Ishmael:
Revolution -- The Beatles
"Revolution" by The Beatles directly relates to the narrator's emotions in Ishmael. The lyrics say,
"You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution...
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can."
Ishmael posts an ad in the paper looking for a student, and the narrator is an eager student until he finds out exactly what he is learning, from a gorilla no less. When Ishmael proposes his radical ideas for reforming the world's problems, the narrator is appalled at his lack of humanity. The song is addressed to a person proposing to John Lennon that he take extreme measures to get his point across. He tells them,
"Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right?"
He feels the same way that the narrarator did at the beginning of the book, that if you just let things be they will straighten themselves out. At the end of the novel, the narrator is so brainwashed by Ishmael's opinions that he sees things completely differently. John Lennon is less convinced by the speaker, though, because he states,
"You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head."
He believes in a philosophy similar to Ghandi's, that staying rational and peaceful is a better way to get things across than becoming violent. A different philosophy of letting Mother Culture go and letting the world go on as it should is presented in Ishmael, which the reader must choose whether they believe it is valid.
The Wizard and I -- Idina Menzel (From the musical Wicked)
In Wicked, Elphaba believes that all of her problems stem from the fact that she was born green. Everyone at school says that she is "disgusticified" and they hate her because she is different, taking her roommate Glinda's side and ostracising her. Like our discussion on how we've been culturally brainwashed by race, Elphaba has learned to believe that because she is green, she is bad. She says,
"This weird quirk I've tried
To suppress or hide
Is a talent that could
Help me meet the Wizard
If I make good
So I'll make good"
Both her peers and her family
“No father is not proud of you,
No sister acts ashamed.”
have led her to believe that she is somehow inferior because she is green. This is how people in our culture are led to believe that they are inferior because of the color of their skin. Historically, black people were led to believe that they were somehow inferior because of the color of their skin, and the lighter their skin was, the better they were. This has been since realized to be a complete fabrication, and Elphaba has to realize that what is holding her back is not her green skin, but what connotations she and everyone else place with it, which is exactly what we learned when studying how deep the connotations of race go in our society.
Socialization of Girls:
Fast Cars and Freedom -- Rascal Flatts
Omigod You Guys -- Laura Bell Bundy and the Greek Chorus (from Legally Blonde: The Musical)
This year we learned that in our society, girls are trained to be the ‘damsel in distress’ character. Both the songs I picked perfectly exemplify the training that girls have received to become good wives and mothers who are only fixated on beauty. In “Fast Cars and Freedom,” the singer tries to get across his point to the woman he loves by saying,
“Starin' at you takin' off your makeup
Wondering why you even put it on
I know you think you do but baby you don't need it
Wish that you could see what I see it when it's gone”
He explains to her that she is beautiful without makeup, but she has been conditioned to see someone that is ugly without the mask she puts on. Where this woman is only fixated on beauty, Elle Woods is fixated on more than that. When the girls of Delta Nu hear that she is going to be proposed to by her boyfriend, they offer some friendly advice.
“Daughter of Delta-Nu
Soon to be fiance
Now that a man chose you
Your life begins today
Make him a happy home
Waste not his hard earned wage
And so he does not roam
Strive not to look your age”
She not only must keep up her exterior, but she also must conform to a certain standard of exactly what a good wife is. Elle is obsessed with getting that ring on her finger at all costs, and she takes her sisters' advice until she must go off on her own and realize her own self-worth at Harvard. Then is when she finds out that being herself is perfectly fine, and she does not have to conform to this standard.
Patriarchy:
A Well Respected Man -- The Kinks
In the societies we studied in Social Studies and English, a man is conditioned to be the head of the families and the provider.
“Cause he gets up in the morning,
And he goes to work at nine,
And he comes back home at five-thirty,
Gets the same train every time.
Cause his world is built round punctuality.”
The man in the song is the perfect example of what we learned about patriarchs. Even though in some societies, women contributed more calories to the diet, men were seen as the ones who could make decisions and had to be the ones who were ultimately providing more by bringing home meat. This man has a perfectly punctual schedule that allows him to be safe in his life and provide for his family, just as the historic men we studied did.
Antigone:
Riot -- Three Days Grace
Antigone’s fiery spirit is cause for concern in her time period, where now there are songs written about that same temperament. The song reaches out to anyone who feels like they’ve been passed by and deserve an outlet. Antigone was ignored by her sister when she simply wanted to pay respect to her deceased brother, and she was the only one standing up for that cause. Three Days Grace declares,
“You're not the only one
Refusing to back down
You're not the only one
So get up
Let's start a riot, a riot.”
Antigone refuses to back down, which leads her to be imprisoned and viewed as treasonous. Just because someone has a difference of opinion, they are viewed as going against the grain or being weird. Three Days Grace produces an anthem perfectly written to Antigone’s feelings, because she
“Feel[s] so walked on
So painful so pissed off.”
Antigone has the courage to go out and fight those who are trying to keep her down, which is what this song is about.
Our Town:
Noah's Journey -- Aaron Zigman
This song, which was originally written by Aaron Zigman for The Notebook, was written to show the passing of time in Noah’s life between when Allie leaves and comes back. It works similarly for Our Town, a story about ordinary life. The gradual build at the beginning signifies the beginning of life, and the introduction of strings, piano, brass, and woodwinds while the crescendo builds shows the gradual growing process. At about one minute, there is a rest and then the song starts over, the music soon swelling into another crescendo. The crescendos represent the growth we experience as people, and the rests can be seen as setbacks we encounter. In Our Town, though the characters have different hardships and normal daily lives, they continue to learn and grow. At two minutes, the piano has a solo in minor, which gives the listener the feeling of unhappiness. At three minutes and thirty seconds, the strings are reintroduced, and at four minutes and fifteen seconds there is a rest and the former theme is brought back, but with a different happier feeling. At the end, the piano is reintroduced, with a hopeful sound to its music. The song begins to pick up near the end, just as Emily and George’s lives do when they are married. The crescendo at the end culminates in a chord, which slowly decrescendos out. Emily’s death is the slow decrescendo in Our Town, wrapping up the play very nicely and allowing the reader closure.
The Life of Pi:
East to West -- Casting Crowns
Life of Pi is a book about a boy, Pi Patel, who in the first half of the book, dapples in three different religions. In the second half when he becomes trapped on a boat with a tiger, a hyena, a zebra, and an orangutan, he turns to God for guidance. “East to West” is a song written about the singer’s faith in Jesus’ wisdom, and his struggles with blind faith. Pi had similar doubts when he wondered why God would strand him on a boat in the middle of the ocean with no provisions. The song says,
“Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in.”
Pi’s faith is literally drowned by the storm he is in, and when he turns to God during the worst storm he endured, somehow he was able to make it through. Pi was able to stay motivated to keep on living, even though many others would have completely given up. The singer talks about a similar experience when he cries,
“I need your peace to get me throughTo get me through this night…I'm not holding on to youBut you’re holding on to me.”He thinks that Jesus took the man he once was and transformed him
into a believer, and even when he was most vulnerable God kept faith
in him, which allowed him to keep faith in God. This is exactly what
happened to Pi, because God was watching over him and gave him
Richard Parker to keep him alive.
Romeo and Juliet:
Collide -- Skillet
Faking My Own Suicide -- Relient K
Both of the songs I chose relate to Romeo and Juliet, but one to their struggle and one to their solution. Skillet’s song talks about the point where the lovers realized it was do or die, they had to act or forever wish they had.
“Where do we go from here
When they're tearing down our lives?”
Romeo and Juliet were put into a position where their sneaking around was no longer an option, Romeo had been banished to Mantua and Juliet was set to be married to Paris. They had to make a quick decision on how their lives were going to be, and they chose to be together no matter what. The song states,
“Can we take a chance?
When faith and fear collide
We can make it.”
The lovers had no feasible options left, they had to take their chance and run with it. Their fear for losing their lives had been completely surpassed, because neither wanted to live without the other. If they stuck together, they could make it. Then, Juliet and the friar hatched a plan to bring them together once again, faking Juliet’s death and then letting her steal away with Romeo. Relient K’s song is about faking suicide to get with the one that they love.
“So I've made up my mind
I will pretend
To leave this world behind
And in the end
You'll know I've lied.”
The song is about faking suicide for someone’s attention, but Romeo and Juliet want the same action with opposite results, to distract everyone’s attention and run away. Juliet pretends that she has literally died with grief, but the message that it is all a sham is intercepted and Romeo does not receive it. When he is overcome with grief at the loss of his wife, he goes and buys a potion because he does not want to live without Juliet. The singer says that
“They'll hold a double funeral
Because a part of you will die
Along with me.”
He feels similarly to Romeo and Juliet because they are so in love that when one is gone, the part that they love about themselves dies with them. The singer’s girl does not realize it (yet), but she will feel the same emptiness that Romeo does when the singer dies. When Juliet awakes and finds Romeo dead, that same part dies in her, and she does not feel like there is reason to live on, and she kills herself as well. The girl in the song feels the same way, but thankfully the singer was only faking, and he can come back and tell her his feelings when she has realized her love for him, something Romeo and Juliet cannot do.
Socialization of Boys:
Monster -- Meg and Dia
Take It Like A Man -- Laura Bell Bundy and Christian Borle (from Legally Blonde: The Musical)
We learned about the ‘tough guise’ that men put on because of the pressure to “be a man.” We talked about the wild statistics of men committing more crimes, especially violent crimes.
“That night he caged her.
Bruised and broke her…
Silent Pain.
Then he slowly saw their nightmares were his dreams.”
The man in the song is abusing his girlfriend, but he does not realize how his altered state of mind because of culture’s influence is hurting her. His dreams of being a ‘tough guy’ were slowly turning into the nightmares of the women he hurt. Another way men are forced to conform is the way that they are presented to the public. The men who put up a ‘tough guise’ needed to look the part, taking up dark, baggy clothing and menacing poses to do so. In another instance, such as Legally Blonde, Elle takes her friend Emmett to a department store. He dresses in ratty suits and messy hair, which she says presents the wrong impression to the world. The chorus declares,
“Here you’ll become what you’re supposed to be
You think you can’t but you can.
Think of the guy you want most to be.
Here’s your chance to make it.”
Giving Emmett new clothes makes him a new man, which allows him to assert his power to his boss. When he comes out in his new clothes, Elle says,
“Look at him striking a pose.
HIs confidence grows.
He blooms like a rose.”
Emmett though, is less certain.
“It’s just clothes.”
Elle explains to him that in our society, the way you look on the outside shows people what to think of you as a person. He did not realize before, but when he goes to work dressed in a nice suit and combs his hair, he is taken seriously not only by his boss, but his coworkers and superiors. This view of what’s on the outside counts is exactly what we learned about in both the socialization of girls and the socialization of boys.
End of the Year Reflection:
Shut Up and Smile -- Bowling for Soup
This year has forced me to grow up a lot, and in more ways than one. In middle school, I was able to get by on very little effort because I was smart. In high school though, I am in classes where everyone is smart and the teachers expect a lot more out of us. The transition was rough, being so used to one thing and then being forced into a world where you’re really not that great. I had to learn to do things I had never done before, like study. Balancing school and my life was something I also had to learn to make an equilibrium out of, and the song talks about the way people like to overdramatize things.
“Take a good look around
Does life really suck
Are we just complaining?”
“Love and beer
And old school metal and holiday cheer”
I’ve learned that there is a little bit more to it than that, but in essence they are right. I’ve seen so many of my classmates overstress themselves because they are still grasping at that previous notion of being the best. Learning to not need to be the best, but to be your best is the most important lesson anyone can learn, and if that’s the only thing that high school teaches me I’ll be happy. The only time I’m ever truly disappointed in myself is when I know I didn’t try my hardest to earn my grade, but when I try hard and get a grade, I am perfectly happy with it. (Now I just have to teach my mom that!)
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