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Bruce Springsteen's Violence In America

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Us versus them mentality is a cultural phenomenon that is pa hallmark of civilizations past, present, and future. Propagation of this phenomenon is greatly enhanced at times of great conflict in order to unify members of a culture. In Violence in America, Arnold Goldstein details how us versus them is spurred by, “A basic human quality [of] desire to feel one is part of a group of people whom we see as being both like ourselves and . . . being better than other groups” (Goldstein 1). However, is everyone swept up in the cause during times of distress, or are there those who go against the tide and argue against the us versus them psychology? The answer is there are always those who defy the cultural trend. Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 hit song …show more content…

These lyrics reflect the struggle he grew up with, living “in a working-class household in Freehold Borough.” His father “had trouble holding down a steady job and worked at different times as a bus driver, millworker and prison guard,” during his childhood and his songs reflect on this relatable ordeal. Of all his albums, 1984’s Born in the U.S.A. is credited as Springsteen’s magnum opus. The album produced “seven singles [that hit] the top of the Billboard Charts,” one of which shared its name with the album (Biography.com Editors). “Born in the U.S.A,” with its upbeat tempo and invigorating chorus, is not the patriotic tune that many mistakenly believe. It takes the opposite approach, as it embodies Springsteen’s own values to destroy the philosophy of us versus them that gripped America during …show more content…

The song does not describe the yellow men as enemies, communists, or barbarians. He does not degrade them in any sense; nor does he claim the purported reason for the war. The government just wants him to kill the yellow man. This lyric does not only debase the validity of the war, but discredits the government of the nation at the time. Who exactly is the enemy in this scenario; the yellow men or the government that wants to kill them? This alone breaks down us versus them, but this is only the second

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Many of the soldiers were cruel, not only killing unarmed people, but also raping "hundreds of women, young girls, widows" (Menchu 166). These murders discouraged some people from protesting, but it made other people realize that they had to be willing to sacrifice their lives to bring about change However, it is revealed the soldiers, who were painted as monsters, may also be victims of state terror. One broke down, claiming that he had to take "orders from a captain" or else he would be killed. If he obeyed, he would be "an enemy of the people" and if he didn't, he would be "the army's enemy," conveying how some soldiers had no choice and were as scared as everyone else (Menchu

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This does not show anything about war being sweet. For example, Owen makes us picture a soldier’s “hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” (20). This clearly shows us how the man’s face is burning off. The final way authors protest war is by demonstrating structure. In “ The Yellow Birds” Kevin Powers does not use any complete sentences.

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Most of the violence we have is gang related especially in Chicago. Chicago is known to be one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. A lot of shootings, rapes, robberies, and murders comes from gang violence. There has been 419 murders in Chicago this year. The murder rate of Chicago is about four times higher than New York City and 2.5 times higher than Los Angeles.

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“Wherever there’s somebody fightin’ for a place to stand, Or decent job or a helpin’ hand”(Springsteen line 29-30) These two lines are parts of the speech of Tom Joad. From his mouth, we know that people have to fight for jobs and shelters. They need to turn against their friends, peers, or even family in order to survive. Nearly a quarter of the workforce was out of work. In other words, a quarter of Americans don’t have

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296 Words | 2 Pages

The American people have a sense of “us against them” that is rampant in areas such as race, gender, religion, etc. There are many reasons that we are all different, and these different perspectives were once scene as strengths to make America a great “melting pot”. Now these differences are seen as liabilities and only cause strife and distrust. There is always a generational hope to leave the world a better place for future generations, but many of our greatest minds are bogged down by petty arguments about

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In this report we will be talking about the novel Hatchet, written by Gary Paulsen. All throughout the novel, Paulsen uses creative literary techniques to emphasise the theme of man versus nature. The novel, Hatchet, is about a young boy, called Brian, who takes a plane over a forest going from America to Canada to visit his dad, when the pilot dies from a heart attack and Brian has to crash land the plane in a lake. Brian then has to learn how to live in the wild while waiting to be found by the rescue crews. In the paragraphs below we will be talking about the literary techniques Paulsen uses throughout the novel, like metaphors, similes, reptation and exaggeration, that help show that, Brian is dealing with dangerous animals of the wild,

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Violence is one of the most common causes of death, taking the lives of 4.4 million individuals per year in the US, with an estimated value of forty thousand caused by gun violence. Many innocent lives are taken by these horrible acts, especially in marginalized communities. In the novel “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds, the author explores the theme of the ineffectiveness of violence through the protagonist, Will Hollowman, a young 15-year-old teenager with a murdered older brother, Shawn Hollowman, who was killed by gunshots at 19 years old. He decides to embark on a path down the elevator to seek revenge, and throughout his minute long journey, he encounters many characters who were related to him, or Shawn, and were affected by violence. As he descends each floor, he discovers more details and information, learning about his and Shawn’s life.

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LYRIC MEANING At the Beginning of the song he yells the line “Why do they always send the poor?!” they send the poor because they will follow their orders so they don 't need to do it themselves. To emphasize how the presidents don 't fight in the war or how the president should try harder to prevent them they say, “Where the f**k are you? Why don 't presidents fight the war?

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Conflict theory is everywhere I look within American; the country was born and thrives on conflict theory. This is something I have felt strong about for years. After doing some reading, the cross correlation between the three is amazing. However, I feel we have an extensive amount of Conflict Theory in society

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“Born by the River” illustrates my version of the “American Dream” because Cooke expresses this faith that things will change, despite social segregation. For example, Cooke mentions, "how it has been difficult over the years facing “segregation and inequality,” but he has hope a change will come for the future (Stanza 1). Cooke sings in a doubtful manner because of the unjust times he 's living in and explains all the harsh realities he is faced. Although he lives under these circumstances, his hope is restored because colored Americans began to stand up for what 's right in civil rights movements. Similarly, today we are faced with opposing laws that make it harder for “equal opportunism” for immigrants in America, but these dreamers still stand tall in protests for their fight against unequal opportunities.

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It is in observing how people deal with and react to conflicts that we see clear differences between cultures. Some cultures view conflict as a positive thing, while others view it as something to be avoided. In the United States, conflict is not usually desirable; nonetheless, conventional wisdom in this country encourages individuals to deal directly with conflicts when they do arise. In fact, face-to-face encounters are usually suggested as the way to work through whatever problems exist. By contrast, in many Asian countries, open conflict is experienced as embarrassing or demeaning.

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The Irony of “Born in the U.S.A.” As the fireworks explode in the night sky to celebrate Independence Day, “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen plays loudly for the audience to hear. As the men, women, and children bellow out the chorus proudly, they never seem to grasp its intended meaning. By studying the appeals and irony used in Springsteen’s lyrics, it is easy to see how Springsteen’s message of the poor treatment of Vietnam War veterans is misconstrued by millions of listeners into American pride. Springsteen’s intended audience is a group made up of mainly white, blue collar Americans-

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The poem aims to glorify soldiers and certain aspects of war, it goes on to prove that in reality there really isn 't good vs bad on the battlefield, it 's just a man who "sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call, And only death can stop him now—he 's fighting for them all.", and this is our hidden meaning.

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The song chosen for this paper is “God bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood. For the researcher, the song holds different kinds of significance owing to which the researcher has chosen this song as the topic for this paper. People residing in America, irrespective of where they are from, have started to believe in this song and have accepted the fact that America is a place that has provided them with the kind of freedom they have always wanted. The thesis statement of the paper is to understand what the song “God bless the USA” means for the Americans. Discussion Literary Elements of Song “God bless the USA” was a song written by Lee Greenwood.

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