11-29-10 The Piano Lesson

Wow, Lymon is a pretty nice guy. Compared to Boy Willie, he seems to care about the women he consorts with. Lymon may be quiet, but he really is quite thoughtful. It is rather strange that Lymon kisses Berniece. He seems to be flirting with her, but not being rude or to much to the point. Lymon claims to want to settle down and live a peaceful life with a women that returns the love he would give. I really like Lymon, this scene revealed quite a bit about his personality. Its rather sad the sheriff is out looking for him, it makes it hard to settle down when people are hunting you down.

Comment on Olivia's Blog:
I agree with your comment on abstinence. I think that people were a lot more straightforward and open about their feelings. Avery is quite the example. Trying to marry Berniece so intently and all.

11-28-10 The Piano Lesson

First off, Avery is quite annoying. If Berniece does not want to get married, then leave her alone!

Well then again, Avery's reasons for marrying Berniece are two sided. On one hand, he wants to help Berniece, but on the other hand he thinks that he needs to marry because it fits the image of a good preacher. Really, I am not too sure about Avery's true motives. Berniece is shoving away almost all of Avery's attempts, but one line piqued my curiosity. She mentioned that she would talk to Avery after he obtained his church. I interpret her reasons for saying this in two ways:
1. For her and Maretha's own benefit
2. Maybe she agrees with Avery but is not ready to accept it yet.

Well here is my opinion:
1. Avery a very open character, and isn't afraid to speak his mind
2. Berniece is really stuck in the past, and keeps dwelling on Crawley and where to put the blame.

Commment on Blake's Blog:
"I also thought that Berniece seems very persistent in keeping the Piano but not using it ever."

Nice mention of that. It is one of the big reasons Boy Willie wants to sell the piano!

11-22-10 The Piano Lesson

Lymon and Boy Willie seem to be getting along quite well selling their watermelons. Wining Boy seems rather strange, selling his silk suit for only 4 dollars compared to the 5 that he was so insistent on getting. By now, Sutters Ghost is pretty much confirmed by multiple characters, and we discovered that even Doaker has seen the ghost. The most interesting discovery was the fact that Sutter was playing the piano and even called out Boy Willie's name. Why would Sutter call out his specific name unless he wanted something from Boy Willie? Sutter playing the piano gives me the impression that he liked the piano, and was angry that is was stolen.

Comment on Autumn's block
Wining Boy seems to have made the bigger deal here. I can relate this to Sutter's descendant trying to sell the land to Boy Willie. One side might just get the better deal, and in both cases, family connections and good deals are mentioned.

11-21-10 The Piano Lesson

We learned about Boy Willie's and Berniece's reasoning concerning the fate of the piano. Boy Willie claims that the piano is a gift from his father to help the family get the financial head start needed to grow prosperous. He sees this as a gift his father did not have, and as something that should not go to waste. He claims that he is only taking the piano because Berniece is letting it go to waste, and that he has equal rights to it. He claims that since Berniece is not making a living using the piano, she did not need it. Berniece on the other hand, believes in the sentimental and historical value of the piano. She believes that the piano symbolizes the family struggle, and refuses to let it go. It really is quite a difficult decision to make, and it will be interesting to see the rest of the story progress.

Comment on Trevor's Blog:
I think Berniece is being quite unfair concerning where to put the blame. I like what you said about Sutter's ghost not at ease because of the piano. There is even mention of his ghost in the story!

11-18-10 The Piano Lesson

Today I learned more about the history of the piano, and why Berniece did not want to sell it. It has history in the family, and Berniece wants to keep that history intact. Boy Willie on the other hand, doesn't care about the history. He would very much rather throw it away and look towards the future. These two outlooks reflect their personalities. Berniece is glum and mourns constantly, while Boy Willie works hard to make a better future. This also brought to light the significance of the play's title:
"The Piano Lesson". I now interpret it in two ways:
1. A literal piano lesson between teacher and student
2. A life lesson that the piano is going to teach the characters in the book.

Comment on Cassondra 's blog:
Those hobos can possibly be linked to Avery's dream. He believes that his job as preacher is to guide and protect. I think the Ghost of the Yellow dog really is just a myth to ease the fear that there might actually be a murderer somewhere.

11-17-10 The Piano Lesson

One of the things that puzzled me was whether or not Lymon and Boy Willie really attained their watermelons and truck legally. They sounded to be quite the dubious characters, and Berniece seems quite wary around Boy Willie. Lymon puts me at ease a bit considering how quiet he is, but most of Boy Willie's dialogue makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. The last line where Boy Willie mentions that he was willing to cut the piano in half to sell it, gives me the impression of distress and maybe desperation. This line also gives off the air of determination in Boy Willie's character. He doesn't sound like one to give up, and I doubt he will throughout the rest of the play.

Comment on Alec Malnati's Blog:
I also think it is rather strange that a ghost was mentioned. Maybe Berniece really did see something. If she did, then this book just got a supernatural theme to it that bends reality a little. If she was lying, then I agree that she was probably trying to scare Boy Willie away. Personally, I find the first possibility more interesting.

11-16-10 The Piano Lesson

One of the first things that really irked me about this book was the purposeful grammatical mistakes in the characters dialog. Just reading what they spoke out loud gave me enough information to infer that this story takes place in the South. The family tree we created in class also made things a little easier to analyze. Boy Willie seems to be the total opposite of his sister. He is cocky, loud and rude, whereas Berniece is quiet and seems to enjoy the peace better. This contrast in a brother/sister relationship can lead to some interesting situations, and I expect there to be one sooner or later in the book.

Commented on Harrison Le's blog:
I agreed. When I wrote my first impression the language also struck me pretty hard. The thing that gave away the race of some of the characters, was the usage of the word "nigger". A crude label, but it described a person clearly.

11-1-10

Yay for a new month!

Anyway, the first thing I tabbed was on page 275. It was after reading the letter from Msimangu. There is a mention of the sky and clouds, and how Kumalo expects rain to come. This excerpt also comes directly after he reads Absalom's final letter. I tabbed this because I thought of the rain to be a symbol of sadness, and the thunder to be the fear tangled in this mess.

The second thing I tabbed was on page 279. Alan Paton uses personification to make the land a character, where he compares the red earth to the blood of the earth. Again, this is more proof that the author intended to make the land a character. I believe the blood symbolizes death; specifically the death of Arthur Jarvis. This excerpt also comes right after Jarvis leaves Kumalo's church, giving me more reason to believe this.