In-Depth On a Feature
Following my reading of “History of American Protest Music,” on Longreads, I’ve found the dissecting details of the story. Those details focus on character, narrative structure, and themes.
The main theme of this story morality, or humanity. We are too look at the world, or the issues within, and we are to decide what the moral side is and which side we are on. The theme is accomplished through a story about protest music. In the 1930’s a mining company got into a brutal war with union workers of a small Kentucky town. This inspired a union leader’s wife to write the song “Which Side Are You On?”. It holds on to this idea throughout the story of protest music, with “Which Side Are You On?” being used as the basis.
A major character throughout the piece, is Florence Reece, who is the union leader wife that wrote the song. She is portrayed as the first person to use music to protest what is happening in the world, to turn it into a more understandable issue. A man named Jim Garland understood her issue, and her song, and took it with him to New York. Pete Seeger is the man that heard the song, and recorded it, which made Florence’s issue a national anthem.
The characters begin to disappear into the structure after Seeger’s recording. The structure is connected with the history of “Which Side are You On?”. It has a chronological structure that moves along with time, from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. It begin’s with Florence Reece’s first lyrics, and ends with in the 1960’s when others add their own lyrics to fit the situations they are protesting.
The most major character is the song itself. It is a representation of a person. It is what weaves us through the timeline, and represents the theme. It changes over the course of time as other lyrics are added. It remains timely because it is changed by people over thirty years who are all going through similar issues.
The structure and characters all connect back to he theme of morality. It clearly points you towards protest, but it wants you to make this an issue that is important enough for the whole nation to get behind. The article wants us to pick our side of the fence, and ends with a persuasion to write the next lyric, like the generations before us did.
The first graf uses the word “penury.” Not helpful.
Perseverence against overwhelming odds. Art over commerce.