A Rounded Argument Conventional wisdom has it that negotiation proves to be the driving force for peace of human order. With negotiation comes compromise, which pleasantly results in satisfaction from each standpoint. At the same time that I believe these generalizations, I also believe that before this tranquility can occur arguments must sturdily be assembled. In August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, the Charles family owns a magnificent piano containing their family’s strenuous and heartfelt history by means of its carvings. Berniece and Boy Willie, grown siblings with a tense relationship, cannot agree on whether to sell the piano to fund Boy Willie’s land ownership, or to hold the piano with Berniece. Although Berniece does not say so directly, she apparently assumes that the only way to honor their ancestors is to keep the piano. Boy Willie, however, presents his argument, which supports the selling of the piano, in a more effective manner by swiftly blending the appeals of logos, pathos, and ethos. …show more content…
Initially, Boy Willie more successfully argues for the retail of the piano through his appeal of logos.
Vending of a piano does not appear to hold a surfeit of concern, but the tension between Berniece and Boy Willie roots from their family’s history held within the keyboard’s grandeur engravings. To tilt the argument in favor of his opinion, Boy Willie affirms that God is not making any more land, in which he would buy with the instrument’s profit, but that a new piano is always available for purchase. This logical statement counteracts Berniece’s wishes, displaying the limits of Boy Willie’s practical desires and the opportunity-filled eternity for Berniece’s. These restrictions placed on Boy Willie’s wishes provide an urge for his side. Berniece’s quarrel for keeping the piano blatantly lacks logic, as she practically argues that the piano shall position in her living room
forever. Additionally, Boy Willie proves that selling the piano is more necessary than retaining the piano through his expression of pathos. Although Berniece speaks of the emotional family history the piano holds within its structure, Boy Willie makes a heartbreaking statement: Dad would never have suffered if he had owned personal land. Of course, the piano symbolizes the hardships of the Charles family’s ancestors; however, these ancestors would value land over their piano if they were still living. Boy Willie and Berniece’s dad would have rejoiced to obtain land, thus, the best way to honor his legacy and their family’s perseverance is to purchase land and live their unfulfilled dreams, rather than consistently evoke the hurt of their family’s past struggles. Lastly, Boy Willie creates a stronger standpoint in his and Berniece’s feud by formulating an appeal of ethos. Berniece simply concludes that the piano will remain in her home, attempting no compromise with her brother. Boy Willie, however, provides a benefit for Berniece within his stance, as he promises to split the piano’s profit. This portrays Boy Willie and his argument as equally respectable, while Berniece only exudes a stubborn personality. Boy Willie creates the most valuable argument in his and Berniece’s discord over the piano through his direct and operative use of logos, pathos, and ethos. While Boy Willie rounds out his argument, Berniece truly only brings pathos to the table, leaving minute logic or credibility to enforce her case. Each of Boy Willie’s three appeals, referencing the limit of the land, their dad’s hopes, and the compromise to split the profit, performed together to positively promote his stance. This versatile charm and influence proves Boy Willie’s care for the selling of the piano, as his heart and thought put forth into the situation are exposed.
Billy Jo finds some of her hope when she can by playing her mother’s piano. The piano is a big part because it was a way Billy Jo and her mother connected. The piano was a wedding gift from Billy Jo’s father. She learns to play at a young age with her mother she describes it as “heaven” (page 22). But there is a time where that seems to line up in a time where Billy Jo was sad when she could not play the piano because of her hurt hands. This old dust filled piano has segmental value to Billy
In this novel, The Piano Lesson, we learn that some characters are doing their best to leave their mark on the world. A main character, Boy Willie, continually attempts to do so. For instance, he says, “I got to mark my passing on the road. Just like you write on a tree, ‘Boy Willie was here.’” By this, he means that he wants to make sure the world knows that he was here, and that he left something behind. Just as his grandfather carved beautiful, intricate designs into the piano and left it for his family, Boy Willie wants to do something similar. For example, he wants to buy Sutter’s land and make it nice for generations to come. Ironically, Boy Willie wants to sell his grandfather’s statement in order to make his own.
The Piano Lesson written by August Wilson is a work that struggles to suggest how best African Americans can handle their heritage and how they can best put their history to use. This problem is important to the development of theme throughout the work and is fueled by the two key players of the drama: Berniece and Boy Willie. These siblings, who begin with opposing views on what to do with a precious family heirloom, although both protagonists in the drama, serve akin to foils of one another. Their similarities and differences help the audience to understand each individual more fully and to comprehend the theme that one must find balance between deserting and preserving the past in order to pursue the future, that both too greatly honoring or too greatly guarding the past can ruin opportunities in the present and the future.
In Tobias Wolff’s 1985 short story “The Rich Brother,” we are introduced to two brothers. According to Wolf, you cannot even tell that they are brothers because of their physical differences, but as the story goes into more detail we can tell that they are different in every aspect. One of the major differences is that one is wealthy and the other is always in need of financial assistance. The older brother, Pete, is a successful real estate agent while his younger brother, Donald, works as a painter whenever he can. The two brothers are very different in their belief about what is valuable. Pete is a man that has worked hard and values what he has acquired. His brother Donald, on the other hand, values sharing whatever he has. Even if giving everything he has leaves him with nothing.
The narrator allows Sonny to move into his apartment. By allowing Sonny to live with him he has allowed to trust him again. For example, the narrator explains, “The idea of searching Sonny’s room made me still. I scarcely dared to admit to myself what I’d be searching for. I didn’t know what I’d do if I found it. Or if I didn’t” (pg. 91). This shows how the narrator had the opportunity to search his brother’s room, but had the ability not to. Tension grew among brothers while living under one roof. This starts the climax of both arguing in the apartment. The narrator doesn’t understand why his brother wants to be a musician. This argument was built of emotion both had and not yet discussed among each other. Such as the narrator expressing his anger towards his brother’s drug use and Sonny’s frustration towards the narrator not understanding his plan to become a jazz musician. For example, the narrator states, “I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence – so long! – when he had needed human speech to help him” (pg.94). The argument with his brother made him realize that he abandon his younger brother when he needed him the most. He realized that if he would have spoken out and talk about his drug use that he wouldn’t have to go
not only a family but a society. In a play riddled with greed, manipulation and dishonesty,
The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.
In the Piano Lesson the main symbol is the piano in Berniece’s home. The piano has a lot of meaning behind it and has been through a lot. This piano has made it all the way from the South to the North, which wasn’t easy. Berniece brought the piano miles from where it was because it meant so much to her. The carvings on this piano are magnificent they represent all of her ancestors. The blood and sweat that were put into making this piano means so much more than just something you play is amazing: “ Willie Boy carved all this. He got a picture of his mama… Mamma Esther… and his daddy, Boy Charles. He got all kinds of things that happened with our family” (1183). Instead of carving what Sutter asked he made the whole piano about the history of his family. After the carving was done, the piano became a monument to his family’s
Wilson demonstrates how one should accept and respect the past, move on with their life or slow down to pay respects to their family?s history, by describing the struggle over a symbolic object representing the past like the piano. Often people will sulk in the past and struggle with themselves and the people around them when they cannot come to terms with their personal history or a loss. Others will blatantly ignore their personal history and sell valuable lessons and pieces of it for a quick buck to advance their own lives. Berniece and Boy Willie in The Piano Lesson are great examples of these people. Through these contrasting characters and supernatural occurrences, Wilson tells the tale of overcoming and embracing a rough and unsettling family history.
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, tells a story of a family haunted by the pain of their past and their struggle to find peace to move forward. The story begins with character Boy Willie coming up from the south visiting his sister Bernice. Boy Willie introduces the idea of selling the family’s heirloom, a piano, to raise enough money to buy the land on which his ancestors were enslaved. However, both Boy Willie and his sister Berniece own half a half of the piano and she refuses to let Boy Willie sell it. Through the use of symbolism, Wilson uses his characters, the piano and the family’s situation to provide his intended audience with the lesson of exorcising our past in order to move forward in our lives. Our past will always be a part of our lives, but it does not limit or determine where we can go, what we can do, or who we can become.
Lochhead, Carolyn. A Legacy of the Unforeseen. 2006. Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader. By Annette T. Rottenberg and Donna Haisty. Winchell. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 706-10. Print.
Do you ever have one of those days when you remember your parents taking away all of your baseball cards or all of your comic books because you got a bad grade in one of your classes? You feel a little depressed and your priced possession has been stolen. This event is the same as August Wilson’s, The Piano Lesson. The story is about a sibling rivalry, Boy Willie Charles against Berniece Charles, regarding an antique, family inherited piano. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano in order to buy the same Mississippi land that his family had worked as slaves. However, Berniece, who has the piano, declines Boy Willie’s request to sell the piano because it is a reminder of the history that is their family heritage. She believes that the piano is more consequential than “hard cash” Boy Willie wants. Based on this idea, one might consider that Berniece is more ethical than Boy Willie.
The quote also highlights the delusional qualities in Frederick as he truly believes that she is his “guest” and emphasises his obsessive nature – “that was all I cared about.”. Similarly, the male antagonist in The Piano, Stewart, exerts control over Ada. Campion uses Stewarts axe to symbolise his very physical and literal sense of control. This symbolic meaning of the axe is further enhanced when Flora delivers a forbidden message to him. A close up depicts Stewart gripping the act tightly and holds it poised, symbolising that he holds power, and is about to use it. Stewart uses this deadly symbol of his power and asserts his control over Ada. He uses the axe to hack away at her piano, symbolising his breaking of her will, and continues to destroy her possessions whilst shouting ‘“I trusted you!”’, reinforcing the idea that every aspect of Ada’s life is under Stewarts
One of mankind’s most primordial instincts is to attain power and authority. In the past, power was achieved through fear, but as humans progressed they created money, a symbol of power. Henrick Ibsen, the author of A Doll’s House, was born in 1828 to a rich family, but soon lost their social status as his family went bankrupt. Ibsen soon learned that money played a huge role in society, especially in Norway. On the other hand Dürrenmatt, author of The Visit, held a pessimistic vision of the post-war Europe and the general corruptibility of justice. Both authors imprinted their previously held views into their own corresponding literature. Regardless, both plays utilize money as a motif for vengeance and control. The motif conveys effects like altering people’s opinions, changing the power hierarchy of a society and destroying a person’s reputation. The effect leads to the creation of a society based on corruption because money controls the society rather than ethics. Ibsen and Dürrenmatt feel that conveying this message to the masses is detrimental because ethics rather than money should be the basis of a utilitarian society.
The beginning of the play starts with a soft, sweet, flute medley that announces Willy’s gradual trek home from Yonkers. This slow tune of confusion ends abruptly as Willy comes home and tells of his troubles in Yonkers. This sentimental sound is heard once more during Ben’s first visit to Willy’s house. His story of father and his flute-making business sets a warm tone only to be wrecked by Ben’s action of throwing Biff, a young, curious boy, to the ground, helplessly. The final performance of this tune is heard at Willy’s sad funeral, where Linda pays her respects to her well-liked husband. Ending on a sad note, the flute appears in time of odd emotions. In the beginning of the play, a state of confu...