Cooke
uses pathos in “A Change is Gonna Come” to create an emotional connection to
his audience of African Americans during the Civil Rights movement. This
song appeals to his audience through its hopeful and positivity during a time
of struggle. He relates to them in his lyrics by describing the struggle
that they all were facing at the time, “Then I go to my brother and I say,
"Brother, help me please. But he winds up knockin' me back down on
my knees.” These lyrics create an emotional reaction out of his audience
as they relate to the lyrics with their own experiences of prejudice. He
continues to relate to the values and beliefs of the audience through his
lyrics of hope, which resembled the hope of the African Americans of the
time. The pathos of this song plays a huge part in it’s popularity among
the African American community of the time because it embodied not only their
struggle and anger but also their hope for the future through the chorus, “It's
been a long, a long time coming but I know a change gon' come, oh yes it will."
-Julia
-Julia
I agree with you perspective on the use of pathos in the song, however I recommend elaborating the struggle African Americans were going through at the time. Also, the black part of the text was a little difficult to read.
ReplyDelete-Awynter
I agree with your analysis of pathos in the song. I suggest being more detailed about how the audience was feeling and the struggles they were dealing with. I like that you used specific quotes from the song.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Ashley and Savannah that even further elaboration might be useful here--and certainly will be in your presentation when you address the rhetorical situation of these songs! Also, any thoughts on the tone, melody, instrumentals here? Great work!
ReplyDelete