The Piano Lesson Journal 8

In Act Two Scene Two, August Wilson uses internal conflict to convey that people must maintain a balance between learning from and accepting the past and moving on to live in the present, in order to be content.  At this point in the play, Berniece has been arguing with Boy Willie about the piano and dealing with Sutter’s ghost.  Avery has come to tell her about his progress in getting a church as well as to making another marriage proposal.  Berniece becomes angry when Avery pushes the subject and after arguing says “Everybody telling me I can’t be a woman unless I got a man,” so Avery asks how long she is going to cling to the memory of Crawley (67).  Here Berniece has plenty going on in her life; her past is coming back to haunt her with Boy Willie trying to take the piano, and a flood of bitter memories about Crawley’s death that she has never accepted or even confronted.  Berniece does not feel sure of herself when everyone in her family thinks she should get married.  She is fighting to be strong as an individual and not make the statement, that she “can’t be a woman unless [she] got a man,” a reality.  On the other hand, Berniece is afraid to start another relationship in her life for fear that she will lose her connection with Crawley, therefore losing her link with her past.  The past is a certain, without any surprises, and Berniece fears taking an unknown step into the future.