Examples Of Cluster Criticism

The method of approach that I chose for this artifact is Cluster Criticism. As stated in Rhetorical Criticism:Exploration and Practice, Cluster Criticism is “the meanings that key symbols have for a rhetor are discovered by charting the symbols that cluster around those key symbolism an artifact.” A cluster analysis provides a survey or blueprint of the rhetor’s mind in which results in giving us insights into the meanings of key terms and thus a worldview of the rhetor, even the rhetor may not know. Generating a sense of comfort over the feelings of loss, regret, and guilt is a difficult task. My artifact of choice for this method is the song “Lucy” written by Christian rock band Skillet. This song appears on the album Awake, released in

They didn’t know what to do when they found out that she was pregnant; they were young, they didn’t have any money, they were scared, they didn’t want to tell anybody, they didn’t know what to do, and the only option that they could see was to terminate the pregnancy. So that’s what they decided to do… they went to a clinic, they had the procedure done, and at first they felt relieved that all their problems had gone away. But then something happened that they did not expect… and that’s over the next few weeks, which turned into a few months, they began to feel an intense sadness… and a pain and an agony and a guilt that wouldn’t go away. They didn’t know what to do, so they finally went to see a counselor; they said look — tell us what to do, we just don’t know, and the counselor made a suggestion. The counselor said here’s what you need to do — stop acting like you had a procedure, and act like you had a death in the family.” Here, John Cooper is explaining how the song was influenced by the couple’s story of abortion. However, this can be perceived as a pro-life argument in the disguise of a song. With Cooper giving his say of how this song hopes to impact his audience, we will continue to go in deeper

Here, the terms that I found clustered around were we, my arms, today, wanted, and over. This term signals the present or in the moment in which references time. We and my arms cluster around here and now gives us an image of wishing the present was different where Lucy was in my arms here and now. This here invokes the emotions of empathy because many people can understand wishing a certain deceased loved one was alive here and now. Today and wanted promptly describes the description of the present. Over appears attached to now in which refers to the ending of a moment or something. However, if we are enjoying something or so attached to something now then we never want an ending. In other words, we face reality. There are a lot of people who wishes and want to hold that special someone in their arms here and now. Moreover, time could be referring to a call to action now for which Cooper talks about a couple performing abortion in the song in hopes to send the message that abortion leads to loss and broken hearts. In other words, its a pro-life song. A cluster analysis of Skillet’s “Lucy” suggests a number of rhetorical strategies that are available for rhetors who want to give comfort to the listener and those who are going through these emotions. A part of the strategy was to involve the rhetorical appeal recognition of wishing to hold a deceased loved one, in this case a potential newborn baby, so that the