Several English classes recently had the opportunity to go and see a performance at the Penumbra Theater in St. Paul. It was a play called The Piano Lesson by August Wilson and it was an interesting experience. The play itself was very intriguing because all the life lessons taught throughout the play. Generally speaking, it was about a woman, Berniece, who had a hand carved piano in her house. To Berniece, the piano had a lot of sentimental value and it was very close to her heart. Her ancestors slaved away and hand carved it just to please their masters. Berniece's father died trying to get that piano back into the family.

On the other hand Berniece's brother, Boy Willie, had a different thought about the piano. He did not see any sentimental value attached to it. His mind was on the money he could make selling the piano. He wanted to sell the piano so he could go and buy himself some land to farm. Boy Willie did not care what his sister felt about the piano; he was going to sell it and that was that. He did not want to compromise with anybody because his mind was set on getting his half of either the piano or the money from the piano once he sold it. In the end, Boy Willie did learn a life long and hard lesson about not being selfish. He also learned to think about others and put their needs first.

Thank You to Katie Lehner for writing this story