Metaphor

Bogeyman Mrs.. Johnson February 14, 2013 English Honors Period 3 An Untold Story “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. ” (Maya Angelo) The novel Speak details the life story of Melinda Sordid, a freshman in high school, and how both the traumatic and happy events of her life shape her character. In the summer before entering high school, Melinda is invited to a party that changes her life; and it is not for the better. A senior in high school named Andy Evans rapes her, and since she is so scared, she calls the police, they arrive shortly, and proceed to reek up the party.

Throughout Speak, Melinda is reassured by a poster of Maya Angelo, who was also raped as a child, but went on to become a successful public figure and author. A major theme that echoes throughout the novel Speak is that all people are made smarter not by aging, but by the experiences they have been through. This fact that experience defines a person is evident in Melanin’s life by both the traumatic experience she has of rape and the enjoyable experience she has attending Mr.. Freeman’s art classes. These two opposite influences wage war and, in he end, Melinda decides to emerge from her shell.

When she speaks to her middle school friend-turned-enemy Rachel about the event at the summer party, Melinda is accepted with open arms and forgiven of her accusations. Through the symbol of the white couch and the metaphors of the seasonal change and the tree, which is each effectively inserted into Speak, one can tell that a person grows through learning from his experience rather than by mere aging. Most trees are a symbol of life when they are full of leaves in the summer, or a symbol of death when they have lost all heir leaves in winter.

In Speak, however, as shown on page 12 by Mr.. Freeman and Melanin’s brief conversation, the tree actually represents Melanin’s life story, “By the end of the year, you must figure out how to make your object say something, express an emotion, speak to every person who looks at it. ” This introduction to art by Mr.. Freeman turns out to play a big role in Melanin’s life because the object she chooses mirrors the Journey of her life. Melinda thinks to herself, “Some people groan. My stomach flutters. Can he really let us do this? It sounds like too much fun. Tree?

It’s too easy. I learned how to draw a tree in second grade. I reach in for another piece of paper. ” Just as she is about to grab the second paper, Mr.. Freeman dissuades her by saying, Mimi Just chose your destiny, you can’t change that. ” This quote is the beginning of a book-long metaphor for the progression of Melanin’s life; as Melinda improves her drawing of the tree, her life improves. Throughout the rest of Speak there are many other references to the tree metaphor; with each successful encounter of Melanin’s tree project, her artistic ability has shown improvement.

This correlates with her life improving through the experience she has gained. On page 15 of Speak, Melinda returns home from school, sits down on her white couch, and orders pizza. The white couch symbolizes Melinda; this is shown by the following trick to eating on it is to turn the messy side of the cushions up. The couch has two personalities: ‘Melinda inhaling pepperoni and mushroom’ and ‘No one ever eats in the family room, no ma’am. ‘ Flip, flip, flip – cushions reversed to show their pretty white cheeks” (15).

This quote is a symbol of Melanin’s life because the hidden underside of the couch is symbolizing Melanin’s secrets that are buried and not visible to people on the outside. Although, what makes the couch such a great example, is that the visible exterior of the couch is white, which symbolizes purity. On the contrary, the white couch looks repulsive if it is dirty; this relates to a possible reality for Melinda because if she does not speak up, but instead buries her abuse underneath a clean exterior, she cannot be fully clearness of her burden.

Thus, by not peaking up to the world about how she was raped at a party last summer, she can never reach her true potential of the beautiful, white couch. Melanin’s reasoning behind hiding the real couch and the truth behind the party is that she fears that people will Judge her for her imperfections. Through the experience she has gained in her freshman year of high school, Melinda realizes that the only way for her to conquer her fear is to use those various positive and negative incidents to help her grow in maturity through experience.

A final example of metaphoric language append to occur on the final page of Speak. It is the last day of Melanin’s freshman year and the person she must talk to is Mr.. Freeman. Melinda ideates, “The tears dissolve the last block of ice in my throat. I feel the frozen stillness melt down through the inside of me, dripping shards of ice that vanish in a puddle of sunlight on the stained floor” (198). The ice in this quote represents Melanin’s secrets that are weighing her down, not allowing her to speak up for herself, and harming her physically (Andy hurt Melinda after she told Rachel Andy raped Melinda).

The tears signify the experiences she has undergone in high school and how those experiences allowed her to mature. The sunlight on the stained floor symbolizes Melanin’s artwork of the tree; how the tree emanates warmth to cure Melanin’s ailment of a frozen mind. Without the experience Melinda had by communicating with Mr.. Freeman, she would never have been able to face her fears and come out of her shell. Speak is overflowing with metaphorical expressions, but many readers do not understand the implications behind the author’s use of a particular metaphor in a even situation.

People think, “Oh, I know this is a metaphor,” and then move on reading. This ignorance of the meaning behind symbolism is actually a symbol for how those individuals live their lives. The following quote by Maya Angelo shows this ignorance of symbolism in a real world sense, “Most people don’t grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging. ” For example, whenever a person attends a party, the driving factor behind that party’s success is the quality of inversion.

If everyone there was one of the “most people” that Maya Angelo mentions, the party would be dull and boring, and it would only age the people rather than provide them with new experiences. In summation, if one is to truly live and contribute to society, he must be so overflowing with experiences that he will use metaphors to describe accurately a situation that he has encountered; without wasting the time that could be spent living through more life Journeys and garnering experience, rather than aging by merely passing through life.

In the poems Disabled and Refugee Blues, the writers, Owen and Auden respectively, convey the negative effects of war in a variety of ways. Through the use structuring, literary and figurative devices, Auden subtly shows the negative effects of war, whereas Owen does this it more explicitly, showing the de-humanizing, gruesome effects of war. In the poem Disabled, Owen displays the more gruesome, horrendous reality; he does this in a variety of ways.

Firstly he uses a randomized stanza structure, the stanzas do not have a consistent amount of lines. The stanza structure is emphasizing how the soldier’s think, because most soldiers act upon their animalistic instinct, Owen has used this idea rely on instinct to create his structure, not only does this confuse the reader but Owen also tries to emphasize on how the war has affected the soldiers.

Owen also uses a lot of different literary devices to help him, metaphor is used throughout the poem to help develop the poem, “Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn”, the voices of boys made the soldier feel sad; they make him remember his childhood, it was not long ago that he was like those boys, running freely, however it seems like a distant memory.

Owen is emphasizing that the war robbed the soldier of his innocence and naivety, he is also a little jealous of them, they still believe in fairy tales and happy endings, whereas the soldier understands the true colors of reality. “In the old times, before he threw away his knees/All of them touch him like some queer disease” these two quotes, emphasize on the fact that the soldier threw away his legs when he enlisted in the army, if he didn’t sign up he wouldn’t be disabled and the girls would still be flirting with him.

The girls do not want to be with someone who is crippled; heroes do not get injured. It seems like he has given up on life as much as life has given up on him, he has succumbed into the idea that he is not a real man anymore; others can sense this about him and stay away because they do not want to be dragged down by his self-pity. Granted, the women could be touching him in disgust, it is also likely that it is him who is projecting his own feelings of disgust on them.

The war can affect both the social life and the personal life negatively, thus creating a very negative atmosphere in the stanza. Owen also makes effective use of alliterations, “Legless, sewn short at elbow”, not only does this quote tell us the exact extent of the soldiers disability, but during World War I it was common practice to sew shut pant legs and sleeves when someone is missing the limb or appendix, the quote makes us pity the soldier, moreover it is also common that soldiers lose a limbs during war, creating a very brutal and negative view upon war.

Another alliteration that has been used, “And a leap of purple spurted from his thigh”, a leap of purple could relate to blood or bruises, this quote indicates the severity of his injuries, although it was a large injury, the poem portrays it only as a ‘leap of purple’, this makes the injury seem small and insignificant, and which was likely how the government and the higher-ups viewed the disabled soldiers. Although W.

H Auden wrote Refugee Blues half a year before World War II broke out, the Nazi’s (Nationalists) have already been hunting Jews and ‘exterminating’ them, Refugee Blues is a Jewish perspective on the war. W. H. Auden has structured his poem into tersets, and each stanza proposes a different theme and part of the Jewish refugees life, it also isolates the stanza, emphasizing each negative point Auden has made.

Auden uses very effective metaphors to convey the different negative effects of Hitler’s rein, “Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin, /Saw a door open and a cat let in:/ But they weren’t German Jews, my dear, they weren’t German Jews. ” In this quote, W. H. Auden was comparing the Jewish with a poodle and a mere street cat, not only does it emphasize how un-wanted the Jews were, Auden himself degraded the Jewish into something that was utterly despised and negatively viewed.

1. I was so hungry that I even ate the plate. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) hyperbole B) metaphor C) personification D) simile 2. My father was the sun and the moon to me. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) hyperbole B) simile C) metaphor D) personification 3. The rain seemed like an old friend who had finally found us. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) onomatopoeia B) metaphor C) personification D) simile 4. “Smash”, when the cup fell off the table. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) personification B) metaphor

C) onomatopoeia D) hyperbole 5. He was a library of information about baseball. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) metaphor B) personification C) simile D) hyperbole 6. The curtain was waving to everyone every time the wind blew through the open window. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) onomatopoeia B) metaphor C) personification D) hyperbole 7. The tree shook its branches angrily. What type of figurative language is being used in this sentence? A) personification B) metaphor C) onomatopoeia D) hyperbole 8. Drip, Drop, Drip, Drop went the rain drops falling on the roof of the house.

What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) metaphor B) onomatopoeia C) personification D) alliteration 9. Her head was so full of ideas that it was ready to burst wide open. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) alliteration B) metaphor C) hyperbole D) personification 10. The baby was like an octopus, grabbing for everything in sight. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) metaphor B) simile C) hyperbole D) personification 11. That movie took my breath away. What type of figurative language is usede in this sentence? A) alliteration B) personification C) idiom D) metaphor 12.

Leslie said that she was in the dark about what’s going on. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) metaphor B) alliteration C) idiom D) personification 13. Teddy tiger tried tying teepees together. What type of figurative language is this sentence? A) hyperbole B) idiom C) onomatopoeia D) alliteration 14. Silly sally sang a silly summer song. What type of figurative language is this sentence? A) hyperbole B) onomatopoeia C) alliteration D) idiom 15. I like pancakes so much I could eat a million of them. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence? A) personification B) idiom C) alliteration D) hyperbole

https://phdessay.com/difference-figurative-literal-analogy/

The Melting Pot Cultural assimilation is the blending or fusing of minority groups into the dominant society. There are many metaphors related to the concept of cultural assimilation in the United States, one being the melting pot. It suggests that all of the cultures that have been brought into America melt together and become the base material of the pot. This metaphor is considered somewhat accurate, but some people disagree with what it implies. There are some metaphors that better represent assimilation in America.

When immigrants came to America, they came in search of a better life. They wanted the lives of their children to be different than theirs was. In this way the melting pot is somewhat accurate. There had to be a change that happened when you’re surrounded by people living differently than they did when you were home, like the melting pot coming out differently when the metals are melted together. The metaphor of the melting pot implies that all of the cultures become exactly the same.

People of different cultures in America may find this offensive because it suggests that they completely loose all elements of their culture. Everyone was poured into a pot and melted together coming out one alloy, one person. This is inaccurate, people will come to America and change, but keep elements of their culture. This is why other metaphors were proposed that are a little more accurate. A better metaphor that is also used to represent the assimilation of cultures in America is the salad bowl.

It suggests that all the cultures are kept whole but mixed together in a bowl and covered in the same dressing. Pieces of each ingredient of the salad start to taste like the other pieces, but remain the same underneath the dressing. This suggests that immigrants will pick up things from the American culture but keep elements of their culture. Another metaphor is a beautiful mosaic. All of the pieces of a mosaic are different and scattered but together they make a beautiful picture. This shows that the people in America maintain there culture but are placed round other cultures. I like this metaphor because mosaics are so beautiful and interesting, like how different cultures living harmoniously is beautiful. Barbara Jordan said, “We are more than a melting-pot, we are a kaleidoscope. ” A kaleidoscope shows picture mixed together and when you turn it the picture changes. I take this as the different angles that you look at American culture it can change. The culture in New York City is different than the culture in rural North Carolina. All of the metaphors used to represent assimilation have some elements of being accurate.

I believe all the other metaphors are better than that of the melting-pot, because they show that people of different cultures don’t loose all elements of their culture. But no metaphor can be completely accurate is representing assimilation in America. There are too many variables involved. There are many cities in America that have different cultures dominating their area. Some people may assimilate more than others, it is a process hard to represent with a metaphor because of its complexity.

A Beautiful Piece Of Chalk Analogy, contradiction, and irony are some of the important rhetorical methods that many authors use to portray their ideas. In “A Piece of Chalk” (1905), G. K. Chesterton demonstrates his adept writing ability in using those methods as a means of appeal to convey that everything is beautiful and valuable in its own way. His piece of writing not only exemplifies the use of contradiction, humor, analogy and metaphor, but also succeeds in using relevant support and evidence.

Initially, the first rhetorical technique that Chesterton uses is contradiction. We sometimes hold prejudiced views, along with implicitly wrong definitions, towards the world. The author first states the falsifications, and then contradicts them by describing the simple, pure, yet undeniable beauty of those notions. Chesterton says about the white color, “It is not a mere absence of color; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black” (133). In the process, the author is able to make his points emphasized.

Moreover, he notes in his essay that, “[v]irtue is not the absence of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate thing, like pain or a particular smell. Mercy does not mean not being cruel, or sparing people revenge or punishment; it means a plain and positive thing like the sun, which one has either seen or not seen” (Chesterton, 133). He continuously talks about the notion that people usually evasively understand as trivial and trite, affirming their grace and charm. Beside contradiction, humor also effectively contributes to his narration.

In the first paragraph, Chesterton talks about the conversation between the narrator and the old woman. He came up to look for brown paper for his drawing, but the woman insisted on thinking that he wanted to wrap up parcels. Even when she realized his primary purpose, this kitchen owner still could not capture the value of brown paper to the painter (Chesterton 132). The author also uses humorous phrases such as “rationale of the existence of brown paper,” “beyond my mental capacity,” and “she offered to overwhelm me with note-paper” (Chesterton 132).

He dwells on the misunderstanding of the woman, as well as the misconception that many people hold about the little but useful materials around them. In addition, Chesterton says in the last paragraph that, “Imagine a man in the Sahara regretting that he had no sand for his hour-glass. Imagine a gentleman in mid-ocean wishing that he had brought some salt water with him for his chemical experiments” (134). The narrator states two examples, where people hilariously trick themselves in two simple and obvious situations, to ridicule himself of something that he has just realized to be similar.

Added to an effective use of contradiction and humor, Chesterton’s “A Piece of Chalk” is an exemplary use of analogy and metaphor. He talks about his attitude towards brown paper, “I then tried to explain the rather delicate logical shade, that I not only liked brown paper, but liked the quality of brownness in paper, just as I like the quality of brownness in October woods, or in beer” (Chesterton, 132). One cannot judge things by their mere look or use, but has to really look into them.

Their essences, which were deliberately brought by their creators, are just unique as the passion and devotion of their creators. Similarly, the author says about the old poets, “They preferred writing about great men to writing about great hills; but they sat on the great hills to write it. They gave out much less about Nature, but they drank in, perhaps, much more. They painted the white robes of their holy virgins with the blinding snow, at which they had stared all day” (133). The old poets not only care and appreciate nature, but also capture it successfully in their own works.

In addition, according to his last paragraph, “[a]nd yet, without any white, my absurd little pictures would be as pointless as the world would be if there were no good people in it” (134), he compares white chalks with good people. And as he talks about using white chalks in painting, the readers understand the values and importance of the existence of good people in this world. In the last sentences of the essay, he says, “I was sitting on an immense warehouse of white chalk. The landscape was made entirely of white chalk. White chalk was piled more miles until it met the sky” (134). The use of metaphor here enhances his point.

By emphasizing how much white chalk is around him, Chesterton skillfully introduces to the readers a seemingly obvious fact that good people are easy to find in the Southern England. Ultimately, with “A Piece of Chalk,” Chesterton has proven that he is a master of rhetorical techniques. He develops his paper by using different rhetorical methods alternatively and altogether. The story flows peacefully and naturally, yet does not turn boring, because every sentence is a joy to read. Work Cited Chesterton, G. K. “A Piece of Chalk. ” 75 Readings across the Curriculum. Ed. Chris Anson. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006: 132-4. Print.

The sheer lyrical power of metaphor can be found throughout Ghalib’s poetry. Ghalib utilizes this figure of speech, I believe, to help us connect to and really experience what he is trying to tell us about life, love, and hardship. It seems that, through metaphor, he implores us to delve deeper into his writings and enter into the suffering, heartache, alienation, and ambition that marked his entire life. Using ghazal’s from the Joy of the Drop website, I will examine and discuss the verses that I thought to be the most profound and inspiring. ‘I have taken to grave the deep scar of happiness hile she stands above in her hundred colors’ Happiness, in this line, has left Ghalib critically wounded. Whether in his pursuit of an ideal life or a society’s ideal life, whatever ‘happiness’ is to him, he has not only failed to achieve it, but it has succeeded in ruining him. The beloved seems to stand, unscathed and lofty, above the defeated Ghalib, still adorned with the pristine and elaborate clothing that Ghalib has ascribed to her. We know from historical accounts of Ghalib’s life that he searched, unsuccessfully, for influence, status, and financial stability, none of which he would be able to grasp in his lifetime.

This may be the ever- unreachable ‘happiness’ he is referring to here. The beloved seems to have not only found this happiness but fully abides in this state of being. ‘As a boy I almost threw stones at that crazed lover trapped always in desire but at last I remembered Leaving I bear the scars of an unfulfilled longing to exist like an extinguished candle I know no place of friendship… … Pursuit has unraveled the strings of beauty’s veil leaving nothing but threads for those who can see’ These lines, rich with metaphor, point to a beaten and existentially muzzled Ghalib.

Married at thirteen and without a proper education or monetary income; Ghalib’s inner struggle with this life, that had seemingly been thrust upon him, can be seen in the above verses(Ahmad). Feeling subdued, Ghalib seems to flee from his boyish desires, but he is not able to fully recover from the unfulfilled dreams and aspirations that were the sum of his longings. An ‘extinguished candle’ is used here as simile concerning friendship and community. An ‘extinguished candle’ does not have purpose and is discarded or overlooked when it no longer gives, or is able to give, light.

After fleeing desire and experiencing loss of purpose and meaning, Ghalib uses metaphor to reveal something philosophically profound. Pursuit ‘unraveling the veil’ of beauty to uncover nothing can be seen as a moment where Ghalib wonders if his desire and longing to exist mean anything at all. What if, in the chasing of a pre-conceived notion of a beautiful life, we find that the ‘beauty’ in that particular life doesn’t exists. How devastating! Maybe this verse’s metaphor of beauty’s veil shows us that unless we can learn to free ourselves from that desire-driven pursuit, we will be forever tormented in life.

This can be found in Buddhist teachings and although, buddhism wasn’t as large in India at the time, it still might have had subtle influences on a well versed and knowledgeable Ghalib. Ghalib somewhat hints at religiously-influenced, philosophical concepts, at times while communicating it using metaphor; as can be seen in these verses: ‘Who has seen the single face of the beloved if one of us glimpsed her shadow she unravels’ One could surmise from Ghalib’s verses, like this one, that his life was one of spiritual seeking and questioning. The unraveling of the shadow of the beloved points towards the idea that we cannot pigeonhole God.

Seemingly, God, according to Ghalib, is elusive and ‘beyond’ what we know of Her. As soon as we have developed a theological rule about who God is; She vanishes and we are left with only a glimpse of the smallest speck of understand. His deep devotion to religious mystery and unknowing was juxtaposed with his brilliant subversiveness concerning fundamental views of God in Islamic influenced, 19th century, India. ‘At every step I am closer only to knowing the distance as fast as I run the desert runs on’ This metaphor of a running desert leads one to believe that Ghalib realized that very few things are graspable in this life.

It seems the more you learn the more you realized you don’t know. The desert is in a sense, dead, and the barren wasteland can be hard to travel. This sheds light on the early maturity of Ghalib. It sounds like the wisdom of an old man but he was probably very young when he wrote this. In all his searching and coming up unfulfilled, Ghalib probably turned to abusing drink at an early age. Some of his most comical and sorrowful lines involve wine. ‘You should always be drunk that too is wisdom the self holds a cabinet for every liquor, Viewing the ‘self’ as a ‘cabinet for every liquor’ is a clever way of saying that you are a lush.

And in this particular verse, Ghalib, doesn’t just mention wine. He is willing to fill his cupboards with all types of liquor; possibly to numb his sorrows. Wine or drink also ‘loosened or freed Ghalib to be himself. Wine, ‘melting a bottle’ that he is hiding in, can be a reference to the release of the strangle-hold of inhibitions that comes when one drinks. No telling how many ghazals were written under the influence. This verse also seems to hint at the dangerously intoxicating power of love. Both have the ability to destroy. ‘If love burns more than the heart avoid love ven wine melts the bottle I hide in’ Ghalib was a genius, a lover, a seeker, a drinker, and probably had a better grasp on what the effects of longing-love, as apposed to emotional romance, had on a person(Ahmad). ‘No longer ask about those seekers of love time has illuminated their bodies of grief’ We see this grief reflected in his ghazals and we learn about his personal experiences through his biographies. The power he evokes in his verses by using metaphor is what inspires me to keep reading and studying this great poet. Ahmad, Aijaz, ed. Ghazals of Ghalib. Columbia University Press, 1971.

Protest songs make serious comment on the issues of their time. Discuss with detailed reference to the issues and techniques in two songs studied in class and one of your own choosing. Protest songs are the product of their times. Composers utilise the medium to make meaningful comment on the issues of their era in an attempt to influence viewpoints and bring back change. ‘Dear Mr President’ by Pink criticises the presidency of George w bush and the issues he raised with his decisions. These issues were homosexual rights/ marriage, homelessness, poverty, war/ us. oles, women’s rights and the justice system. “Sunday bloody Sunday’ by U2 criticizes the unnecessary bloodshed that occurred as a result of the violence connected with the Irish troubles on Jan 30, 1972. ‘skyscraper’ by Demi Lovado criticizes the issues of bullying, body image, and self mutilation in today’s society. These songs all express opinions about issues of relevance to their societies for the future. These songs all express opinions about relevance to their societies, ultimately in an attempt to enforce a positive change to the world. In 2007 Pink released the song Dear Mr.

President. The song is a direct criticism of President George W. Bush and the policies of his administration. Pink addresses the major concerns of most Americans. The most evident of these concerns are homosexual rights/ marriage, homelessness, women’s rights, war/US roles, poverty and the justice system. The song begins with “Come take a walk with me. Let’s pretend we’re just two people and you’re not better than me. ” By stating this as an invitation Pink is directly asking the President to listen to her opinions utilising imperative verbs and a gentle tone.

Pink is stating that she will be truthful and not sugar coat her opinions. She will tell him the truth about what everyone is thinking but no one is willing to tell him directly. metaphor is utilised to portray the ideas Pink has. The complete second and third stanzas are rhetorical questions addressing the issues the President has caused. The rhetorical questions are using emotive language to appeal to the listeners’ heart. The rhetorical questions are also using direct address to the President to show perspective of the issues and showing them so they relate to him.

At the end of the third stanza when Pink asks “How do you walk with your head held high? Can you even look me in the eye and tell me why? ” she uses negative connotations to show the pride or lack of pride he holds. The complete fifth stanza is using personal address by using examples of his own family and putting them in the places of the people affected by his choices, and rhetorical questions. “What kind of father would take his own daughter’s rights away? And what kind of father might hate is own daughter if she were gay? The rhetorical questions are addressing Bush’s personal life and relationship with his daughter by putting a negative aspect onto it by saying he would hate her if she were gay. The effect of this is to show how unfair the President is being to people and how he should change his ways. This song makes serious comment on the issues of the President’s actions and decisions. Sunday bloody Sunday focuses on the ongoing issues of conflict between protestants and the Catholics in northern island, which culminated in the loss of lives on a day known as bloody Sunday.

The composer highlights the futility of the ongoing troubles and makes a call for change. A metaphor is utilised in the rhetorical question’ how ling must we sing this song? ’ to draw attention to the long period of time these troubles have been occurring. Direct address is employed in ‘we can be as one tonight’ in order to persuade people to put an end to the violence. Alliteration paired with evocative imagery reinforces the emotive impact of the message. ‘broken bottles under children’s feet/ bodies strewn across the dead end street. This is further demonstrated through a metaphor “the trench is dug within our hearts”, conveying the impact this is having on people’s emotions. The word choice ‘trench’ links the audience’s minds to war. The composer sends a powerful message by using a biblical allusion “the real battle has just begun/ to claim the victory Jesus won. ” Calling on Christians to unite with a common purpose rather than engage in fighting. The issue of religious conflict is clearly an important one that holds relevance for contemporary society. In 2011 Demi Lovado released the song Skyscraper.

Skyscraper focuses on the ongoing issue of bullying, self hate, and body image. The composer highlights the futility of the ongoing troubles and makes a call for change. The song begins with “Skies are crying, I am watching… catching teardrops in my hands. Only silence has its ending like we never had a chance. Do you have to make me feel like there’s nothing left of me? ” The tone of this is a soft, sad/ lonely whisper to show how vulnerable the composer is feeling, but slowly leads up to a louder stronger tone. Personification is employed which gives the effect of showing how she eels by using a large mass of to show the emotion the composer is feeling. A rhetorical question is used to show how she is feeling as though everything has been taken from her, making her feel worthless. In the chorus the metaphor “You can take everything I have, you can break everything I am” is used to show that things are changing for her but she is getting better and stronger to not care as much about the issues. “Like I’m made of glass, like I’m made of paper” uses repetition to portray the effect of feeling weak but knowing you’re much stronger.

This is shown because the substances referred to are paper and glass which are very weak and easy to break. In the third stanza emotive language is used. “Would it make you feel better to watch me while I bleed? ” This is relating to her issues of self harm and how it would make people feel to watch her do it. The emotive language reference is said in an angry tone with high volume. This is to show how fed up of feeling bad about herself she is. This song suggests that bullying and self image issues are clearly an important one that holds relevance for contemporary society.