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Yaz’s Steinway grand piano is both a literal and physical representation of the life she has built for herself after leaving the barrio. It is the instrument she uses to express herself and compose her music, as well as an expensive, luxurious indulgence that represents just how successful she has become in her adulthood. Yaz’s decision to sell the piano in order to buy Mami Ginny’s house at the end of the play embodies the transformation of character that she undergoes, as she is willing to sacrifice the individual aspirations for which she worked so hard in order to become the new head of her family. The acquisition and requisition of this piano, then, come to signify Yaz’s transition from being ashamed of her Puerto Rican heritage to being proud of her identity and committed to her family and community.
Yaz’s Piano Quotes in Water by the Spoonful
The Water by the Spoonful quotes below all refer to the symbol of Yaz’s Piano. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Scene Fifteen
Quotes
YAZ: I’m the elder now. I stay home. I hold down the fort.
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Yaz’s Piano Symbol Timeline in Water by the Spoonful
The timeline below shows where the symbol Yaz’s Piano appears in Water by the Spoonful. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Scene Five
Yaz feels guilty about this, since she has college degrees and a seventeen-thousand-dollar piano with a mortgage on it. While she was married to William, he would tell her...
(full context)
Scene Fifteen
...at how it could’ve sold so fast until Yaz reveals that she sold her Steinway piano and bought the house herself. She’s moving back to the barrio, renovating Ginny’s house, and...
(full context)
