Bob Dylan Death Of Emmett Till Analysis

With the ability to transform ordinary mediums, artists create a new perspective. Bob Dylan uses his music to express a message in each of his songs. Bob Dylan is not only a musician, but also an author and a painter. He utilizes these different art mediums to spread awareness of the social and political injustices of the United States. Dylan began to write songs after his mentor,Woody, encouraged him to do so. He “began writing songs at an astonishing pace, including ‘Song to Woody,’ a tribute to his ailing hero”(Bob Dylan Biography). Woody inspired Dylan to create music to connect with others. “The Death of Emmett till ”, which depicts the story of a young boy who was beaten to death by white men, was Dylan's first ever protest song.

Dylan translate Emmet’s story into a poem, by using imagery to detail the brutality of Emmet's death. Dylan writes“Then they rolled his body down a gulf amidst a bloody red rain”(Dylan 10). Dylan creates a disturbing image of a marred body drenched in blood tossed in river. He did not disregard the horrifying images of Emmet’s death. Instead he took the spine-chilling images of Emmet's’ death to inform the nation of the inequalities and discriminations African Americans faced. Dylan portrays imagery throughout his poem, but also invokes a sense of anger among his listeners. Dylan sings “For the jury found them innocent and the brothers they went free”(Dylan 20). Emmett Till’s killers were not found guilty, which enraged the south. Both men were able to live freely because the all white jury acquitted the defendants. Dylan utilized his anger and helped publicize the unjust rule of Emmett’s case. According to Janet Gezari, an English Professor at Connecticut College, “Dylan's is quintessentially the voice of the american people.”( Gezari). Dylan's, fans became empowered with his empowered they decided to join the fight for equal rights. Dylan used his music to create new image in which Emmett’s death could be