The Piano Lesson Project Analytical Paragraph

During a passage in the drama The Piano Lesson the author uses the motif of splitting something between family members to show how determined Boy Willy is to sell the piano.  Near the beginning of the play Boy Willy arrives at Berniece's house with the intention of selling the family piano to buy himself some land.  Berniece refuses to let him, and later he says to Doaker that "if Berniece don't want to sell that piano I'm gonna cut in half and sell my half" (28).  This concept of owning half an object, like half the family piano, develops over the course of the story and comes up several times.  The inclusion of such a motif in the story emphasizes that sometimes people can get so caught up with their possessions that they forget their value to the family.  Boy Willy is so determined to own his own land, that he is willing to draw distinct lines about what belongs to him, shutting out his family history.