Subdivisions By Rush Essay

Conformity is when someone settles to what is considered normal. Not wanting to stand out because they will be considered abnormal and weird. In the song Subdivisions by Rush, the topic is how conformity negatively impacted the lives of the 1900 immigrants. In order for Subdivisions to be as powerful as it is, Rush had to use a variety of techniques including comparisons and repetition. Through the use of repetition and comparisons, Subdivisions enforces the idea that conformity had a negative impact on the European immigrants during the 1900’s. Through out Subdivisions, there are multiple phrases that are repeated. This repetition enforces the idea that people must give up who they are and who they want to be in order to fit in and be accepted. An example of this is when Rush sings “conform or be cast out” and “Be cool or be cast out”. This is similar to the way the European immigrants had to completely forget about who they used to be and change the way they lived in order to be accepted in the United States. Not only

These comparisons are used to display how blind society is to what is happening around them. For example, when Rush sings, “drawn like moths we drift into the city”, it means that society aimlessly floats toward something that has always been regarded as attractive. Until someone thinks for him or herself and doesn’t get brainwashed by the movement of the masses, no true progress will be made. Also, when Rush says, “Cruising for the action, lit up like a firefly”, they are saying that the people in society aren’t in a rush to get anywhere and that they are just floating around with no motivation to do anything. That is why when the European immigrants came along expecting to find prosperity and freedom, they found that there is no real freedom at all, because in order to be accepted one must forget who the are and they must “conform or be cast