Proposal And Annotated Bibliography: Bob Dylan

Proposal and Annotated Bibliography – Bob Dylan Born as Robert Allen Zimmerman in the rural city of Duluth Minnesota, Bob Dylan spent most of his early life performing in school variety shows before traveling to New York City, where he soon became the voice of the 1960’s (Brown 2). As a child, Dylan would idle around his uncle’s appliance shop that specialized in selling radios and record players; this is the place in which he first discovered his passion for music (3). From then on, Dylan began looking toward Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Elvis Presley for musical inspiration. Each artist was gifted in their own way, but Hank Williams and the author John Steinbeck are to be accredited for giving Dylan his poetic

We have two journal articles that were found via Academic Search Complete, five eBooks, two books within the University’s library and one encyclopedia. All resources are focused on Bob Dylan, the 1960’s, or the Vietnam War. We have decided to analyze the song “Masters of War” and may include another song in our presentation. We were thinking about briefly mentioning his song “With God on Our Side”. The lyrics from this work hint at the Vietnam War, but mostly discuss crimes against humanity. Although, Bob Dylan has been involved with many causes over the decades, like the Civil Rights Movement, we have decided to focus our presentation on his rebellion against the Vietnam War. Many of Dylan’s most popular protest songs are about the Civil Rights Movement, however, his songs about the Vietnam War are somewhat neglected. Therefore, that is one of the main reasons we chose “Masters of War” to study. Out of all the sources that we have examined, one question still remains; how did Bob Dylan, a random kid from rural Minnesota, become so passionate about protesting against segregation, black oppression, etc.? Were his parents against segregation? Was it a result from listening to the radio throughout his childhood? How did he develop this voice, which seemed to be bigger than

However, how does this make Dylan a rebel? Answering this question involves understanding the 60’s era. Not so long before Dylan arrived onto the New York scene, people lived safe, normal and predictable lives. There were no large protests or sit-ins, people did what the government told them to do. Children were expected to obey their parents and would one day follow in their footsteps. Children usually shared their parents’ opinions as well. However, that all changed in the 60’s when the younger generation separated themselves from the older generation. By dropping out of college against his parent’s wishes, Dylan was an early arriver to this movement. It did not take him long to see that the times were changing and not just because of the Civil Rights Movement or the war. This is one of many reasons why Bob Dylan is a rebel. Now, rebellion and justice do not go hand in hand. One does not need a cause to be rebellious. However, Dylan’s songs were all about justice for those treated unfairly for their race and those who were forced to participate in an act hey disagreed with (Vietnam War). His protest songs had a lasting effect on this nation; we still stand by these ideas today. There is no longer a draft and there is no longer