The Piano Lesson Rules and Order Quotes

Notice, that both Berniece and Doaker suspect Boy Willie and Lymon of stealing. Berniece figures they stole the truck, while Doaker thinks they stole the watermelons. Neither one thinks the two could've gotten a hold of a truck load of watermelons legally. Boy Willie and Lymon deny these accusations, but the play allows us to remain suspicious. In some ways, the top of the play seems to set Boy Willie and Lymon up as representing those who live outside of the law, while Doaker and Berniece live within it.

Boy Willie and Lymon both spent time in prison together, which helps explain why Berniece and Doaker assume that they stole the truckload of watermelons. They both do have a history of stealing. Note that neither one of them seems ashamed of this in any way. They don't feel like they've done anything wrong. Whatever they've stolen, they felt like it was their right to take.

What do you think about this? Is it right to disobey a law, if you think it's wrong? Most laws are put in place to keep society running smoothly. If we broke whatever law we wanted whenever we wanted to, society would be totally chaotic. On the other hand, there are many laws that have been overturned. For example, the Jim Crow laws which once segregated the South and stripped black people of their rights have been abolished. How do we as individuals decide whether a law is just or not?

Boy Willie doesn't seem to have any moral problems with stealing. Here, though, he does seem to draw the line at murder. This line supports the idea that he's innocent of killing Sutter.

Hmmm, we have to wonder what the difference is between stealing something and "keeping a little bit on the side." What do you think? Is there a distinction here? Or is Boy Willie just dancing around the fact that he and Lymon were stealing wood.

What do you think about this? Legally, the piano was definitely Sutter's. Boy Charles, Wining Boy, and Doaker would all be convicted of stealing in a court of law. However, the piano wasn't bought with money; it was traded for the lives of their grandmother and father. It was literally bought with their family. On top of that, their family history is carved into the piano. So, was it theft for them to take the piano from Sutter's house? Or was it them reclaiming something that was rightfully theirs?

Doaker is the authority around here; his house is his kingdom and he makes the laws. Even though he wants to get rid of the piano, he won't let Boy Willie take it out of respect for Berniece. We think it's pretty ironic here that Doaker is keeping the piano from being taken out of a house, when back in the day he helped take it out of Sutter's home.

During the 1930s you could definitely say that white people had "the power of death" over black people. Many places in the South were under the influence of the Ku Klux Klan. This white supremacist organization was responsible for the brutal murders of countless African Americans over the years. The vast majority of these murders were ignored or even supported by the law of the land. When Boy Willie says that he has "the power of death" too, he's rebelling against this brutality. If the Klan came to his door they'd know that he's willing to go just as far as they are.

Berniece calls on the power of her ancestors to banish Sutter's ghost. It's through this brave act that she restores order to her house.