1) Tell me what the poem/song is all about in your own words. What is the message/theme/issue in this song/poem that the singer/poet wants to convey to the audience?
Marc: Alright.. since the other guys don’t want to post their own opinions here I guess I have to do it myself -shrugs and panics-
So anyway, the first song, Minority by Green Day, is about being different from everyone. The song is plainly about not following the majority, like the ‘mainstream’ and just doing your own thing. Its about ‘being yourself’ and not giving a jazz about what anyone thinks.
The message that’s being conveyed is well, the same as the above. It’s main theme is ‘individuality’. The band wants to tell everyone that they should be what they want to be, and not what other people wants to be, to have your own way. After all, its your life.
The second song, All These Things That I’ve Done by the Killers, makes me think about religion. The lyrics “Is there room for one more son / One more son” sounds as if the singer is asking his god for the right to practice his old religion again. The singer’s life may not be turning out the way he had hoped, and this song could be a plea to his god.
The lyrics “I wanna stand up, I wanna let go / You know, you know – no you don’t, you don’t” may be a sign that he’s ranting about how miserable his life is. He wants to let go of either his life or his philosophy/religion. The part where he says “You know, you know – no you don’t, you don’t” may mean that no one, even his god, can relate to the problems he’s having now.
As a summary, I think that this song is about second chances and redemption in the eyes of God, and the ‘If-You-help-me-this-time-I’ll-be-good-forever’ attitude.
2)Why did your group choose this poem out of all the rest
Marc: It’s me again. -shrug-
So anyway, (sigh, this is seemingly becoming individual work for me) I chose the song by the Killers as a recommendation from a good friend, and I chose Minority as I chanced upon it.
I chose Minority because it really relates to what I’m feeling right now – (pardon my use of such primitive English) screwing the mainstream and doing what I want, and being what I want to be and not what someone else wants to. I totally agree with what Minority means because well, being in the mainstream doesn’t make you an individual. Like the cliques in my class, I don’t belong to a single clique, but am actually a so called ‘floater’, meaning that I float around the cliques, but don’t specifically belong to one of them. I also don’t like mainstream-anything because frankly, I want to be known as an individual and not in a group.
I agreed with my friend’s choice of ‘All These Things that I have Done’ because it’s a song that really makes you think. Think about religion, the bad choices you’ve made, how you’ve lived your life so far, and other shizz like that. Oh- and it really, really, makes me tear up. Like a person who’d abandoned his religion, and sincerely wants to believe in his religion again. Sorry, I can’t type anymore because I’m really panicky and teary right now.
3) Describe the tone of the two poems and the choice of words the author used to bring out the tone of the entire poenm. Compare and contrast the two poems.
Marc: -shrugs-
Minority is rebellious, to say the least. As I said, its about going against the majority and becoming the minority. The singer used words like “alone”, “stepped out of line”, “minority”, “singled-out” and the like to really bring out the tone of the song.
“All These Things That I Have Done” is somewhat desperate and beggary. The singer, is well, as I said, asking for another chance to live his life the right way again. He uses words/phrases like “one more son” and “if I can hold on” to bring out the tone.
Minority and “ATTTIHD” is really different. Minority is about getting out of the majority and being oneself while ATTTIHD is about getting back in the majority (which is in the song’s case, religion) to live peacefully. Minority gives off a really, really, rebellious vibe, while ATTTIHD gives off a somewhat “I-wanna-be-forgived” vibe.
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Well, that was a mouthful (or rather, fingerful) to type, and its all thanks to my uncooperative project partners D< Davin and Wesley, if you see this, too bad.
-MARCCCC is in pain from a cramped finger.
