The Piano Lesson Journal 6

    When Avery comes to talk to Berniece, we see someone who wants to help Berniece and is standing up to her.  This is a first; Avery seems to be the only person that really cares about Berniece and is really kind and respectful.  In Act 2 Scene 2, Avery draws attention to Berniece's inability to move past her husband's death and let other people into her life.  "'Life is more than making it from one day to another.  You gonna look up one day and it's all gonna be past you.  Life's gonna be gone out of your hands--there won't be enough to make nothing with,'" is a portion of what Avery tells her (68).  Berniece is just trying to make it through her life and she's bringing the past along with her because she's bitter and not accepting.  She seems to like Avery, but at the rate she's going she will never be ready for a relationship.  Although you can learn from the past, Berniece needs to understand that you can't concentrate only on the past and keep trying to move forward at the same time.

Comment:

winden said...

I wonder if Maretha enjoys playing the piano or if she only plays it for Berniece, like Berniece only played it for her mother. I agree that Berniece has a lot of memories connected to the piano and could think of Crawley when she hears it. I feel like Berniece's trouble that she is having is because she can't separate the good memories from all the bad that are connected with the piano.

November 25, 2010 3:43 PM