Fast Car Tracy Chapman Poetic Techniques

To start off, the first stanza in her song represents a sense of how unavoidable change is and how the confusion of the bond combined with the stress of the blame game can lead to a doomed

He mentions the fight in the House of Representatives that broke out, in relation with the civil rights bill. He also about the equality between black and white people in the 1960’s. At this point this is being read the words “all is calm, all is bright” this completely contrast from the subject about racism but the song is representing a sense of tranquillity as if everything is okay when it is not.

The symbolism in this song is that life is hard for other members of the society. This song regards a man trying/ resolving to alter his ways before starting to change the world. This

The words used by Bessie in this song set up a platform for her tone and the attitude of the story. The lines she uses are chalked full of images and other elements including phrases with double meanings. Some of the words in the lines she uses have literal meanings as well as more subtle referenced meanings. There were two particular examples of messages with an underlying tone dealing with intimacy. The first is when she says, “Bought me a coffee grinder that’s the best one I could find,” which implies finding a man that best serves her needs/desires. This line is followed by, “Oh he could grind my coffee, cause he had a brand new grind,” which the audience is led to believe refers to her being satisfied with the new man. The next example of her word choice creating a hint of a sexual tone begins with the line, “He’s a deep sea diver with a stroke that can’t go wrong,” and ends with her saying, “He can stay at the bottom and his wind holds out so long.” This is a pretty strong example of intimate innuendo. She uses words set up in a type of context that makes them mean something other than their literal meaning. Although what she’s saying doesn’t directly reflect it, this stanza refers to the intimate acts between her and her new lover, symbolized by the new grinder.

As a result, Ajay seems to talk to his portrayal of God more than his family. The cars in the parking lot can represent Ajay and his desire to have people who give him more attention and love then his present situation. The cars “waited for an opening in the traffic, their brake lights glowing” which could represent Ajay waiting for the right timing or opportunity to focus on and change his path. Throughout the story, many moments imply that Ajay wants to change his life, such as his interactions with his family and his conversations with his portrayal of God. In a way, these moments are like the brake signals that glow when the cars are waiting for an opening to leave. Ajay is constantly wanting to break free from his current circumstances, but does not have the right timing and support.

At first glance, it takes a second to realize that the car is driving backwards and works only in reverse. This represents how people feel when dealing with conflict and hardships. When in conflict, Victor feels that he can never move forward. When he tries to move forward, he stays in one place or moved back yet another step. Many people today can relate to this and experience this same feeling in their struggles. This can also be said for the Indians living in the reservation. Ever since Columbus came across the ocean, the Red man has been constantly pushed backwards, unable to get ahead.

Marina Keegan’s title “Stability in Motion” is important to the purpose of the story. “Stability in Motion” describes her car. Her car is her “stability”, her “rock”, the thing that keeps her sane. Her car is also the “motion” because she finds her sanity inside of her car while she is driving, or when she is “in motion”. In paragraph 12 she says, “I talked a lot in my car. Thousands of words and songs and swears are absorbed in its fabric,” her car is her safe place that she can turn to whenever she needs time by herself. The purpose of “Stability in Motion” is to show how a relationship with an inanimate object, such as a car, can help a person through each day.

In Tracy Chapman's song "fast car", the speaker deals with her reality and longs for a better life situation. By using the metaphor "fast car", she wants to describe an incisive moment in her life. The woman supports this with words which are associated with this conveyance and talks about the escape from her old, deadlocked life to a new place, where she wants to be able to start all over again.

Houston expresses in the song that she was sad because of this man giving her empty promises about leaving his family for her “You used to tell me we’d run away together/You said be patient just wait a little longer, but that’s just an old fantasy.”

The process of transitions has the power to allow individual to seek new pathways in order to allow new opportunities to arise, challenging perspectives and stereotypes, while ultimately growing as an individual. However, it is only through overcoming challenges, that a transition empowers the individual to overcome hardships, gaining a deeper understanding of self, while developing strength and integrity. The film Billy Elliot positions the audience to perceive hardships that individuals must overcome in order to successfully achieve their ultimate transition, challenging gender stereotypes and societal “norms”. Tracey Chapmans song Fast Car, outlines obstacles that the persona and the audience relates to, however it is through the melody

This song is concentrated on the social construction of reality, which talks about about how “Ideas about reality also change over time” (Newman, 53). We can see this expressed in lines 32-33 in the song : “It just ain't the same, old ways have changed/New days are strange, is the world insane…” (lines 32-33) The band states how the world’s views and attitudes have changed and how there is uncertainly for the future. The band is questioning the values that they once lived up to. “Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity/Whatever happened to the fairness in equality/ Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity/ Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity…” (lines 71-74). They imply that individuals are swaying away from their values, as a result changing their reality.

In the song it says, “When I jumped out on that road, I got no love, no love you'd call real, Ain't got nobody waiting at home, Runnin' with the devil” (Roth 9-12). In the story Connie knows that once she steps outside her house with Arnold there is no turning back, she is now on the dark side. Arnold tries to convince Connie to go with him by saying, “I’ll have my arms tight around you so you won’t need to try and get away and I’ll show you what love is like” (Oates 325). Once Connie does leave with him she notices the vast amount of land behind him that she had never seen before. This represents the unknown in her life that comes with running away with Arnold. Connie knows that now he is in her house, she thought “I’m not going to see my mother again” (Oates 325). If she leaves she won’t have her family anymore and this song relates to that because it says, “Ain’t got nobody waiting at

The money ebing the motive for mostly everything in life. Then in the third line of the refrain we see the word "she", hinting at soem type of stripper, or possible a "Pro". Next lines after are just a reassurance from the weeknd bascically saying, "Great job, keep on going" while recongnizing that what shes doing is a difficult task to master and stay ahead with.

The first verse of the song shares the troubled relationship between the father and son, when it said, “he came to the world in the usual way, but there were planes to catch and bills to pay. He learned to walk while I was away.” This verse explained that he was away on some type of career to make money for the family, and provide for the son financially. However, he wasn’t able to spend quality time with him, and missed important milestones in his life, such as taking his first steps. His career obviously came before his son and family, and he made excuses for that. Then it finishes with the chorus, which says, “when you

Her first line reveals that the following emotional breakdown is a result of standing by as an opportunity comes and goes (Jones qtd. in Kimbrough). Jones wishes that she could go back and make a different decision, but it is too late. The speaker proceeds to lament the missed chance with a lover, her regret made evident in the repeated line, “ I don’t know why I didn’t come” (Jones qtd. in Kimbrough). Presented simultaneously with the text, the song strengthens the idea that failing to take action leads to sorrow.