Education of the next
generation forms a central theme in many of the greatest works of literature, particularly those of
the African-American tradition where the next
generation holds such promise for those oppressed by the historical weight of the present. This paper shows, however, that in the narrative framework of "Youngblood" by John Oliver Killens, Ann Petry's "The Street", as well the play, "The Piano Lesson," it is not only the youth of tomorrow who receives an
education from their wiser elders. The paper shows that, although the older individuals in the play educate the younger members of the family, ultimately, the education in all fictional contexts is holistic, rather than an unbalanced relationship of the old teaching morality to the young.