Literary works
Literary works have been used for centuries to bring social change by inciting people to cultivate critical thinking about dominant ideologies in society. Poems, books, and even musical lyrics are known for their ability to map out exploitation and oppression that freely exists in our communities. The ability to spot themes that revolve around social justice requires one to have a basic understanding of literal devices. This is because the artists and poets are not direct when discussing these issues. They use stylistic devices such as metaphors and idioms to relay hidden messages about their position on political matters that may be oppressive. In this paper, I will compare and contrast the album “Operation doomsday” by MF Doom and the poem “The Taste of Rain” by Jack Kerouac highlighting their central themes and how they advocate for social justice.
“Operation Doomsday” is considered the debut album of the rapper MF Doom. He wrote the album in New York but he was originally from the UK. The songs in the album feature the prominent theme of social justice and racism. The transformative lyrics of each song are mostly centered on social injustice and the socioeconomic differences that arise from race. Some of the songs urge listeners to embrace their ethnicity and cultural heritage while disputing the conformity that plagues our society. “The Taste of rain” is, on the other hand, an elegant poem by the Canadian poet Jack Kerouac. He wrote the poem while in Lowell, Massachusetts. The poem is highly stylized and employs a significant array of stylistic devices to explore the paradoxical nature of how we associate with God and people in society. Jack assures his readers that life is a pathway to joy and it is in itself a paradise. He urges them to embrace each moment like it was their last to fulfil their desires.
MF Doom and Jack Kerouac implore social justice for marginalized communities by using metaphorical phrases. In the song “Go with the Flow”, the rapper talks about 6-0 sicko psycho, which signifies the power of the government, most likely the police. The line “Of the fly brown 6-0 sicko psycho who throws his d…k around” signifies how police are known to showcase their power through police brutality. The song talks about how we will all eventually die and it does not matter who has more power at the moment because it will not matter much in the end. The opening lines of the poem “The Taste of Rain” are also metaphorical expressions that denote power and how we are deluded on the principles of its working. “The taste of rain, why kneel” these powerful words are expressions of how we understand and communicate with God. The poet asks why we should kneel before God while he takes his time to communicate to us through our surroundings. He is clear that God reaches out to us whenever we need him. Both artists use metaphors to explore the concept of misappropriation and misunderstanding of power.
MF Doom uses repetition in his song “Tic Tic…” to express the profoundness of our ignorance to the workings of society, whereas Jack Kerouac uses allegory to convey the same insight. The opening lines of the song “Tic Tic…” use repetition to show the destitute nature of what we know about societies’ workings and existence as a whole. The part where he says “Nobody will never ever, ever, really, really know” creates in one a sense of urgency in why we claim that we understand how things are supposed to be. The repetition employed in this passage has subtle nuances of alliteration and assonance which make the song even more poetic. On the other hand, Jack uses allegory to make the same implied meaning. The line, “Snap your finger, stop the world, rain falls harder” is an allegorical reference of how we do not have a clue of what makes the world what it is. He suggests that we might think we have power over our choices but it is not the case because free will is an illusion. The lack of control over how much it rains is an allegory for the vast and mysterious nature of the world. MF Doom and Jack Kerouac use different literary styles to convey similar themes.
MF Doom paints equality as a non-existent concept and it, therefore, should not be searched for whereas Jack Kerouac expresses equality as something inherent in all of us. “Dead Bent” a powerful song from the album, artistically articulates how it is impossible to go back in time to recover all the times the artist lived in poverty. From the lines “About to get these millions, stacks and s…t” money is seen as a synecdoche upon which the rapper will find equality in the society. Jack, on the other hand, perceives equality as something fleeing because with time the forces that create inequality will have to die out. The lines “Nightfall, boy smashing dandelions with a stick.” come after the heavy rain has ceased and things are back to their usual place. This expression uses situational irony to make a case of the invalidity of the current order once the disorder has disrupted the normal events. Although the music and the poem have different perceptions of equality, they both have a similar underlying understanding of its meaning.
Unlike Jack Kerouac, MF Doom speaks about his life as a minority plainly without figurative speech. In the song, “Gas Drawls” MF Doom speaks openly about the pain involved with living life as a minority race in New York and how he was able to use this pain as a tool of inspiration in his lyrics. The lines “By the way, I re-up on bad dreams, bag up screams in fifty” is a euphemism for how crack cocaine and heroin are peddled in his neighborhood. According to MF Doom, the life of a black person like him in New York is a living nightmare. Jack Kerouac on the hand does not speak plainly about how unfair it is to live as a marginalized community. Instead, he uses allusion to depict the insignificance of his background in the place where the poem is contextualized. From the passage “The bottom of my shoes are clean from walking in the rain.” he uses symbolism to portray where he is regarded in his community and how it does not matter because of how life equalizes him with his counterparts. The similarities and differences in both these literary works show how artists and poets can express the same topics in a myriad of ways.