Reconstructing Black Identities in August Wilson''s The Piano Lesson

• Main Authors: Meng-fei Chen, 陳孟飛
• Other Authors: Tsui-fen Jiang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/78722598274677553801

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 英國語文研究所 === 91 === This thesis attempts to show how August Wilson deconstructs the white distortion of black history and constructs an authentic black history by writing about the black experience in The Piano Lesson. Wilson explores the old and the new black identities from three significant issues of migration, slavery, and the blues respectively in the play. In order to further explicate the playwright’s arguments on the black subject, Stuart Hall’s idea of postmodern identity serves as a major premise: the subject is composed not of a single, unitary, but of several identities at the same time. Stuart Hall’s idea about cultural identity and diaspora, Paul Gilroy’s elaboration on diaspora, slavery, and black music, Michel Foucault’s theory of counter-memory and the concept of history, and Frantz Fanon’s postcolonial argument are applied to the reading of The Piano Lesson. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One provides a general introduction to the playwright, the play, and the theoretical framework. Chapter Two deals with the issue of black diasporic identity, which is demonstrated in black migration. Boy Willie’s final decision to return home in the South distinguishes him from those who stay in the North. Chapter Three centers on the discussion of black racial identity by scrutinizing the meaning and function of the piano and the ghosts. Boy Willie’s fighting with the white ghost foregrounds Wilson’s concern over black autonomy. Chapter Four explores the relationship between the blues and cultural identity. Berniece’s invocation to her ancestors through playing the piano helps her connect with the past and gain a positive image of self-recognition. Chapter Five is the conclusion which sums up the manifestation of Wilson’s construction of new black identities in the play.