Samples: Song Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Samples: Song Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Assignment: In your groups, please read, thoroughly annotate (strengths, weaknesses, suggestions, and questions), and score (1-9 writing rubric) each of the samples below. Then, on one paper per group, write the score and a brief and well-thought out explanation of why you assigned that score to each of the samples. Turn in ONLY the separate sheet into the appropriate bin (keep the samples for Thursday).

Sample A

Intro: The song “Show Me The Way”(1990), written by Dennis DeYoung from the band Styx claims that if a person is questioning their beliefs and losing their faith, consistent praying and soul searching is essential to regain it. DeYoung draws attention to the necessity of having faith in daily life by exposing his fear of his fading faith, providing reasons as to why he is losing his faith, and evokes emotions of desperation to regain his faith. DeYoung wrote this song as a prayer to rediscover his faith in order to show his audience how essential it is to be steadfast in their beliefs. “Show Me The Way” appeals to audiences with an established religious background that studies the Holy Bible, who are likely struggling with their own faith and beliefs.

First Body ¶: Dennis DeYoung starts off the song by stating a the reasons he feels his faith is slipping from him, then later goes on to explain that the world around him isn’t showing any signs of improvement either. Dennis DeYoung grew up as a devout Catholic- and in Catholicism, members worship the Saints and look up to their example. When DeYoung sings that the “Saints turn into sinners” he is explaining how he feels he can’t look up to or trust his role models anymore like he used to. He also explains that “All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay”. He describes himself realizing that the memories of the people who he looked up to really aren’t good role models anymore, that all they are is memories of what used to be, and this is a result of him maturing. He specifically uses the word “fallen” to indicate that the “heroes and legends” were subject to sin and depravity. He also mentions that the “heroes and legends” fell to “idols of clay”. Symbolically, clay is a substance from which living things are created and turn into once they die and decay. DeYoung intended for this to show how people who were put up on a pedestal and praised by many fell to sin and turned bad, which eventually caused them to ‘die’, or lose their moral/ethical value. Because of this, DeYoung has a hard time knowing who to trust and look up to- and that is a contributing factor to why he feels he is losing his faith. For him, sleep is the only place he can find solace in the world he lives in “I close my eyes and know there’s peace in a world so filled with hatred”. DeYoung’s faith in God improving the world is slowly decaying, as shown through the line, “I wake up each morning and turn on the news to find we’ve so far to go” implying that he feels there is little to no hope of the world becoming a better place any time soon. He adds, “And if I see your light should I believe, tell me how will I know” almost challenging the existence of a God and if there is a God, is he really watching over and trying to help the world. Through his lyrics and the way he sings his song, he seems to be confused that even though “The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion”(Psalm 116:5), that He would allow the world to be “so filled with hatred”. DeYoung says the phrases, “I’ve lost my faith… I just won't know… how will I know… should I believe” and by doing this he shows to the audience how confused he is in terms of what he believes, that he has a hard time trusting anything now because everything he looked to and believed before have let him down. He does this to establish and give reasons why he is losing his faith and sets the stage for what the rest of his song will look like in terms of where he stands with his faith, how he feels about it, and what can be done to regain his faith. [...]

Conclusion: DeYoung was successful in writing this piece in the sense that he gives his listeners something to relate to as they are looking to find out what they believe in for themselves. The message and purpose of the creation of this song is reminiscent of the scripture James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God”. When he talks about the world being a mess and “so filled with hatred”, it can be applied to today’s society, even though the piece was written almost 20 years ago. It can be related to the 9/11 terror attack, the attacks on Paris and Boston, and even the mass shooting in Las Vegas that took place on October 1st of 2017 (yesterday). This song gives hope to anyone listening- that they can find their way back to their religion if they are willing to truly dig deep and search for it. “Show Me The Way” allows its listeners to know that they are not alone in the path of self-discovery/understanding, and that yes, it is a scary feeling to be losing faith in something so deep and important, but it’s okay and a part of the maturing process a person goes through. Yes, the world is in a really bad place right now, and yes, it’s easy to believe that a divine being such as God, or other spiritual beings are not looking out for the world and are neglecting their creation, but this song helps its listeners to go back to their roots and really, genuinely scour their heart and souls to pray for what they need.

Sample B

Introduction: In “Tin Man” (2016), Miranda Lambert argues that the act of loving should be avoided as it will often lead to pain and regret. She supports this message by dismissing the Tin Man’s efforts to feel love and emphasizing the weakness of the heart compared to the strength of metal. Lambert sheds light on the negative consequences of relationships in order to encourage the audience to reject their own feelings and instead shield themselves from the pains of the heart. Lambert presents her warning to those, including herself, who have decided to love and acts as an expert who has become hardened by her own experiences with heartbreak.

First Body ¶: In her conversations with “Mr. Tin Man”, Lambert dismisses the idea of wanting to love again. She does this by personifying the need to love and making allusions to the well known figure Tin Woodman, a character who literally loses his heart, rendering him unable to feel affection for his beloved. The Tin Man, embarking on a journey in an attempt to earn a heart, gained only a placebo one and returned home to find his beloved already married. His journey traveling upon the yellow brick “road” in vain is referenced to exaggerate the hopelessness in trying. The use of Tin Man’s tragic circumstances further justify her caution in freely loving and allows her to draw parallels between her heart “in pieces now” and the lost heart of Tin Man.

Lambert uses Tin Woodman to personify his main characteristic of searching for a heart, warning him of the pain to come and reminding of past woes. By relating disheartening tale of Tin Man to this characteristic, she establishes a tone of misfortune and negativity in her song. [...]

Conclusion: Though Miranda Lambert offers the audience the idea of the Tin Man, who yearns to love, she uses him to counter his beliefs that a heart is an object of great value. While Lambert advises against experiencing grief due to loving, her argument is ineffective as she also conveys the inability of a person to refuse his or her own emotions. Rather than expressing the need to fight against matters of the heart, Lambert details the hopelessness of love.

Sample C

Introduction: In “Changes” (1992), Tupac Shakur argues that the only way for African-Americans to achieve social equality is to unify. Shakur describes the life of African-Americans, highlighting racial injustices committed against them and compares that to the violence between African-Americans which contributes to inequality, calling for tolerance and trust in their communities. Tupac advises African-Americans to control what they can by ending violence and inward division in order to close the gap between races. Shakur gives hope to African-Americans who endure the effects of racism and seek to gain social equality as he did.

First Body ¶: Tupac begins the song by rapping about the oppression African-Americans face in low income areas. He believes the police value African-Americans less than other races, saying that when a cop “kill(s) a ni**a he’s a hero” instead of a murderer. Shakur identifies the police as a cause of racial injustice in society, along with those who congratulate them rather than recognizing the injustice. Those who praise the crime further socially alienate black people in agreeing with the idea of African-Americans being lower-class citizens. Tupac also identifies governments as contributors to the racial divide, claiming that they too classify African-Americans as lower-class citizens. Through diction, he illustrates the government's disregard of them, citing its reluctance to waste funding on African Americans and suggesting that they would “give the crack to the kids” because it would result in “one less hungry mouth on the welfare.” This theme of division between government and people is continued throughout the song as Tupac emphasizes that the problem will not end and that it is the duty of African-Americans to fix their society. Shakur claims the systems has backwards priorities because they are fighting “a war on drugs” instead of “war on poverty.” This sends a message to black people; they are an unwanted burden on society and they feel that they are against rather than protected by their “leaders”. The feeling of abandonment Shakur creates makes the people realize they cannot trust authority to end racial injustice. Tupac suggests that instead of inspiring hate against white people, these injustices should serve as a cause for unification among African-Americans. [...]

Conclusion: Problems presented by disunity and division remain relevant today. Social movements inspired by the want for equality dominate media and influence politics. The idea that unity and understanding solve injustice has been an idea used to fix social problems and an idea forgotten where violence overtakes people. Tupac gave victims of racially motivated social injustice hope that equality can be gained. He examined methods by which people have attempted to reach equality, both successful and ineffective, to built a framework for modern social change.