Bruce Springsteen wrote the “Born to Run” Album in order to depict the struggles that Americans were facing that the time. The song “Night”depicts the hardship the working American faces every day and his purpose of the song focuses on reassuring the listeners that everything will be alright if they let themselves be free at night. He portrays his message through appealing to pathos as well as using repetition to emphasize the everyday struggles. In his song “Night”, he not only utilizes the literary device of the second person to create a stronger connection to the listener, but he sings about the dreaded work day and how a person’s only freedoms occur when they are driving through the night. Many Americans in the 1970s had jobs that they …show more content…
did not enjoy leading him to be able to connect to the listener with the lyrics, “ you get up every morning at the sound of the bell/ you get to work late and the boss man’s giving you hell” (Night 4). Springsteen understands the frustrating feelings that many Americans had towards their jobs and he utilizes this in order to create a sense of understanding within the song. This understanding appeals to a person’s pathos because they connect to the situations he references within the songs. Once the work day ended, many Americans desired freedom from the oppressing work day. He relates to this desired freedom as well through the lyrics, “You work nine to five and somehow you survive till the night” (Night 4). During the 1970’s many Americans were caught up in the feeling that their work was useless and America was failing, leading to many Americans to dread going to work every morning, as their daily tasks restrict them from experiencing any freedom. The night time was truly the only time the average American had to themselves, making Springsteen’s lyrics attracting to listeners as these feelings portrayed throughout the songs are an emotion they can relate to. Bruce Springsteen applies the rhetorical strategy of repetition in this song lyrics to engrave his ideas into the listener's mind, which helps them understand the message and importance of the song.
He uses the rhetorical strategy of anaphora as well as polysyndeton in his song “Night” as he repeats the word “and” at the start of multiple lines. This repetition gives the feeling that too many things are going on at once leading to chaos and stress. The listener gets submerged with everything going on as “it feels right as you lock up the house/and the world is busting at its seams/and [they are] a prisoner of their own dreams/ and she’s so pretty that [they’re] lost in the star/ and [they] sit at the light until it changes to green” (Night 4). This song exemplifies the dreaded work days and the hope for freedom at night. The repetition of the word “”and” gives an overwhelming and anxious feeling during the song intentionally, so that the listener can understand the stressful experience that Springsteen wants to portray as the purpose of the song. He also utilizes the rhetorical strategy of analepsis to emphasize on the fact that everything will be okay once the night comes and takes all the stress away. He wants the reassure the listener that “it’ll be right, it’ll be right, and it’ll be tonight” (Night 4). Through the use of analepsis, he stresses that one can escape the tortures of the workdays and truly be free if they allow themselves to. One cannot experience true
bliss until they release the pressures that build up inside a person throughout the course of a day, and in order for one to relieve their built up pressure one needs to allow themselves to escape and experience freedom. The song “Night” depicts the feelings of an average American during the 1970s and the struggles they face. By relating the song to the listener’s pathos and using the strategy of repetition, he is able to connect to the song’s listeners. This connection led to the song’s success and the miraculous success of the “Born to Run Album”.
Elie Wiesel and his family were forced from their home in Hungary into the concentration camps of the Holocaust. At a young age, Wiesel witnessed unimaginable experiences that scarred him for life. These events greatly affected his life and his writings as he found the need to inform the world about the Holocaust and its connections to the current society. The horrors of the Holocaust changed the life of Elie Wiesel because he was personally connected to the historical event as a Jewish prisoner, greatly influencing his award-winning novel Night.
Night is a story about young Eliezer who had to face the ugly side of war and hatred. A topic that is commonly seen in this book people dehumanizing other people. In this case it would be the Nazis dehumanizing Jewish people.
For example, the metaphor; “Every breaths a gift, the first one to the last” (28). The use of this metaphor is to treat every day and breathing moment of your life as a gift. Therefore, your life should not be taken for granted and it is precious. Another poetic device is this lyric, “I believe that days go slow and years go fast” (27), this line is a form of paradox. This form of poetry is used to explain how the long days contradict the fast years and to cherish them. Life goes by in the blink of an eye, and it could have been wasted by regret, not making amends with people once trusted (forgiveness), and holding resentment. In addition, assonance is used frequently, for example, “I believe most people are good” (7) uses o’s is to elongate the sentence and create a slurred, calm feeling when the chorus is sung. Euphony is used in the lyric; “I believe them streets of gold are worth the work” (14), which creates a harmonious tone. The similar words “worth and work” sound the same so the sentence flows better together creating harmony. Finally, there is rhyming in most of the verses’, one of the examples is; “I believe we gotta forgive and make amends” (3), with “ ‘Cause nobody gets a second chance to make new old friends” (4). The rhyming of “amends and friends” aide the verse to become catchy which helps listeners enjoy the
The section in the novel night that painted a dark and angry picture of human nature is when the Jews were fleeing Buna and hundreds of them were packed in a roofless cattle car. The Jews were only provided with a blanket that soon became soaked by the snowfall. They spent days in the bitter cold temperatures and all they ate was snow. For these reasons, many suffered and died. When they stopped in German towns, the people stared at that cattle cars filled with soulless bodies. “They would stop and look at [the Jews] without surprise.” It was a regular occasion for the German people to see suffering Jews and not feel pity. The dark and angry picture of human nature was when a German worker “took a piece of bread out of his bag and threw it
In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, humanity is a theme seen throughout. Humanity can be defined in many ways. It can be the disposition to do good, or it can be the human race. In the Night, the theme of humanity is the disposition to do good. In the book, Elie loses and finds his humanity. At the end, he holds on to his humanity, but loses some of it after events like his father’s death. Elie succeeds in retaining his humanity because he holds on to his father, he feels sympathy for people at the camps, and he keeps faith. Elie retains his humanity in the end even though he loses it in the middle of the book.
American singer-songwriter and folk musician Bob Dylan describes in his autobiography, as well as his life and music in general, the ambiguity of folk songs and their ability to be openly shared, interpreted, and even fabricated, and he believes that human nature is such that we are most comfortable with this opacity. The work of African American artist Kara Walker reinforces this belief, and applies it to history with the exploration of cultural ideas regarding race, sexuality, identity, gender roles, repression, and violence.
Night by Elie Wiesel is a horrific story based on the true events of his torturous Holocaust experiences from 1944 to 1945. He suffered greatly. This book is full of tragic and painstaking memories. Even though Wiesel describes his adversity, his brave actions still show through and that is what makes this story monumental.
The word “night” can be defined literally as ten hours of a 24-hour day that is dark, or metaphorically connoted as a time of evil and sadness. In the memoir Night, composed by Elie Wiesel, readers learn about a negative correlation to the period of time when light no longer appears. Wiesel leaves “a legacy of words” (vii) to ensure the past will never occur again. He explains the story without emoting and describes the events experienced by hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust. Night is a metaphor which refers to the darkness in lives, minds, and souls, and symbolizes lost hope, isolation, and transformation.
Many people don’t care about something or an issue until it happens directly to them or to their loved ones. Even if it were nations becoming alienated, they wouldn’t want to go near the problem or the unfairness and instead, they choose to runaway. Elie Wiesel addresses this problem in a short paragraph by saying: “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere…. Action is the only remedy to indifference, the most insidious danger of all.” Elie Wiesel asserts that the world community is responsible to interfere when acts such as mass murder or genocide occur. He says that “silence encourages the tormentor” and “indifference is the most insidious danger of all”. One must speak out against oppression so there can be a difference. When one remains silent and doesn’t act, they are encouraging the person responsible for the genocide, not the victim. Thus, at times when one thinks that they are just being neutral, this neutrality invites more oppression, and even worse, if one were to have a whole nation with this type of mindset. That is why I agree to Elie Wiesel’s contention about standing up against oppression.
“In a dark time, the eye begins to see…” When analyzed literally, this quote appears to contradict itself. After all, doesn’t darkness impair vision? However, when applied to Elie Wiesel’s Night, this paradox certainly rings true. It implies that in times of despair, humans often view life in a different light. Sheathed in darkness, the truth becomes illuminated. In Night, the Jews’ “dark time” entails being stripped of their freedom, rights, family, food, shelter, religion, and identity. With the loss of each of these precious possessions, the Jews begin to recognize the worth of such elements. Wistfully, they realize that these belongings should not be taken for granted, that they are truly priceless. As stated by Elie on page 23,“Our eyes were opened. Too late.”
...orgettable. Research shows that “There’s this unifying force that comes from the music and we don’t get that from other things.”(Landau) Bruce Springsteen is a great storyteller and has captured some of the experiences of the American working class. Even when the lyrics are dark or the subject matter is depressing, he manages to provide hope, too. For as long as I can remember, my mother has been playing Springsteen’s music. When I hear a song of his now, it reminds me of driving down the road with the windows down belting out a song with my mom. As Dave Marsh from Creem Magazine prophetically wrote in 1975, “Springsteen’s music is often strange because is has an almost traditional sense of beauty, an inkling of the awe you can feel when, say, first falling in love or finally discovering that the magic in the music is also in you.” (Bruce Springsteen Biography 2)
Some people are born to become legends, Bruce Springsteen is one of them. From the second he was born and through his younger years everyone knew he was destined for something bigger than a regular nine to five life, they just didn’t realize the magnitude of what was to come. Born into a all around food middle-class family, no on in that house hold even Bruce, didn’t realize that within fifty years he would reach living legend status. Also have a title of one of the best musicians to every live. After working hard at what he loves, Bruce has become known as a musical hero and inspiration to his fans and fellow musicians. With his deep lyrics, amazing stage presence, incredible guitar skills, and his passion, he is an untouchable force in the music industry. Using his lyrics to vent his emotions and past, but to also add awareness to social issues around the world. Bruce and his love for music affected him his whole life, and has shaped into what he is today. His music now affects the world. His music has truly changed the world (musically and socially) forever.
Night is a memoir written by Elie Wiesel, a young Jewish boy, who tells of his experiences during the Holocaust. Elie is a deeply religious boy whose favorite activities are studying the Talmud and spending time at the Temple with his spiritual mentor, Moshe the Beadle. At an early age, Elie has a naive, yet strong faith in God. But this faith is tested when the Nazi's moves him from his small town.
One of the elements implemented by Springsteen is the way he tells the story of the murders through Starkweather’s perspective. By using Starkweather as the speaker, Springsteen is forced to assume the role as a dark and highly troubled human being. He sings about the events of the grisly murders and his impending execution in an unemotional and passionless tone. This makes the song even more chilling, as his tone is supposed to represent the lack of emotion felt by Starkweather. Springsteen also makes usage of metaphors throughout the song. He mentions a “great void” which could represent multiple things. The void could be Hell, or the void could be the emptiness that Starkweather finds in this life. I believe that it is meant to represent the nothingness in this life that some people feel exists when they reach adulthood. For Starkweather, all hopes and dreams of his childhood have been extinguished. There is nothing left for him to live for, creating a bitter rage against reality and all who live in
From the first stanza of this song, you get put into a scene. You know almost immediately that it is about someone, and it is the middle of December, but without stating the obvious, it paints a more illustrated picture for you. The first line states, “A winters day, in a deep and dark December” and I could almost immediately feel a cool breeze around me. When I normally think of a winter’s day, I think of people playing in the snow, and having a good time. This may be because I grew up in Southern California where there has been a lack of snow, but in my head, that is what I imagine. Having them state, in a deep and dark December, turns my attitudes to the more pessimistic way of looking at things. The image of children playing in the snow in my head has now turned to cold and dark emptiness. Reinstating my idea of emptiness, the next line follows with the simply statement, “I am alone”. Personally, I hate being alone. So to have the opening words place us in a deep and dark setting, and then state that you are alone, automatically puts me in a negative mindset.