Act one

I think there is conflict in their relationship. Both character’s ideology toward the piano (and, by extension, toward their lives and the legacy of slavery they live with) revealed both in stand-alone speeches and in repeated actions and comments. The dialog repeats endlessly, circling around the piano like water toward a drain. Boy Willie wants to sell it. Berniece won’t let him. Repeat. But each iteration pulls the noose in tighter, and the detail and conflict are heightened until blows come at the end of the act.

The conflict over the piano can be boiled down to two representative concepts – the deprivation of African Americans of their past, and the hopelessness of their future. Berniece clings to the one symbol of their history, and Boy Willie strives for a chance at a future, but these goals are mutually exclusive.