In the op-ed “In ‘The Piano Lesson,’ a Family Fight Over an Heirloom Rooted in Slavery” by Ken Jaworowski posted in The New York Times last 26 Jan 2016, the author describes the method of acting by the performers. There are several words and ways that can be used to describe the different aspects of a play, but to be able to do it in an objective manner is not easy. Theatrical performances generally involve emotions, and in writing a review about on, it is difficult to move away from capitalizing on the emotions implied while staying objective about it. In the few rare cases that an author is able to execute it successfully, the result is an interesting combination of a well-organized and factual article that conveys the emotions and facts involved in the play. Although it is difficult to be equally emotional and logical in writing a review of a play, Ken Jaworowaski effectively used logos, pathos, and ethos in his review of the play ‘The Piano Lesson,’ as he was able to anchor his discussion on a clear thesis, gave details about the performance that created images to engage the readers’ emotions and imagination, and demonstrated respect for the multiple viewpoints by using sources in the text.
One of the big themes in the play described in the review was the idea of holding on to the things of the past in favor of what is practical in the present situation. This was an appeal to logic, as in presenting these two conflicting ideas, the author was in essence, inviting for a discussion or critical thinking from the readers, encouraging one to take a stand. To support this claim, Jaworowaski used some lines uttered by the actors in the play itself, such as that of Boy Willie which explains that his idea of selling the piano is what his father would also want because he was to use the money in buying a land. “He spent his whole life farming on somebody else’s land” (as cited in Jaworowaski) reinforces the claim to logic, in such that because of their poor condition before, their parents had to live working for others, but now that he has found a way to change the situation, it will justify his decision to sell the piano. From the viewpoint of a practical person, this decision makes sense, because as an African-American who carries the legacy of poverty and the lack of so many opportunities in life that he inherited from his great-grandparents, this decision makes perfect sense.
The appeal to emotions was presented by citing Berniece’s words as she was arguing against selling the piano with her brother, boy willie. Berniece didn’t want to sell the piano, as it carried so many memories of how their grandparents kept it all those years despite the poverty, death, and theft that surrounded it. The way she described how their grandmother “polished the piano with her tears for 17 years” and how she “rubbed on it till her hands bled” was a great emotional support to the thesis. These images conjure a deep-seated compassion and sympathy to the grandmother who chose the sentimental value attached to the piano instead of turning it into cash that would immensely help their plight in life. Jaworowaski then moves on to describe that even though this was a major theme in the story, the discussion was not limited to it. The author describes how the small actions and nuances of the actors on stage were able to accomplish presenting those other themes. Again, in keeping up with the rhetorical triangle, Jaworowaski starts off with establishing his credibility as a writer, by anchoring his claims about how “funny and frightening” (as cited in Jaworowaski) the play was to the claim that the play won a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1990. This was an interesting prelude to his personal analysis of the play, that it was not just his own idea and opinion about it, but that the claim was backed up by the recognition it received. This claim was then followed by more support, mostly an appeal to the emotions, with Boy Willie’s character portrayed how he was “admirable” despite “his frustration being clear” (as cited in Jaworowaski).
The discussion continued to describe the other characters, every now and then reverting to the real life situation of the actors, such as that of Boy Willie’s who was played by the actor Stephen Tyrone Williams. According to Jaworowaski, his performance was a bit lacking as he “passes up a few choice opportunities underscore his character’s charisma” (Jaworowaski) as he appeared to be “a quiet storm rather than a hurricane” (Jaworowaski). These appeal to emotions was then supported by a factual claim which states that it could be attributed to the fact that he replaced another actor and was only able to rehearse for a few days more than a week before the play’s first preview. Another display of the actor’s use of appeal to logic before the emotion was in the way he discussed Doaker and Wining Boy’s characters, by saying that their perfromances were largely due to their wide range of experience that made them stage veterans. To further prove his claim, Jaworowaski went on to cite one of the main performances that one of the actors participated in. This paragraph greatly embodies the author’s effective employment of the rhetorical triangle, wherein he starts with the logic, which was the reference to the actors’ lengthy years of experience, before moving on the appeal to ethos by citing the actor’s amazing performance in a previous performance which garnedred him a Tony Award. Lastly, in the third bottom angle of the triangle, was the authors’s claim to pathos or emotion, as he describes the actors and their performances as a reflection of how “they are scarred by life but can still feel alive” (Jaworowaski). The combinations of these claims strengthened the author’s thesis, and at the same time illustrates how effective the use of rhetorical triangle is in doing such.
In a nutshell, the op-ed was worth reading because it was able to embody the rhetorical triangle and how effective it can be when used in writing. Jaworowaski provided a review that was rich with his insights, with his factual claims supported his appeal to the readers’ ethos and lastly, pathos. The author was also able to provide a smooth flow in the discussion, and was able to successfull close the essay by bringing it back to the thesis.
Work Cited
Jaworowaski, Ken. ““In ‘The Piano Lesson,’ a Family Fight Over an Heirloom Rooted in
Slavery.” The New York Times. 26 Jan 2016. Web. 20 Apr 2016.
“The Rhetorical Triangle: Understanding and Using Logos, Ethos, and Pathos.” University
Writing Center. Web. 20 Apr 2016.
