Who Is Tommy Wrong '?

Introduction

The introduction of this story tells us about the protagonist Tommy and how he was known as a coward by everyone around him since he never stood up for himself. We later learn that this is because he is haunted by the last words that his father said to him before he died in prison. After the father passes away Tommy’s uncle, who is also the narrator, takes care of him. In the line “Something always told me they were reading Tommy wrong” we learn that the uncle suspects that Tommy isn’t as “yellow” as everyone thinks. This foreshadows the climax and hints at the conflict in the song. We get a sense that the song takes place in a small county because everyone around him calls him by a nickname and something like that would only

In this portion of the song you can see Tommy’s internal conflict as he holds his Dad’s picture and cries. We can see that Tommy’s first reaction is to fight the person who hurt Becky; however, the last words that his father said to him advised him not to do things such as that. Tommy is realizing for the first time that you can’t always turn the other cheek, and that some things you need to fight for. This internal conflict inside of Tommy builds anticipation for the climax by once again leaving the listener wondering what he is going to do, being that he has lived his life by his father’s last words, yet on the other hand the woman he loves has been seriously hurt, and surely you can’t walk away from

The protagonist, Tommy, is thought of as yellow by everyone in the county. He gained this reputation by following his father’s advice and walking away from trouble when possible. This was the last piece of advice that Tommy’s father gave him before he died in prison. All of these events in Tommy’s life are quite sad and depressing on their own, so when compiled together into one song they all help to create a sad and depressing atmosphere; however, the atmosphere isn’t all sad, at times we get a hopeful emotion from this song, such as when Tommy’s father says “Son, my life is over, but yours has just begun”. This line turns the horrible situation of Tommy’s father dying into one where we see hope that Tommy can turn out to be a good man and not end up like his Dad. This sense of hope carries on through the middle of the song when Tommy finds love with Becky. The sad and depressing atmosphere also carries on, especially when the tragic event of Becky being raped by the Gatlin boys occurs. The attack on Becky leads to a real sense of anger and frustration in Tommy that the reader shares. After the climax when Tommy fights the Gatlin boys, the sadness and depression still remain yet the reader as well as Tommy feels a sense of triumph and satisfaction, because Tommy found some form of