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Demons: A Comparative Analysis

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Nyte Miller Honors English IV Dear-Nut 3/30/2023 Demons: A Comparative Analysis In the 2020 song “Demons”, written and performed by Alec Benjamin for his debut studio album These Two Windows. Alec sings about going through issues and overcoming these issues or demons that plagued his mind because of a helpful therapeutic figure in his life. Similarly, Ishmael Baeh, in A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, an autobiographical story written in 2007 begins his journey post war at a rehabilitation center struggling with his mental health until he meets Esther. A woman befriends him and helps him heal by forgiving and accepting himself for the wrongs he committed and the circumstances that were placed upon him. Both Ishmael and Alec …show more content…

Throughout his music and the song “Demons” especially, Alec opens up about his struggles with social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (also known as OCD) and how these disorders affect him and the environment surrounding him. He describes them as “demons” hiding underneath the surface that no one can see, no one except him. Alec states in the first verse: “Well, at first, I thought I’d have to bear this weight by myself. But when my knees were getting weak, and I was need of help. You were there to take away the pain that I felt” (V1). Meaning that Alec remained silent about his struggles, believing that he had to face them alone. Until a caring and helpful therapeutic person came into his life and helped him learn to open up about his feelings, with Alec stating, “You’re the only one that gave me hope, you’re the only one who really knows” (Pre-Coro). However, similar to Ishmael Baeh in chapters 17 and 18, Alec resisted opening up and even mentions taking the love of his therapeutic person for granted, often ignoring his problems and believing that he was fine and could deal with his issues alone, but the caring figure never held that against him and instead chose to forgive him and continue to help him. Alec confirms this by stating in the bridge of the song that “Even when I turned my back on you, you never let me down and even when I hit the …show more content…

Both men are a perfect example of how communication and understanding can rehabilitate the mind and help those with mental struggles and how a person could use their life experiences to educate others such as both Ishmael and Alec deciding to use their respective creative outlets to share their stories and experiences to advocate and help others with the same struggles that they have dealt

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But once they do, that person will have access to an entirely different method of self-expression. A method that can a source of joy and even as therapeutic alternative for psychological problems; much like what Ishmael had done during his time at the rehab center. Even before the war, it can be witnessed early in the book that just by simply writing song lyrics together “They were transfixed by the music and returned as often as possible to watch rap on the big television” (A Long Way Gone Chapter 1 Summary, 2017); thanks to the this, Ishmael and his friends were able to build a strong bond, whilst making unforgettable

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Baldwin’s creative style in both stories effectively gives his audience perspective and insight into these themes, permitting a deeper comprehension of how they relate to the world outside of his stories.

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