Comparing Music In A Room With A View And Never Let Me Go

When the opening track from Taylor Swift’s album 1989 blares through my room my whole body electrifies with sound of pure creativity. The album cover is showered with Swift’s recognizable handwriting over a polaroid showing a timeless sweatshirt, most likely from the 80’s. Inside is filled with Swift’s crisp voice singing brilliantly written hooks about everything from love to insecurities to finding yourself in a world that has already defined you.In 1989, Swift somehow found a way to take her creativity to the next level, and since my brain tends to be a creative mess with ideas bubbling through constantly I fell in love with the uniqueness that flows from the speakers when I plug in 1989. As a creative person myself, listening to something

“For the Sake of the Song” and “Song of Myself” share several key similarities, including a strong use of figurative language, making a connection with humanity, and both are considered romantic poems. Walt Whitman’s poetry contains much figurative language and connections between individuals and how they relate to the whole of society. Walt Whitman and Townes Van Zandt both seem pretty okay with death, as they talk about dying in their writings a lot and they both seem pretty nonchalant about it. In “For the Sake of the Song” you can find metaphor, personification, assonance, and many more forms of figurative language throughout the piece.

In one of the first scenes of the book, at the party, Brent uncomfortably stands at the drink table listening to music with his headphones (Fleischman 11). Isolated from the rest of the crowd, Brent finds solace in his music and finds that it gives him the courage to talk to other people and socialize. This innocent affinity to music suddenly vanishes when the high school boy unintentionally takes the life of another human being. Referring to Brent’s state of being after the accident, Fleischman writes, “He ate little, spoke little, and no longer listened to music. He turned seventeen, an event he scarcely noticed. He heard his parents whisper about the blow to his head and his personality change” (35). Exposure to the cruelty of the real world brings about Brent’s severe personality shift and indifference towards music. Because the accident prompts Brent to stop enjoying music, he will always equate the two things with each other. Music forces Brent to dwell on the events of the past and refuses to allow him to move on. Describing Brent’s attempt in making his first whirligig, Fleischman writes, “He sat down. He decided to do without the wing. The figure could simply be a harp player. The harp was full sized, the sort you'd find in an orchestra. Lea had played in an orchestra. He wondered what her instrument was” (51). Brent affiliates music with his accidental killing of Lea, an unfortunate event of the past. He even begins to ponder about the specifics of Lea’s musical life. Once again, music prevents Brent from moving on and living his present life.

The novel is able to share how music is of great importance and is able to affect people’s moods and thoughts.

If I stay, which is an outstanding novel written by Gayle Forman, was published in 2009 and is an emotionally gripping story. The most interesting part of the novel starts with Mia’s life after the accident. The readers also learn about her life before the tragedy with the help of plentiful flashbacks. She recalls her colorful and vibrant family members so vividly that they could easily step off the page and break the hearts of the readers. Furthermore, her remembrances also highlight her passion for music and romance with her boyfriend. Moreover, the readers will find the entire novel very interesting and inspiring and will also find the climax of the novel very satisfying. The story revolves around seventeen year old Mia, who finds herself dealing with the aftermath of a terrible car accident which killed her entire family. During the coma, Mia goes through an out-of-the-body experience and observes all her friends and family that gather at the hospital. The memory of Mia flashes before her and she debates about whether or not she should wake up and face the grief of losing her family or, if she should die. Before summarizing the story, it is pertinent that the main characters of the story should be discussed briefly.

The meaning of life is defined by a measure of excitement and enlightenment. Music is way of finding this enlightenment which is translated to vibrations causing a flowing of body movements. Later, these body movements cause us to dance, forgetting of the environment around us and putting us in our own little world where we can find purpose. This is the purpose we can decide to choose. In the poem Atrophy written by Julia Copus, the author shows the veracity of individuals who constrict themselves, leading their capability of find a meaningful life dissipated. Julia depicts this effect when we “sit alone” “at the edge of the open floor,”. Without any aspiration, individuals will fall in the “open floor” which will progressively lead our internal demise. Individuals have the power to devise a meaningful life, if such individuals do not take into consideration of what makes them purposeful, they will be disconnected in their own sense of life.

The students constantly have to create art to show that they are not less than humans. Tommy tells Kathy, “Miss Emily told Roy that things like pictures, poetry, and all that kind of stuff, she said they revealed what you were like inside. She said they revealed your soul” (175). The significance of this quotation shows that art is the soul. The soul is like a painting that can be constantly changed or added on.

Michael Gow's play, "Away" expresses the idea of going through changes and receiving help from people around you. The key characters of the play experiences change and renewal as a result of their relationships with others ad the summer vacation. Coral and Gwen is two characters that undergo the most changes throughout the trip. Coral manage to moved on from her's son death while Gwen changed from a snobby person to a person who is more understandable. Tom is one of the critical character that help Coral and Gwen realised their issues and surpasses it. The play showed lives of people and their own struggle during the 60s and how they overcome it.

However, Edna admires Mademoiselle Reisz and longs to have the same adventurous and carefree lifestyle of her. The music and life of Mademoiselle inspires Edna. Each time Mademoiselle plays, Edna is moved and brought to tears but the freedom and passion of the music. The music aroused the very passions “within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body (page 26).” Mademoiselle Reisz foils the type of person Edna aspires to be. After seeing the freedom within Mademoiselle Reisz, Edna feels empowered to make a change.

In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” music becomes equivalent to the effect of a character. For example, music was in the background, at all time, and it was one of the only ways that Connie could escape from her life. The place where they listen to music is referred to as “the sacred building” (2) because of how music dramatically affects that generation. The function of music throughout this story is that it is used as a way to gain trust and understanding. Arnold Friend exploits Connie’s intimate connection to capture her inner conscience.

Victor Hugo once said, “music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” Music can greatly influence a person, from the way they speak to the way they act. However, not all music can be considered a good influence and many adolescents waste away their youth by thinking, doing, and pursuing things that are more mature. Things such as seeking sexual attention, doing drugs, drinking, or hanging out in rough areas. These things are usually done because the child was hurt in some way, whether it be emotionally, mentally, or physically. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, Joyce Carol Oates creates a fictional character, Connie, who illustrates a

The character openly feels empathy for his daughter, and near the middle of the piece the character seems to feel helpless as he describes the way his daughter “seemed to crave a companion, or an activity that would lift her spirits.” He soon discovers musical therapy as that exact activity and it gives him a feeling of hope. He has a way now to open a channel where she can express herself through music “in a way that she cannot express-has never been able to express-in

The painting hanging on her wall are more than just a reflection of the past. The paintings symbolize her inability to recognize Lucy’s pain. The relationship between the two girls is limited by an invisible social constraint. Lois has an idealized perception of Lucy’s. She holds Lucy in such high regard, that she is unable to recognize lLucy’s pain. This was a crippling social construct between the two friends. Lucy enjoyed bragging about her life and she loved the attention from Lois. The paintings are a reminder of Lois’s inability to accept the weakness of Lucy, or the idea that she could need her

James S. Miller, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, challenges, “Is what we are shown on reality television, in fact, real?” (94). In James Miller’s essay, “Rule Maker … Rule Breaker,” he discusses the different viewpoints on reality television shows. To producers, reality television shows are perceived as real; however, to actors and actresses, reality television shows are perceived as fake (Miller 94-95). While James Miller introduces both perspectives of reality television shows, the perspective of the actors and actresses is accurate because reality television shows are an exaggeration of real life. Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dance Moms features the famous Abby Lee Dance Company. The

As a child I frequently made up little songs, and there seemed to be a constant stream of music in my head. I could see myself in the children she was observing and like them I didn’t have a framework for my experience – it was just my life. Whether it was singing while playing, tapping out some rhythm, singing at the top of my lungs to a favorite song, or goosebumps from hearing “Hall of the Mountain King”, it all felt familiar and warming. It has also made me aware of the musicking I continue to make every day in small ways here and