August Wilson’s play, The Piano Lesson, uses the
element of the supernatural throughout as a way to connect the characters to
their past, especially their ancestors. It is never questioned that the ghost
of Sutter is a real presence felt by all in the play. It is also wholly
believable that the ancestors of the family come back when Berniece plays the
piano. Another ghostly entity which features prominently in The Piano Lesson is
The Ghost of Yellow Dog. This ghost is believed to have pushed several white
landowners down their own wells to their deaths. While this works well in the
play, the argument can be made that Sutter was not killed by the Ghost of
Yellow Dog but rather by Boy Willie. There are several evidentiary clues that
support this claim.
The first clue is that Boy Willie wanted Sutter’s land
which gave him ample motive to push Sutter down the well. With Sutter out of
the picture, Boy Willie can claim the land his family served as slaves.
The next clue after motive for the crime is that Boy
Willie is a naturally violent person who has already committed crimes in the
past. He spent time in prison and thinks it is acceptable behavior to steal. Boy
Willie admits that when his dog died and he was upset, he killed a cat for
revenge. It is obviously in Boy Willie’s nature to kill and he even quotes the
Bible’s well known credo of “an eye for an eye”. He wants revenge against
Sutter for what his ancestors did in the past.
Another fact that eludes to Boy Willie having murdered
Sutter is that the ghost of Sutter comes after Boy Willie. When the ghost of
Sutter shows up, he asks for Boy Willie and in the end the two have a scuffle.
If Sutter had been killed by the Ghost of Yellow Dog then Sutter would not
search for Boy Willie. It is extremely relevant to this argument the fact that
Sutter seems to have no desire in communicating with the other members of the
family. He only wants Boy Willie. It is
also important to note that none of the other people killed by the Ghost of
Yellow Dog are haunting the family in the play which points to the fact that
there is no connection between them and Boy Willie whereas Sutter searches for
Boy Willie.
Some may argue that Boy Willie could not have pushed
Sutter down the well because Boy Willie said he could not have pushed the 300
pound man down a well, but it is important to keep in mind that Lymon may have
helped because he is also of questionable moral character. Whether Lymon helped
commit the crime or whether Boy Willie used her anger and adrenaline to do the
deed, it is still within the believability of the story that Boy Willie killed
Sutter due to his motives, tendency towards violence, and what he stands to
gain from Sutter’s death.
Just a quick correction and I will get into my post. They are the GhostS of the Yellow Dog: Boy Charles and three hobos.
ReplyDeleteYou state that it is in Boy Willie's nature to kill. However, he swear fervently that he had never killed a man. Yes, admittedly he did kill a cat. But he also came to terms with that in an usual way. When he killed the cat he felt like he had a power over death. He was not longer scared of it, nor the white man. I think that is what we should really take from his admittance of the murder. By causing death he put himself on a pedestal of his own creation. A white man, the white man, killed his father. The white man had the power to kill, and, thus, was higher than Boy Willie. Once Boy Willie realized that he had the power, too, he knew that we and the white men were equals. I do not think that this act of violence played a part in Sutter's death. After all, no one really doubts the existence of the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog. And only Berniece thinks that Boy Willie might have killed Sutter. The other characters give testament to the many others that the ghosts have killed, so it is possible that Boy Willie is not the murderer. Though, if we go along with the revenge discussion we had in class, killing Sutter could all be part of Boy Willie's dastardly plan.
My name is Amanda Corkum. I agree with what you have written here. I do believe that it was in Boy Willie's nature to kill. Boy Willie demonstrated this when he took the power of God in his hands and killed his cat; he discovered that he had power over life and death. Also, throughout the play Boy Willie continuously mentions the Yellow Dog ghost and people being pushed into the well, followed by a quick "but it wasn't me". Towards the end of the novel Boy Willie explains to Maretha about the Yellow Dog ghost and what the ghost did to a bunch of white men by pushing them into their wells. During his talk to her Boy Willie also says "It's hard to fall down a well. You got to be leaning way over" (Wilson 85). I thought this was proof enough that Boy Willie was the culprit behind Sutter's death. This would also explain why Sutter's ghost asked only for Boy Willie. Sutter's family had a connection with Berniece, Boy Willie, Lymon, Doaker, and Winning Boy but I found it odd that Sutter only asked for Boy Willie.
ReplyDeleteI am still waivering as to who killed Suuter and the others in the well, but, the evidence you compiled from the reading is compelling when read altogether. Also, the fact that it was Boy Wille and Bernice's father who was killed by Sutter and his men, adding just another reason for the killing. It is peculiar though, that we do not hear about any of the other men who were killed by being pushed down their wells, coming back to haunt Boy Willie or any of his family. It is possible that they do not have the personal vendetta Sutter does based on the Charles/Sutter family history.
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement here and totally fall into the camp of people that think Boy Willie is a murderer. Yes, there is mention that people had died at the hands of the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog long before the "Boy" part of Boy Willie's name became ironic, but I think that this was a unspoken cultural euphemism to cover up the actions of any of the warm-blooded still living individuals that committed the revenge killings. I believe that Boy Willie only killed once. Unfortunately, once was more than enough to cause a phantom to start asking for him by name.
ReplyDeleteI think too that Boy Willie even comes extremely close to openly confessing to the murder. He talks on page 91 of the text about how his father used to stare at his hands and just farmed with them for other people when they could do...ANYTHING. He comes out and says "All I got is these hands. Unless I go out here and kill me somebody and take what they got..."