trying to survive in a world that has no understanding of the meaning of retaining heritage and family culture. Where America is the melting pot, traditional values and hundred-year-old customs come to die. Wilson’s words are transcendent and offer for the reader insight into the realm of the actualities of choosing heritage over modern values and the difficulties presented by such a choice. For, to choose heritage over modern values is to isolate both the one and the family from the white man’s world, which seems a backward step for African-Americans as a whole. However, in looking at the big picture that Wilson is presenting, a reader can begin to understand the deep internal conflict that African-Americans deal with, daily, when trying to live in a world that offers values on the extremity of their own. In a way, choosing the white man’s world is giving up, going back to a world where blacks are worth less than whites, where blacks have to give in to the morals and values of the white man to ensure their own survival. And it is in this moment that a reader begins to see the deeper meaning in Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” More, it is a lesson that runs so deep it crosses the boundaries of cultures and legacies. Essentially, “The Piano Lesson” is about an artifact in history, a moment in time where a family is given the choice to choose heritage over a life made easier by the values of the white man. But to do so will be giving up everything their family has ever worked towards, or has ever stood for—freedom and the right to exist; more the right to exist with their own personal values intact. Because, only in this manner is the family truly surviving, anything less is to chip away at what their family heritage represents. However, it would be a simple matter to accept Christianity and the tenets of modern American values because “acceptance of one religion resolves the conflict” (Rudolph 562). But Wilson’s characters are unable to make this move because their history means more than the ease they would feel at finally be free from the choice between heritage and modern values. The antagonist of the play, Boy Willie Charles is obsessed with selling the family’s piano to purchase a plot of land and to raise the family’s financial stake in the world. This represents a major problem for the rest of the Charles family because they believe the piano is the central piece in the family’s religion, that to sell it would represent a sweeping denouncement of the family legacy for a measly parcel of land. Boy Willie’s drive for financial gain is twisted by his need to survive in a modern world overtaking their traditional values and he doesn’t want their family to return to the mindset that the white man has more power over the black man because of his inherent and capability for financial gain. The main conflict of “The Piano Lesson,” then, revolves around the sale of the family’s piano and what the piano means to each character within the play as to their dedication for the family legacy. Wilson’s journey into the supernatural includes the struggle between heritage and religion, of choosing the modern over the traditional. It’s fitting that the antagonist would meet with the ghosts of African-American past because it is he alone that fights with the need to choose modern values over his traditional African-American roots. He is introduced to the ghost of Sutter, the former land owner who enslaved the Charles family ancestors as workers upon the land, the very land that Boy Willie intends to own. In fact, Wilson “illustrates these two polarized religions by creating images that reflect the tenets of African traditional religion and Christianity” (Rudolph 562). The ghost of Sutter being the ultimate in African traditional religion and the literal guardian of the family’s legacy: Berniece, the eldest sister of the Charles family. The dichotomy then, between traditional African-American values and the more Christian tenets of the modern white man. Throughout the play, the Charles family is torn between the past and the present, between the traditional and the modern, as Boy Willie and Berniece fight to maintain ownership of the family piano. Where Boy Willie represents the ultimate in transcending religions for the modern way, Berniece stands strong as the guardian of the past, the mistress of the family legacy, an unyielding force who will retain the family heritage despite the rupture being experienced within the foundations of the family. However, “beneath the diversity within the dramatic framework of the play lies the assertion that the present for black America has been invariably shaped by a history of race-related stolen opportunity and broken relationships” (Boan 263). Ultimately, this is what August Wilson has intended all along: a commentary on the destruction of the African-American culture as they struggle to maintain personal identity in a complex world of modern values and beliefs. The Charles family is the perfect example of how family relationships can be destroyed and tainted by the insertion of modernity when their struggle to maintain a traditional identity is precarious, as is. Where Boy Willie seeks to attain financial gain to aid in his family’s survival in the world of the white man, the rest of the Charles family sees only Boy Willie’s greed and eagerness to shift his belief system to that of Capitalism and Christianity. Because what Boy Willie sees is the easy way out, to give up traditional values for that of modernity is to let go of the past and become an American—and that is not an acceptable choice for a family that intends to retain a strong grasp on the legacy of their past. What Boy Willie is unable to see, at least until he meets with the ghost of Sutter, is that his choices are damaging to the structure of the Charles family. It’s hard enough to be living in a society where they are the minority race, but as they see Boy Willie’s willingness to give up their family heritage, they also see a traitor within their midst. As the family struggles for survival, their eldest child is handing their fate to the enemy; and that is simply not an acceptable choice. Wilson, for his part, leads the reader into understanding the fury of the Charles family as Boy Willie seeks financial gain by selling the family legacy. And it is in this archetypal function that Wilson’s true commentary on the traditional values of the African-American family becomes poignant. Even the action of the play is “driven by conflict over how best to engage history—as iconographically centered mythology, which would celebrate the events of the past, or as a foundation for the present, which would seek to fulfill its promise” (Boan 263). More, what Wilson is offering is a study on the conflict that a traditional African-American family feels between maintaining their culture and heritage while being forced to succumb to the world of the white man. And this study is iconographic in the manner that the Charles family could be literally any African-American family seeking to fit into the world of the white man, be it through choosing heritage over modernity or choosing traditional values over the Christian way of life. More, throughout the play, “the piano becomes a touchstone by which antithetical values about the past may be evaluated” (Boan 263). It is an archetypal symbol of iconic importance, a literal secondary narrator within the play itself. As it stands, the piano is the sacrificial lamb of the family, which Boy Willie sees as his means for financial gain, and the rest of the Charles family sees as their foundation for heritage and traditional values. The “result is that Wilson has redefined the frustration of carrying the burden of the past…into a question of how best to utilize the past” (Boan 263). The Charles family has two options (and these options would essentially be the same whether or not the piano existed, actually) they can either give in to the beliefs and values of the modern world—a world of material means and artificial struggles, or they can maintain their grip on the legacy of their past and honor their ancestors by retaining their traditional African-American values despite the difficulty of such a task in the ever-encroaching world of the modern Christian man. Critics have pondered whether Wilson’s attempt at commentary is “truly representative of the black experience in America” (Perry 65). In truth, only African-American family who has survived the same struggles as the Charles family would know for certain; however, what Wilson offers is a glimpse into the struggle between the dichotomy of past and present, of choosing heritage over modernity. It is for this perspective that “The Piano Lesson,” in its own manner, is as important as the Charles family heritage and legacy. Understanding history through an archetypal discovery is to achieve a comprehension deeper than any history book could provide. What Wilson offers is so much more, it’s the chance for personal discovery through the actions of others, and ultimately, it is the importance of understanding the past when being offered the present. Overall, “The Piano Lesson” by August Wilson offers a commentary on the conflict that African-Americans face between choosing the traditional values of their heritage and past and the Christian and materialistic values of the American white man’s present. This conflict is so extreme that family members are pitted against one another in an effort to re-discover the value inherent within the foundations set by their ancestors. In many ways, Wilson has set up a unique dichotomy for his readers to help define the differences between traditional African-American values and religion and the encroaching nature of American customs and the role that Christianity plays in regional acceptance. More, Wilson explores the inherent conflict that a traditional African-American family feels between maintaining their culture and heritage while being forced to succumb to the world of the white man. After taking a close look into the archetype Wilson utilizes as the foundation for his commentary, the internal conflict of the Charles family and their attempt to maintain their African-American heritage and values in a world of Christianity and white man culture is demonstrated by their personal understanding of the value of the family piano. Works Consulted. Boan, Devon. “Call and Response: Parallel ‘Slave Narrative’ in August Wilson’s ‘The Piano Lesson.’” African American Review 32.2 (1998): 263-279. Print. Perry, Shauneille. “Manhandled: African-American Masculinity-And Black Womanhood-Are Examined in August Wilson’s Oeuvre.” American Theatre Apr. 2005: 64-70. Print. Rudolph, Amanda. “Images of African Traditional Religions and Christianity in Joe Turner’s ‘Come and Gone’ and August Wilson’s ‘The Piano Lesson.’” Journal of Black Studies 33.5 (2003): 562-575. Print. Read More