A Working Class Hero

After listening to the song, I can automatically tell what the message of the song is that Lennon is portraying, and that is world peace. Lennon does an amazing job establishing his credibility in this song, thus creating credibility within his audience, credibility is part of Ethos. Throughout his musical career right up until his death in 1980, Lennon was heavily involved in peace activities. During his musical career he was part of the world famous Beatles, and this gained him world fame and allowed for his messages to be heard across the world. Lennon created even more Ethos for himself in a controversial album, where he posed naked with his wife, Yoko Ono, in there bed. This showed his fan base and the world that he was truly devoted to peace and love. Without his famous involvement in the Beatles, Lennon would never have gained his spotlight in the world allowing for his messages of peace and love to be heard. His ethos was within his people, not where he got his ideas. Lennon felt what the world felt, and thus his credibility.

The truth is that in America the rich are privileged and the poor are oppressed. Unlike Paine’s ideals, most celebrities live extremely privileged and lavish lives. Will Smith has been excessively famous for most of his life, from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at age twenty-two to Men In Black at age forty-four. With his immense fame he currently makes ten times more money starring in one movie than the average American makes in a

First and probably most important is that the song was written by a union member in support of

Jackson embedded numerous themes without the biography. One of those major themes was social status within the African American community. Throughout the book the author discusses the leaders

The novel, “The Working Poor” by David K. Shipler gives us an inside look into the lives of the lower class and he explores exactly what it means to do hard, exhausting but honest work in America. The working poor are working people whose incomes fall below the poverty line. While poverty is often associated with joblessness, a significant proportion of the poor are actually employed. Shipler teaches us that just because you have finally become employed does not mean that most or all of your worries are over, often times they are increased. Largely because they are earning such low wages, the working poor face numerous obstacles that make it difficult for many of them to find and keep a job, save up money, and maintain a sense of self-worth. Shipler did an amazing job bringing light to the “forgotten America”.

In this essay I will be critically analysing and evaluating ‘The Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers album in relation to their associated genre, their lyrics, their musical creativity, their social and political context, their overall impact on music and popular culture and

Jesse Jackson’s core beliefs and his relevance in history are vital within the understanding of the Civil Rights movement and the equality between races. In his Democratic Speech Jackson stated “My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised. They are restless and seek relief. They've voted in record numbers. They have invested faith, hope and trust that they have in us. The Democratic Party must send them a signal that we care. I pledge my best to not let them down.” Jesse Jackson publicly shared his ideas and opinions on politics and the American government. Jackson’s ideas and his outputs into the world made history and gave the African Americans hope for their future and to get the equality they so desperately deserved.

Poverty and downward mobility are unfortunately not the only problems striking the American working class. It is fact that some jobs are simply not needed anymore. That of the laborer is just depleting. Some might even call it a “dying breed” (LaFevre 1) Mike LaFevre is part of the working class that labors day in and

There have been many people, known as artists, who have tried to change the world through their art. “Art” can be paintings, music, dances, sculptures, literature, or photography. There are many ways to communicate and express ones feelings but The Beatles did it through their popular music. Although they didn’t focus on changing the world of politics or try to protest through their music they have songs that focus on those exact two things.

The 1960’s in America was often referred to as an age of protest because of not only the social protests that have taken place, but also for the upbringing of protest music, which became very popular during that era. The roots of protest music were largely from folk music of American musicians during 1950’. Folk musicians, such as Joe Hill, composed labor union protest songs and distributed song booklets, hoping to “fan the flames of discontent.” (Rodnitzky pg. 6) Symbolically, this meant that the songs, the fan, would reduce the uncontrollable social protests that the United States government caused with the misleading information that they did not keep their word on, or the flames of discontent. Other folk musicians, such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, traveled around the United States spreading their “message music” and becoming involved in political movements. Guthrie and Seeger were the pioneers of protest music, bringing their folk music to New York City and merging it with urban music. Woody’s songs were about the masses, often identifying problems and offering solutions. While Seeger was cautious about referring to his music as folk music, preferring the term “people’s music,” meaning that not everyone may had the same thoughts, but they all expressed it in their own unique musical sense. For both Woody and Seeger, folk music was a necessity in these protests, when the needs

The British invasion began with the popularization of the rock group “The Beatles”. Their fame created an open door for other rock groups from england to make their debut in America. Although more intense, the music from the british invasion, and music influenced by it, also reflected the peace loving counterculture that was incorporated in folk music. Songs like “Revolution” by The Beatles and “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones clearly express the concerns that the public had for their own safety during war times. “Revolution” is about exactly what you would expect with the lyrics “We all want to change the world / But when you talk about destruction / Don't you know that you can count me out.” These lyrics, and akin lyrics found throughout this popular rock age, pushed many people to realize that it is better to be pacifist and fight anger with peace, rather than put american lives in jeopardy. Not only did these tunes reflect popular sentiment, they educated people on the importance of unity over segregation and

With the economic decline and availability of jobs with upward movement, a culture of youths formed in Britain that challenged the ideals and cultural norms of the generations that came before them. A consistent movement from traditional society through youth subcultures brings light through the eyes of the musicians that describe their generation’s feelings of homelessness in an era filled with unemployment, low wages, and violence. The insurgence of the counterculture movement, poor economic conditions, and the commercialization of previous Rock and Roll music in Britain directly led to the punk subculture because it allowed youths to speak up about their conditions and frustrations through an easily understood and accessible medium while maintaining a different stance than their predecessors.

Lennon sarcastically sings "a working class hero is something to be." He criticizes the systems that make the working class life unpleasant. For example, he takes aim at the educational system that drains the creativity from students and pressures them to go into the work force as their only means of salvation. These sentiments

Influences of the Beat Movement can be noted in the next phase of American History: Hippie counter-culture of the 1960s. The Beat Generation was an important political catalyst for those minorities that had no voice. The “beatniks” of the movement were seen as a threat by those Americans that lived in the typical suburbs of American who tried to raise their children in morally upright ways (Silesky, 81).

Social criticism examines literature in the cultural, economic, and political context in which it is written or received. Keeping this definition in mind, it is necessary to understand the political, cultural and economic environment in which Lennon the above famous words.