Surviving Trauma and Magical Realism in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson

This paper explores the elements of magical realism in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and how the play attempts to address and overcome individual and collective trauma of African American slavery on the individuals who suffered under it. Generations of violence create the trauma in The Piano Lesson, and its presence is especially evident through the character Berniece and how she responds to the piano, a family heirloom. The existence of a ghost in The Piano Lesson forces Berniece to face the tragic family history and achieve a reconciliation with the past. As a conclusion, this paper argues that Wilson uses magical realism in The Piano Lesson is used as a literary device to emphasize the reality and impact of trauma, and demonstrate survival from trauma by re-narrating personal history.