ipl-logo

Billy Murray: The Denver Nightingale

1323 Words6 Pages

No knows exactly how he received the nickname The Denver Nightingale. Many say that the name was assigned to him by singer, pioneer, recording artist Samuel Holland Rous, but one thing that is certain is that he embraced the nickname like no other. Billy Murray was born by the name William Thomas Murray on May 25, 1877. By the time that Murray passed away at age 77 on August 17, 1954, he would go on to become one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century. Murray was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Irish parents Patrick and Julia Murray in County Kerry, Ireland. His parents would later move to the United States and raise him in Denver Colorado around the early 1880s. Murray became fascinated …show more content…

In the song lyrics such as “They were the best pals that I ever had I never thought that I'd want them so bad Gee but I'd give the world to see That old gang of mine” suggest that Billy should be missing and longing for the friendship that he had with his comrades but instead Billy doesn't like to mention the war because he didn't have a “gang” to miss. Billy didn't have a “gang” when the war was going on and he doesn't have a gang in the present because he's not close to his friends or his family members. Vonnegut writes his novel in this manner in order to depict the imbalance of war and comradery as part of his anti-war …show more content…

In chapter 5 of Slaughterhouse-Five Valencia mentions to Billy that she will lose weight for him but Billy lies to her by replying “I like you just the way you are” (Vonnegut, 120). Billy is lying to his wife when he knows that in the back of his head he was thinking that it was going to be bearable just for a while now. The couple despite being married just don't have the kind of relationship that a married couple should have. Although Valencia dearly loves Billy, Billy doesn't have that show that same love towards her. Their relationship is very imbalance. Billy is to blame for that. In chapter 5 of the novel, Billy recalls his wedding night with Valencia after they got done making love Valencia asks Billy about war. Reluctant to talk Billy gets up and goes to the bathroom and finds himself living in the past once again. The slightest mention of war and Billy immediately cringes and checks himself out of reality. As an anti-war novel maybe war is to blame for the imbalance relationship that Billy has with his wife and I will explain more of that in a

Show More
Related

How Does Ishmael Beah Use Literary Devices In A Long Way Gone

887 Words | 4 Pages

Before the war had started his brother had introduced him to the cassette tapes and he explained how much he cared for them by saying “I loved the dance and particularly enjoyed the lyrics… they were poetic and it improved my vocabulary”(Beah 6). Rap music has affected his psychological state of mind and throughout any point in time, he was feeling emotion. Beah and his brother went on a trip to see their grandmother and mother which was a total of sixteen miles. When they arrived with their grandmother, she made them some food and took care of them. During the time of the war, Beah reflected on his grandmother and her home a lot to try and unfocus on all of the blood and dead bodies he had witnessed back in his hometown.

Read More

American Sniper And Slaughterhouse Five Comparison

742 Words | 3 Pages

He brings his experience from the bombing of Dresden and recalls his encounters during the tragedy. Through the subject of Billy, he describes the aftermath of man’s destructive power through the bombing, “It looked like Dresden after it was fire-bombed-like the surface of the moon” (). From this quote, he paints a true sight of war where nothing is left but dust. He relates this event to emphasize the fact that war is a place of sadness and despair and from Billy’s viewpoint he observes the hurtfulness and all the destructiveness of the world when the city of Dresden gets

Read More

Book Report On Slaughter House Five By Kurt Vonnegut

714 Words | 3 Pages

Billy sees that the city is covered in dead bodies, and Billy was forced to dig up the corpses “There were hundreds of corpse mines operating by and by. […] Bodies weren’t brought up anymore. They were cremated by soldiers with flamethrowers right where they were” (Vonnegut, 214). The message that the author is trying to communicate with us, is how inhumane and cruel people can be to cause such destruction. For Vonnegut, the only thing that results in a war, is death and tragic

Read More

Billy Pilgrim's Slaughterhouse Five

843 Words | 4 Pages

everybody has their opinion on war and if it's good or bad in society. billy pilgrim's opinion on war it not about if it's good or bad but if it's necessary in human life. in the book slaughterhouse 5 billy's psychological and moral traits are shaped by his experience with war and the tralfamadorians Billy pilgrim is effected by his cultural surrounding that shape his psychological traits. when billy meets the tralfamadorians he learns many thing from their society and culture that changes his beliefs of life. one of the many things he learned was time is divided in particular moments not one constant phenomenon.

Read More

Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

1216 Words | 5 Pages

Billy goes through similar experiences that Vonnegut did such as being in war, being overworked in a concentration camp, and being in the middle of the Firebombing of Dresden. Billy had a peaceful life in Ilium New York until he is drafted into war. Even in war, Billy learned how to stay peaceful. Like Vonnegut, Billy never carried a gun and almost froze in the cold climate. At the Battle of the Bulge, Billy and three others were captured and brought to concentration camps.

Read More

New Historicism In Slaughterhouse-Five

1106 Words | 5 Pages

Soldiers were not viewed as brave men risking their lives, and the war was seen as an unnecessary event. This type of mentality is seen in the novel with the perceptions of the soldiers. The narrator expresses the view of the time period when he states, “They were soldiers’ coats. Billy was the only one who had a coat from a dead civilian” (82). The meaning behind this is very crucial because it establishes a definite division between soldiers and civilians.

Read More

George Strait Essay

470 Words | 2 Pages

Born May 18, 1952 in a small Texas town called Poteet, George Strait began his life as a small town boy and worked up to be a Country Music Legend. Raised by a single father in the small Texas town, George was taught to ride horses and how to rope, like many country folk do, but late in life learned to play, write, and sing music. (Carlin) When George was in fourth grade his mother and father decide to get a divorce.

Read More

Billy Pilgrim's Slaughterhouse Five

1482 Words | 6 Pages

The book doesn’t overtly state Billy’s condition, however, it is only amplified as a result of the book’s achronological structure. In showing a nonsequential unfolding of events, Vonnegut wishes to unmoor the reader from their preconceived notions just as Billy is unmoored from time and he makes the effect of how war trauma affects an individual’s psyche quite clear through Billy’s example. It is through the book’s structure that one can see Billy’s disheveled state after the war. Him coming unstuck in time is a human attempt to rewrite the atrocities he wishes to unsee, and allows a portrayal of war far less glorified, and more real that the “realist narratives” Rigney speaks of. While the random arrival of Tralfamadorians seems as unrealistic as can be, they are essentially a representation of the Germans, and Vonnegut trying to right the wrongs they had committed against him within his own mind.

Read More

Ptsd In Slaughterhouse Five

1366 Words | 6 Pages

Some experiences, like the sudden unexpected death of a loved one, can also cause PTSD” (National Institute of Mental Health, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”). PTSD, like many other diseases, can arise from a number of conditions, making it hard to pinpoint where it stems from. Vonnegut takes into account that PTSD can come from a number of sources, providing a plethora of possible explanations for Billy’s mental capacity throughout the novel. For instance, early in Billy’s life, Billy, along

Read More

Sonny's Blues Rhetorical Analysis

838 Words | 4 Pages

The narrator described the very stereotypical gang members in Harlem being “filled with rage” and “popping off needles every time they went to the head” (Baldwin 123). Lastly, the change in the author's tone was very evident. The readers could notice when the narrator was talking about life in Harlem or Sonny’s drug abuse because it had a very bitter and cold tone. However, when Sonny was talking about his music the tone was hopeful and positive. Baldwin wanted to show that music was the one thing helping with Sonny’s pain.

Read More

Is Billy The Misfit In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

626 Words | 3 Pages

It all comes down to “guts! [He] could go outside right now if [he] had the guts” (195). Billy has been told his whole life by his mother, peers, and later Nurse Ratched that he does not and will never be able to fit in. The “deadly, pointing forefinger of society” has always been pointed at him and he has always heard “the voice of millions shouting ‘shame, shame, shame’” (308).

Read More

W. B. Thornton Wilder Biography

215 Words | 1 Pages

Thornton Wilder was born on April 17, 1897 to a highly educated and accomplished family. His father was a newspaper owner and editor and was a powerful public speaker. His mother was well-educated, cultured, and a successful poet. Both parents introduced a love of the classics and intellectual curiosity in all their children. Wilder was a talented musician, studying piano, organ and violin.

Read More

How Did Louis Armstrong Contribute To The Harlem Renaissance

1263 Words | 6 Pages

Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1901, even though he sometimes said later in his life that he was born on July 4, 1900. He was raised by his mother and grandmother after his father, who was a factory worker, left the family while Armstrong was still a child. His family was very poor, and as a child Armstrong worked many odd jobs to help support the family. Armstrong was surrounded by music while working and playing in the streets of New Orleans. Since he could not afford an instrument, he learned to sing and joined a vocal quartet that sang on street corners for a little extra money.

Read More

Disorders In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1041 Words | 5 Pages

Because of Dependent Personality Disorder, not only did Billy feel the need to have a relationship with someone but his relationship was ruined because of his fearful

Read More

Theme Of Friendship In The Things They Carried

767 Words | 4 Pages

During the Vietnam war soldiers took many sacrifices, including leaving their families and being outkast’s in society. But during the war they made really good friendships. The Vietnam war made people lose their lives, friends, and families. Many people didn 't support the war so they protested, and when the soldiers came back from war they were treated like outcasts. In the novel “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, the book shows the themes friendship and sacrifice through key details like when someone dies they still remain friends even though they had a sacrifice.

Read More

More about Billy Murray: The Denver Nightingale

Related Topics

Open Document