Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Boy Willie Piano Lesson - 1,113 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

... and requires good actors. It seems that Wilson put much effort into the meticulous characterization of each personality. The meticulous characterization of each personality sets this play apart from many other plays. The beauty of this play is the audience gets to learn the background of each character within the first scene. Therefore, the audience understands each character at the beginning of the play and can worry about other more important aspects of the plot.

Characters who serve no purpose at all are Maretha, Avery, Wining Boy, and Grace. The more important characters of the play are Doaker, Boy Willie, Lymon, and Berniece. Boy Willies character is a thirty year old man who is a sweet talker able to be a little child in a grown ups body. He is about the most intolerable person in the world and seems to never stop talking. However, without Boy Willie this would be the worst play ever. Open the door, n Its me Boy Willie! (Wilson, 1) Boy Willies constant outbursts and can do attitude keep the audiences attention.

A few jokes about a three-hundred-pound man are all that is needed to get the laughs necessary to earn the attention of the audience. His crazy ideas add to the comedic edge of the play. For some reason, Boy Willies plan to sell watermelons from a dilapidated truck and then sell a piano which he seems to have no way of obtaining, sounds like enough to keep the audience in tact. The devotee to Boy Willie is Lymon. Lymon is twenty-nine and resembles the character of Silent Bob in Jay and Silent Bob parodies.

As the name states, Silent Bob was a silent man. Whenever Silent Bob did talk, much like Lymon, it was clear-cut and often charming. Together, Boy Willie and Lymon act as a team and struggle to accomplish their goals, no matter who they have to step on. Despite Berniece's innocent protagonist appearance, she was much like Boy Willie. She was just as loud and obnoxious and just as stubborn as Boy Willie. The only difference between the two was that Berniece carried a gun to make sure Boy Willie did not take her piano.

She was Boy Willies sister, and her husband had been killed by his own idiocy. The only catch was that Berniece blamed the death of her husband on the irresponsibility of Boy Willie. as if her small fists and incantatory wails might somehow halt the revenge fueled cycle of violence that killed her father and her husband and their fathers before them (Rich, Online) Berniece's touching performance and love for her husband reached for the hearts of her viewers. Doaker was a man of wisdom. Doaker was a tall, thin man of forty-seven, with severe features, who has for all intents and purposes retired from the world. (Wilson, 1) He served as the mediator for the conflicts between Boy Willie and Berniece. He is most of the time quiet and is not part of any conversations between Boy Willie and Berniece except as the mediator.

He stays out of every fight. He also revealed the history of the piano, in Act one Scene two, and why Berniece carries such a great bond with it. Doaker is the narrator who actually speaks in the play. All of the other characters in The Piano Lesson are entirely unimportant. Wining Boy does nothing but repeat what Doaker has said, except as a drunk. Maretha has less than ten lines and might as well be scratched from the play.

And Avery and Grace are just people that the audience does not learn enough about to even remember. One topic that has gone unanswered is if there is any hidden meaning to the play. Obviously the piano must symbolize something, but what? The piano symbolizes the trophy, or monument, which represents the struggles of the Charles family's forefathers. Also there is some hint that one should not run away from their troubles.

When Berniece refuses to face her fears and refuses to ever touch her piano to remember her past, Sutter's ghost begins to appear. It is only when she decides to stand up to her fears that the ghost vanishes. On the contrary, is Berniece really facing her fears? At the end of Act Two Scene five, the falling actions of the play, Berniece repeatedly asks for help from her ancestors. BERNIECE: (Singing. ) I want you to help me I want you to help me I want you to help me I want you to help me I want you to help me I want you to help me Mama Berniece I want you to help me Mama Esther I want you to help me Papa Boy Charles I want you to help me Mama Ola I want you to help me (Wilson, 107) If she requires the aid of others for help, supernatural or not, she did not overcome and face her fear, she has merely become a child who fears of the dark but gets through with the aid of a night light. If Berniece is the child than Boy Willie is the hero, or adult.

Boy Willie was not afraid of his fears, he faced Sutter valiantly. Therefore, Berniece, after the disappearance of Sutter, has become the child switching places with the role of Boy Willie. Boy Willie then acts as the adult and allows Berniece to win her sissy-fit and keep the piano. Despite the juxtaposition of characters, one can only think that only a person with too much time would think up such buffoonery as Berniece being a child and Boy Willie being the adult. The truth is that Berniece has strived to fight the evils of life and Boy Willie has been deterred from his goal by Berniece. The hidden message behind the play is that running from fears can only lead to more fear.

Until a person confronts their fears, that person is doomed. The Piano Lesson in addition to being a comedy, drama, thriller, and a mystery has added to its list the morals of fables. The Piano Lesson is a great play. August Wilson includes many techniques to make this a great play.

Wilson outlines the lives of the Charles family in such detail. He puts even more detail into the characters within the play. In addition, this play challenges the human mind with puzzles, it keeps people on the edge of their seats, it beguiles the savage breast, and it tickles the viewers funny bones. More importantly this play keeps the audiences attention. A few jokes about a three-hundred-pound man are all that is necessary to keep the audiences attention.


Free research essays on topics related to: audiences attention, boy willie, berniece, three hundred, piano lesson

Research essay sample on Boy Willie Piano Lesson

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com