August Wilson의 The Piano Lesson: 엑소시즘에 의한 통합

Abstract

August Wilson decides to rewrite the African American history written by the white historians. So he has written cycle plays that dealt with African Americans’ experiences of the twentieth century since Emancipation. He reevaluates the choices made by African Americans in the past and suggests their meaning by looking back in African American history. Unlike radical black playwrights he is concerned with the quest for African American identity through the African ritual. Wilson said that he wrote The Piano Lesson in order to change African Americans’ attitudes about the importance of their cultural heritage. The plot of this play is the story of the Charles family and their efforts to exorcise the ghost that haunts the house. The main conflict of this play focuses on the argument and debate over the fate of the piano between Boy Willie and Berniece. But they have their own point of views about the piano, the Charles family’s legacy. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano to purchase his own land in the South. In contrast to Boy Willie, Berniece wants to keep the piano as a monument. Boy Willie and Berniece use their persuasive strategies to win the battle over the piano. But there are limitations in each persuasive strategy. Boy willie overemphasizes the economic value of the piano while Berniece clings to the past. As the conflict deepens, the ghost of Robert Sutter, former slave owner haunts Berniece’s home frequently. To dispel the lingering ghost both Boy Willie and Berniece accept the inherited responsibility of sustaining their legacy. In this respect, the exorcism of Sutter is a metaphor of historical self definition for blacks in America. Wilson regularly insists that African American ancestral voices must be heard. So the lesson of this play is that African American voices and culture must be sustained through spiritual reconciliation.