Narrative Perspective: Fast Car by Tracy Chapman
Alalysis #1- Fast Car- Tracy ChapmanPosted: 1st February 2011 by t3david in Narrative
0Analysis #1
Narrative Perspective difinetly
Artefact: Fast Car
Tracey Chapman
1988
I chose to analyse this artefact from a narrative perspective because it the song clearly describes all the elements of a narrative- the setting, characters, and events. Finally in order for this song to be a narrative there must be a moral which I will try to decipher while analysing the artefact. I also choose this artefact because it discusses some almost “taboo” topic, so I felt was relevant to pop culture.
The exact location of where the events take place is unclear. We can assume through the description of the song that it is likely that the events are taking place with a lower/middle class family living in a small neighbourhood. We can infer this because of the need for the narrator to want to drive away from where she is because there isn’t much opportunity in this small town.
The main character is also the narrator and she tells the story of what she is thinking as life passes her by. The main character also talks about other people in her life. One particular person is the person she seems to be singing to. She often refers to “you” when she talks about leaving the town. She also uses words like “we” and “us” to show that whoever she is singing to is with her and that she is not alone. Later on we learn about her family who act as secondary characters. We come to know about her father and the sacrifices she has made for him even though he may not be the best father (“I quit school”). We also hear about her mother who walked out on her and her father.
The major events are all the struggles that the main character had to go through. The narrator tells us about her family situation when she was younger; how her mother left the family, how her dad turned to alcohol, and how she had to pull the weight of her family by
0Analysis #1
Narrative Perspective difinetly
Artefact: Fast Car
Tracey Chapman
1988
I chose to analyse this artefact from a narrative perspective because it the song clearly describes all the elements of a narrative- the setting, characters, and events. Finally in order for this song to be a narrative there must be a moral which I will try to decipher while analysing the artefact. I also choose this artefact because it discusses some almost “taboo” topic, so I felt was relevant to pop culture.
The exact location of where the events take place is unclear. We can assume through the description of the song that it is likely that the events are taking place with a lower/middle class family living in a small neighbourhood. We can infer this because of the need for the narrator to want to drive away from where she is because there isn’t much opportunity in this small town.
The main character is also the narrator and she tells the story of what she is thinking as life passes her by. The main character also talks about other people in her life. One particular person is the person she seems to be singing to. She often refers to “you” when she talks about leaving the town. She also uses words like “we” and “us” to show that whoever she is singing to is with her and that she is not alone. Later on we learn about her family who act as secondary characters. We come to know about her father and the sacrifices she has made for him even though he may not be the best father (“I quit school”). We also hear about her mother who walked out on her and her father.
The major events are all the struggles that the main character had to go through. The narrator tells us about her family situation when she was younger; how her mother left the family, how her dad turned to alcohol, and how she had to pull the weight of her family by