The Sound Of Silence By Simon And Garfunkel

For the music industry, Simon and Garfunkel, musical rock artists during this time, wrote “Sound of Silence” in 1966. This song displayed sequences of guitar, bass, and drums and quickly became a pop hit due to the increased tempo, in which Simon and Garfunkel only found out about after it was recorded.

In the novel Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison depicts the many aspects of self-actualization, and the difficulties of growing up in a maltreated life. The story revolves around generations of black family in the south during the segregation of whites and blacks. The character of Macon Dead jr., suffers from a sheltered life. Macon jr., is unaware of his family’s history, and the cruel reality of mistreatment during segregation. In the sheltered and confusing environment Macon jr., lives pushes him to find the authentic individual within himself. Macon jr., evolves through the descriptions, events, and experiences of others. But, who is responsible for making Macon jr.,’s journey of self-actualization to be so slow and difficult. His parents, Macon Dead sr., and Ruth Foster Dead, represent the obstacle hindering Macon jr., from his true authentic identity. Many of Macon jr.,’s major problems are a direct result of his parents suffocating mistakes.

A quite hush comes over the crowd as the lights dim in the club; the band shuffles as they prepare for the set to begin. From behind the stage he comes, walking slowly to the microphone. As the song begins, the club goes silent. The piano strikes first, opening with a slow back and forth tune before he finally lets the small brass instrument sing. Under the glow of the stage lighting, the trumpet seems to sparkle, every movement and swing sends sparks into the audience. Some in the crowd recognize the tune, but notice something a little off – as if the song had been forever altered. This new melody, while not fitting the usual tone of the speakeasy, sank into the audience; a new emphasis on civil rights.

“What is equality?” one might ask. We all have different views on specific topics and can describe what something truly means to one’s self like in the 3 text, “I have a dream,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (published; 8/28/1963, genre; narrative and argumentative), “If we must die,” by Claude Mckay (published; 1919, genre; narrative and lyric), & “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (published; October 1961, genre; satirical & dystopian science-fiction short story). In all 3 texts the authors are giving their touch on equality. Equality can convey being treated the same when a colored and a white man/woman are next to each other as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr says. You can also see equality as Mckay who thinks it’s being on the same level of strength and worth as a white man being in the shoes of a colored man. Or equality can be being exactly the same in every way as anyone around you in every exact way in Vonnegut’s eyes. All these 3 authors have a particular view on how to answer “What is equality?” and we can compare their ideas.

Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, once said: “A man who makes trouble for others is also making troubles for himself”. This concept can be seen in the development of Okonkwo as a character throughout the book. Creating plenty of trouble for others, but ultimately creating the most trouble for himself is possibly the plot for the entire book. Generally, the creation of trouble is not a value that is appreciated in any culture, especially in Umuofia. Okonkwo breaks many of the boundaries and social norms within his culture; his tendency to be immature and unaccountable combined with being very self-concerned and the defiance of elders creates an interesting mix adjacent to the cultural standards.

Social rank and relative wealth play great roles in determining a person’s life in Umuofia society. Sometimes a man with sheer force of will cannot change his future through hard work. One of the main conflicts in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the clash between Okonkwo’s determination to succeed, his free will, and fate – which seems to have less appealing things in mind. Okonkwo’s will plays a major factor in determining his future; he chooses to kill Ikemefuna with his own hands, he chooses to kill a government official, and in the end, he chooses to take his own life. However, the pre-destined conditions of his life, his father’s failures, and a series of unfortunate circumstances ultimately lead to Okonkwo’s downfall.

The most effective and influential thing an author can do while writing about war, is in some way channeling the reader's emotions. By doing this, it should interest the reader further because it will make them feel more affiliated with the text. In pieces of writing about war that we have read this year, all of the different authors use different methods in their writing. The three most compelling examples out of all the pieces of literature that we have covered this year would be, a quote out of All Quiet on the Western Front, Fallen Angels, and “Why am I Opposed to the War in Vietnam” a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. These all channel the reader's emotions very effectively.

Claude McKay’s 1919 sonnet, “If We Must Die”, came at a time when African-American lives were conditional, and seemingly dependent on the actions of the white community. McKay’s choice to write his poem in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, a form usually reserved for flowery love language, could be attributed to either establishing his worth as a writer to a community not so accepting of black writers and/or to use an easily understood format to convey the strong message of injustice within American society at the time. The times surrounding this poem was an era of hostility and racial tension, where the lives of black men were less valued than their white counterparts. McKay’s “If We Must Die” is reminiscent of a speech which rallies a group of soldiers going into battle. However, rather than soldiers, the audience is the African-American community dealing with their day-to-day lives.

Around the time of the Harlem Renaissance, blacks still faced many adversities that prevented them from thriving as a people. As seen in the Reconstruction and Post-Reconstruction eras, blacks were often discriminated against and even attacked by whites all across the nation. These attacks all culminated in the infamous "Red Summer of 1919," when hundreds of African Americans were slaughtered in race riots in dozens of cities, including Chicago, Washington D.C., and Elaine, Arkansas. While many blacks were extremely fearful of this impending danger, the esteemed poet Claude McKay boldly spoke out against the cruelty shown towards his people. In his poem "If We Must Die," McKay encourages blacks and commands them to stand and fight against the misdeeds committed by whites. Instead of asking blacks to accept their fate or to uselessly flee from the threat of death, McKay dares them to stare death in the face and to fight against the power that whites try to hold over them. In his sonnet "If We Must Die," McKay uses bestial imagery, biblical allusions and first person perspectives to motivate African Americans to defy the violent tyranny of white Americans.

This song because of it's weird toon and how the song can change from spooky to weird. The instruments that are played,(mostly percussion), make the song great. It makes the song more alive. There is not one bit of silence in the song because there is always an instrument playing. The song holds a lot of surprises too.

Change is a natural process that triggers the evolution of human societies; it is the continuous eradication of traditions that are replaced by the new. Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ (TFA), a novel written in 1958, explores the gradual transformation of the Ibo culture as a result of colonialism and also the attitudes the people of Umoufia developed when exposed to foreign ideologies; the change was either accepted or resisted. Peter Skrzynecki’s ‘Crossing The Red Sea’ (CRS) and ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ (FS) from the Immigrant Chronicle, a poetry collection published in 1975 depicts the evolution of the Australian society due to factors including migration, assimilation and different perceptions. These forces of change contributed to the

In both songs, the repetition of the lyrics draws the listener’s attention to particular words and

In David Simon’s The Wire, a stunningly accurate portrait of oppressive institutions in Baltimore are explored from multiple perspectives, including the police force, government, and the street drug trade. The visuals created by Simon are meant to be a realistic portrayal of Baltimore, one that depicts the members of the drug trade as complicated people, not just evil caricatures, and where the wrongdoing of the police and government are shown. Moreover, the show has become one of the few applauded shows to accurately represent urban inequality and the people subjected to urban inequality. In The Wire, Simon accurately depicts the cycle of the street children, parts of the school system, and the corrupt parts of the criminal justice

This can be overwhelming to the listener. Knowing when and how much to utilize silence is part of listening, one of the key skills of any musician. “Just because you can’t hear it doesn’t mean it’s not music”

The second song I analyzed was “Paradise” by Coldplay. Similarly to “Kids”, the song “Paradise” starts with the idea of childhood. “When she was just a girl she expected the world. But it flew away from her reach so she ran away in her sleep and dreamed of paradise” is the opening verse for this tune. It talks of a young girl with big dreams expecting the world. As the girl in the song grows up she finds that life is not as simple as she believed. “Life goes on, it gets so heavy. The wheel breaks the butterfly. Every tear a waterfall. In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes.” Those lyrics are a good example of how life has some downs, tears, and storms, but it talks of how the girl stays positive when the song says, “She’d say, ‘I know the sun must set to rise.’” I think this song is a good reflection of me. I have big dreams for myself, but as life goes on I go through some bumps in the road. I have encountered many of my own stormy nights, but I know the sun will rise to a clearer and brighter day in time. I have learned not to expect things to be handed to me, but to chase after my dreams, and my own perfect paradise to a path of success.