Tom Petty's Poem 'Into The Great Wide Open'

This text response will be looking the comparison of the two poems, ‘Drifters’ by Bruce Dawe, And ‘In the park’ by Gwen Harwood under the name of Walter Lehmann. Drifters is about a seemingly constantly moving family, it describes the process the family will go through leaving their newest home. In the park is about a seemingly single mother raising her children, it describes the mother sitting in the park with her children when a previous lover comes by and talks about the children. With in each poem, the form and structure, language techniques and the tone and message will be analysed and compared with the other to gather a grater understanding of the Australian voice.

Eddie’s journey begins with a passion to read books and write poems. When Eddie first opened up about this to his girlfriend Lupe, “then [she] told [him he] should be a writer” (Johnson 76). Lupe is the root of his love for literature. However, he cannot let his reputation - which

In the realm of music, words and melodies work together in order to form a complete idea of an artist’s work. However, by abandoning the melodies and reading closely into the lyrics of a song, readers are able to draw meaning and make observations from the text that could be overshadowed by its melodies. A fine example of a song where this method is applicable is Paul Simon’s “Graceland.” Examining the lyrics reveals the story of a man making a pilgrimage to Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee in the same way a religious person would journey to a holy site. Through usage of imagery, tone, and metaphorical devices throughout allow this song to function as a comically surreal poem.

Eddie had some an impetus that drove him to do better. Eddie was in love with his guitar. Originally he had bought a drum set while his brother, Alex, bought an electric guitar. Over a summer when Eddie was delivering newspapers Alex would play his drum set. Eventually, Alex got really good so he and Eddie swapped instruments.

In “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Ronnie VanZant, it appears that at least four times, “you” refers to the State of Alabama. VanZant writes, “Sweet home Alabama / Lord, I’m coming home to you,” the “you” being the Southern state. The other two times, “you” could be referring to Neil Young, writer of “Alabama,” because VanZant’s song is a reply to Young’s. “Does your conscience bother you? / Tell the truth.” It could be assumed that VanZant is questioning Young.

Throughout the journey of life individuals experience many incidences of adversity that initially begin as obstacles however increase our inner strength. Throughout Bruce Dawes body of work ‘sometimes gladness’, such a concept is demonstrated especially in the poems ‘Migrants’ and ‘drifters’. Drifters is a poem that gives responders into the challenges of living a life on the move as well as the impact of such a lifestyle on the various members of the family, displaying the inner strength required to embark on such a life long journey. Furthermore, ‘Migrant’s’ details the struggles associate with a migrant families bid to assimilate into an unknown land, an emotional and physical journey that truly tests ones inner strength.

Tom Petty was born on October 20, 1950 in Gainesville Florida. He is currently 65 years old. Tom Petty’s full name Thomas Earl Petty. (AKA Thomas Petty or Tom Petty.) His gender is male. Tom Petty’s mother and fathers names are Earl Petty (that is where Tom Petty got his middle name) and Katherine Petty. He has one brother named Bruce Petty. Tom Petty was very poor growing up. He went to Howard Bishop Middle School only for 9th grade. Tom Petty was really quiet. Earl Petty (his father) was a salesman who was very abusive. Tom Petty’s first band was at the age of 14, he left high school at age 17 to tour with his country- influenced rock band Mudcrutch.

In Natasha Trethewey’s poetry collection Native Guard, the reader is exposed to the story of Trethewey’s growing up in the southern United States and the tragedy which she encountered during her younger years, in addition to her experiences with prejudice and to issues surrounding prejudice within the society she is living in. Throughout this work, Trethewey often refers to graves and provides compelling imagery regarding the burial of the dead. Within Trethewey’s work, the recurring imagery surrounding graves evolves from the graves simply serving as a personal reminder of the past, to a statement on the collective memory of society and comments on how Trethewey is troubled with what society has forgotten as it signifies a willingness to overlook the dehumanization of a large group of people.

Dawe in his poem ‘Drifters’ presents the inevitable nature of change, particularly change that is unwanted. Moreover, Dawe manifests the diverse responses individuals have when encountering change in their lives and the transformative impact of change. These prominent themes are manipulated through the motif of travelling, flashbacks and symbolism.

Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Petty himself has received many Lifetime Musical Achievement awards, and he and the Heartbreakers also have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His real legacy, however, is in how his music brought people together and inspired a generation. His music will live on, and therefore, so will he.

Let’s just get this out of the way, right off the bat. Monday? Yeah. It SUCKED. There’s no way around it. Even if the rest of my day had gone swimmingly (spoiler alert: it didn’t) the news I woke up to about the shooting in Las Vegas would have been enough to spoil it. Add in Tom Petty’s death and, yeah, there’s no way that day could have been salvaged for me. I could go over my feelings and thoughts about the horrific events in Vegas. Or wax poetic about how much Tom Petty and his music mean to me. But we’ve all read those articles. All had our own thoughts on the matter. I’m not going to rehash something that’s been said a million different ways by people far more eloquent than me.

Imagine being 18 years old and packing up your life, moving to Hollywood just to become famous. Eddie an 18 year old young man move to Hollywood California to become famous and successful. “Into the Great wide open”, a narrative poem by Tom Petty, tells a story of the life of a rock star, while using a shifting tone, and is told in a realistic fashion.

The song, “Hotel California”, by the Eagles, is a very poetic song that uses imagery, and symbolism to bring out the theme in an indirect way of the speaker’s personal issues of life. The Eagles use imagery to set the mood and tone of the song. Along with many aspects of symbolism to input a lot of double meaning throughout the whole song. With both imagery and symbolism incorporated, many fans or people who have heard of this song would believe that the theme of this song is about a lonely traveler trying to break his own temptations.

“An Anti-Semitic Demonstration” was the more effective poem by using metaphors to explain the fear one feels during the arrival and anticipation of being sent off to a concentration camp by Nazis. During this time period life as a Jew must have been unbelievably frightening, for one was unsure of when they would be collected and where the would be taken away too. All just because of their religious beliefs or the fact they may be considered “undesirable”. Whereas in “The Family Album” they explained more about how the Jews were before their life changed forever. Neufeld does not go to explain the way they felt during the tough times of the Nazi ruling. However, he instead talks about how life was instantly changed when no one saw it coming.

In both the short story “That Evening Sun” by William Faulkner and the poem “Poem about My Rights” by June Jordan, racism against blacks is criticized through bringing its evils to the surface by these literary works. Despite using different literary mediums to convey their messages, both works reveal to their respective audiences that racism against blacks leads to feelings of inferiority and helplessness in blacks, a collective fear of the wrath of the white man in blacks, and an indifference in the general white population towards the fears of blacks.