The Piano Lesson

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is the American Dream? How do you think the American Dream might have looked for Black Americans in the decades after slavery was abolished? How did they build lives for themselves? What kind of obstacles did they face?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will likely come to this topic with varying degrees of information and misinformation. You might consider asking this as a prompt for a class discussion to gauge their knowledge and then sharing or teaching the following links to give them a foundation to understand the world of the play. This question addresses the theme Generational Inheritance and the Black American Dream.

• This article by the History Channel explains Jim Crow laws from slavery to the civil rights era, including the discrimination that Black Americans faced while trying to build their lives post-emancipation.
• This 13-minute video on the Great Migration from Crash Course Black American History gives an overview of the historical context that informs the characters’ lives, although it is never explicitly mentioned in the play. The Charles family came to Pittsburgh as part of the Great Migration, and this video helps explain why so many Black Americans moved north and why someone like Boy Willie might have resisted the promise of the North in hopes of buying land in the South.

2. The play takes place during the Great Depression. How do you think the Depression affected Black Americans differently from white Americans?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will likely have some understanding of the Great Depression in general, and they may be able to guess that conditions would be more difficult for Black Americans than white Americans. It might be helpful to mesh this conversation with the one about the Great Migration, as the two events intersect.

• This article from the Library of Congress discusses issues of race during the Great Depression, including original documents from the period. There are also links to more articles about the Depression and the period as a whole.
• Although the play doesn’t mention the Great Depression specifically, it is certainly important context for any group of people living in the United States in 1936. This 12-minute video from Crash Course Black American History offers information about how the Depression affected Black Americans in specific ways. There are many more videos in this series that are helpful and informative when talking about Black American history.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the play.

What is something that belongs to you that has more sentimental value than monetary worth? Why is it so special? What would you be willing to sell or trade it for, and why?

Teaching Suggestion: In the play, the piano has great significance for Berniece and her entire family. Boy Willie wants to sell it to obtain land that also would have great significance to the Charles family. Having students consider something that is similarly significant and special to them might help them understand the two main characters. You might consider having them do a brief freewriting exercise in class and allowing those who want to share to do so.

Differentiation Suggestion: For theater students or students who would benefit from an additional challenge, consider that in the play, Berniece must fight and remain stubborn about keeping the piano, delivering several arguments about its significance. You might have students read those arguments (particularly Act I, Scene 2, pages 53-54) and discuss her tactics and stakes. Students can then write monologues about their own special belongings under the imaginary stakes that someone with equal rights to possession wants to take it for a good reason.