Rhetorical Analysis of “Hurricane”
Rhetorical Analysis of “Hurricane”
Martin Luther King once said, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, popular, or political, but because it is right.” The song “Hurricane”, written by Bob Dylan takes a stand and ignores what was safe, popular, and politically right during the 1960’s and 1970’s, in order to paint a picture of injustice. Dylan organizes the actual events of a man named Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who was a middleweight boxer wrongfully accused and convicted of a double homicide. Dylan narrates the song and uses his credibility as a rock star to reason with a broader audience, while evoking the emotions of listeners by describing horrific events, prejudice, and coercion by fraudulent figures of authority that developed false allegations. As a result the man (Hurricane) authorities came to blame was convicted and put in prison for 20 years but as Dylan says in his song, Hurricane could have been the champion of the world, referring to “Hurricane,” who was a well known sports figure for his boxing talent. The song is also narrated in such a way that Dylan tries to convey a message that will not only cause a critical analysis of the injustice by his fan base but also by the general public. The setting of the song takes place in Patterson, New Jersey, which is a line written in the song that reads, “and they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing in the hot New Jersey night.” In the first verse of the song Dylan attempts to hook listeners with the words, “pistol shots ring out in the barroom night.” and after describing a bartender laying in a pool of blood he then moves on to quote a secondary character named Patty Valentine as saying, “My god they’ve killed them all!” describing the three men that lay slain in the barroom. The next two sentences tells audience what Dylan is going to do in which he says, “Here comes the story of the Hurricane, the man authorities came to blame for
Martin Luther King once said, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, popular, or political, but because it is right.” The song “Hurricane”, written by Bob Dylan takes a stand and ignores what was safe, popular, and politically right during the 1960’s and 1970’s, in order to paint a picture of injustice. Dylan organizes the actual events of a man named Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who was a middleweight boxer wrongfully accused and convicted of a double homicide. Dylan narrates the song and uses his credibility as a rock star to reason with a broader audience, while evoking the emotions of listeners by describing horrific events, prejudice, and coercion by fraudulent figures of authority that developed false allegations. As a result the man (Hurricane) authorities came to blame was convicted and put in prison for 20 years but as Dylan says in his song, Hurricane could have been the champion of the world, referring to “Hurricane,” who was a well known sports figure for his boxing talent. The song is also narrated in such a way that Dylan tries to convey a message that will not only cause a critical analysis of the injustice by his fan base but also by the general public. The setting of the song takes place in Patterson, New Jersey, which is a line written in the song that reads, “and they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing in the hot New Jersey night.” In the first verse of the song Dylan attempts to hook listeners with the words, “pistol shots ring out in the barroom night.” and after describing a bartender laying in a pool of blood he then moves on to quote a secondary character named Patty Valentine as saying, “My god they’ve killed them all!” describing the three men that lay slain in the barroom. The next two sentences tells audience what Dylan is going to do in which he says, “Here comes the story of the Hurricane, the man authorities came to blame for