Central Park: Serves as a Status Symbol of New York City

Berniece, in contrast, symbolizes a additional staid, respectful African American personality which is god-fearing and maintains enormous respect for her culture, heritage and ancestors. We see this contrast exhibited really early inside the play after Willie Boy arrives after Berniece is asleep and proceeds to loudly make his presence known. Right after several moments of hollering and causing a ruckus despite Doaker's admonitions to the contrary, Berniece enters angry and demanding an end on the noise: "It's five o'clock during the morning and you come in right here with all this noise. You can't arrive like regular folks. You got to bring all that noise with you" (4). This sets up the contrast in their personalities that will be symbolized by their positions on a future with the household "piano."

To Berniece the piano represents a reaffirmation of respect for her ancestors and their struggles. It represents hanging on towards the 1 source of historical and cultural unity that remains in the family. Maretha's playing of the piano symbolizes that she may be the following generation to adopt its music and its burdens. As Berniece emphatically tells Willie Boy, "Money cannot purchase what that piano cost. You can not sell your soul for money" (Wilson 50).

Willie Boy only sees the potential opportunity that will arrive from selling the piano. He is willing to sacrifice its symbolic values to be able to get ahead within the present. He can not realize why Berniece will not allow him sell it

 

to get up. Berniece, in contrast, sees the symbolism inside piano as something that needs to be maintained as both a blessing and a curse. She explains to Willie Boy it is their household history, representing numerous chapters beneficial and adverse that act as novels of their household heritage. The piano symbolizes the pain their ancestors endured ? a prime reason they're now living. As she tells Willie Boy about Mama Ola's sacrifices and nurturing with the piano, she is also alluding for the symbolic value the piano represents, "Mama Olin polished this piano with her tears for seventeen years. For seventeen years she rubbed on it till her hands bled...she rubbed and cleaned and polished and prayed over it...seventeen years' worth of cold nights and an empty bed. For what? In your piano? To your piece of wood?" (Wilson 52). Mama Olin did it for far more and Berniece is aware of this but Willie Boy is willing to sacrifice it to take advantage of opportunities.

We see more symbolism when Willie Boy gives his suite to Lymon, because Lymon will need it for women and jazz-playing each opportunities for him. Willie Boy thinks that dollars may be the key to everything, specifically success. For Berniece, her ethics can not enable her to sell for dollars a piano that human lives have been bought and sold over, a single that her father and she victoriously appropriated. She knows firsthand how much it meant to her parents. The rich owner on the piano, Sutter, allegedly burned a car on the Yellow Dog railroad, killing.

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