The Piano Lesson

The Piano Lesson Summary | Act 1, Scene 1, Part 1 Summary

Very early in the morning before sunrise, Boy Willie and his friend Lymon arrive at the home of Boy Willie's uncle Doaker and sister Berniece. Boy Willie shouts for Doaker and Berniece to come and meet them. Doaker comes out of his bedroom, asking what's going on. Boy Willie tells him that he and Lymon have come north with a truckload of watermelons to sell. Berniece comes downstairs and tells Boy Willie to stop shouting. Boy Willie tells her about the truck and the watermelons, and then asks Doaker to break out his liquor, since they've all got something to celebrate. He says a man called Sutter fell down his well, pushed by the "Ghosts of the Yellow Dog."

While Doaker is out getting his liquor, Berniece asks Boy Willie and Lymon where the truck came from. They tell her that they were cutting some wood on Sutter's land and using it to haul the wood away. They also reveal that Lymon is sleeping in the truck, since the sheriff is after him. As Doaker comes back, Berniece tells them that she thinks Lymon has done something wrong. She wants them out of her house so she doesn't get into trouble with the law. She goes back upstairs, telling them again to be quiet so they won't wake up her daughter, Maretha. Boy Willie says he wants to see Maretha and shouts up to her, but Berniece tells him to be quiet, saying that Maretha has got to go to school in the morning.

When Berniece is gone Boy Willie asks about Wining Boy, Doaker's brother. Doaker says he stopped by for a visit a short while ago, and isn't likely to be back soon. Lymon comments on the piano in the living room, and Boy Willie tells him how it's been in the family for years, how his mother polished it every day, and how he wants Berniece to sell it. He tells Doaker about his plan to take the money from the sale of the watermelons and the piano and buy Sutter's land, saying that he's already made a down payment. Doaker tells him that Berniece is never going to sell the piano. Boy Willie answers that he'll be able to talk her into it and tells Doaker in some detail about how Sutter's brother has decided he's the right person to get the land. Doaker tells him about an old friend of theirs named Avery who is now a preacher, and how he tried without success to get Berniece to sell the piano to a musical instrument dealer. Boy Willie says that he's got as much right to sell it as she does since it's actually half his.

Berniece shouts for Doaker from upstairs. Boy Willie, Doaker and Lymon run up to see what she's upset about, and she tells them that she's just seen Sutter's ghost. Boy Willie says she's imagining things and should just go back to bed, but Doaker gets her to tell them what she saw. She says she saw Sutter in a blue suit, standing there holding the top of his head as though it was going to fall off, and calling Boy Willie's name. She says that means that Boy Willie pushed him down the well. Boy Willie says that's ridiculous, and Lymon says again that Sutter was killed by the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog. Berniece says that she wants Boy Willie to leave, adding that whenever he comes to visit he brings trouble. She refers to the death of her husband Crawley, but Boy Willie says that Crawley was a grown man and that he had nothing to do with his death. He adds that if Sutter was there he was looking for the piano and that Berniece should sell it so she can be rid of him. Berniece tells him to hurry up and sell his watermelons so he can leave, then goes upstairs with Doaker to wake up Maretha and get her ready for school. When Berniece and Doaker have gone upstairs, Lymon and Boy Willie talk again about how Lymon is planning to stay up north and Boy Willie is planning to go back south and farm Sutter's land.