The Angry American by Toby Keith Essay Example for Free

The Angry American by Toby Keith Essay Tragedy is one of the most influential inspirations for art, including songwriting. In recent times, many artists responded to their feelings toward the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, with an abundance of artwork, poetry, and songs. One of the songs, Toby Keiths The Angry American, may conceivably be portrayed as a summation of the artists patriotic values in a reaction to the event. Although in initial observation it may seem as though the song attempts to also inspire patriotism in its audience, it does quite the contrary, inspiring revenge against acts that hurt or threaten the USA, namely September 11th. Patriotism is defined as positive acts of nationalistic feeling: Keith suggests, however, that vengeance or at least violence defines nationalistic feeling. Before performing this piece, Toby Keith gave a speech about his reasons for creating the song. Although Keith states in his speech that he wrote the song following September 11th, as if for the victims of that tragedy, he in fact wrote it not as an emotional reaction toward the victims, but for his own personal feelings, including those of his father and his sacrifices in the line of duty. In dedicating the song to his father, Keith furthers the idea that the song was written for personal reasons and not just as a response for the victims of September 11th. Although Keith may be conceivably trying to express the idea of the USA prevailing over any evil, he conveys this idea in a violent, vengeful way. He clearly suggests the idea of America as being a country that any enemy will be sorry that they messed with, basically saying that if you harm the USA, theyll put a boot in your ass, its the American way. By stating this about the USA, Keith suggests that Americans will violently take revenge against any threat made upon them, and to such a great degree that it will cause the enemy to never be able to threaten the USA again. Keith characterizes the USA almost as if it was the school bully, who no one can take the top spot from, or hurt without being hurt in return. This dominating ideology of the USA, which Keith seems to use to try to boost the morale of the songs listeners, in fact weakens the song by suggesting violent acts as an acceptable means to substantiate any feelings of anger or hatred toward past events harmful to the US. The roots of hatred sprout from many different feelings: fear, ignorance, competing beliefs, sadness, frustration, helplessness. Through the use of certain terms in both his speech and song, Keith portrays this hatred, in many forms. Keith presents feelings of helplessness when he expresses the idea of the US in a cage. The use of the term cage may be due to the fact that Keith feels frustrated and vulnerable from the attacks on September 11th, in that the perpetrators of the attacks are either already dead or too difficult to find, and if revenge were to be taken, it would not bring the victims back, or make the pain and grief of the attacks any easier to bear. Therefore one might say that Keiths patriotic ideals are caged, as he feels that someone has stricken his country and all he believes in, and there is not a way to avenge this entrapment. Keith expresses further feelings of frustration in his ignorance as to who his enemies actually are. As he states in his song, a mighty sucker punch came flying in from somewhere in the back, Keith conveys the USAs ignorance as to who really gave it its big black eye, and his hatred for not being able to determine who his enemies are and who to retaliate against, or more specifically, which ass to put his boot in first. These feelings of uncertainty can be seen in Keiths mentioning of his father in both the speech and song. He states that his father lost his eye in a training combat mission while serving his country, and it can be inferred from this mentioning in the speech, the song, and his dedication of the song to his father, that Keith feels angry that he does not know specifically how his father lost his eye, who (if anyone) caused him to lose it, or why no one could help him. As stated previously, feelings of sadness, ignorance, and helplessness can lead to hatred, and those feelings, mixed with those surfaced after September 11th, could plausibly have lead Keith to express the need for violent vengeance to be taken towards those responsible for that hatred. Keiths sense of vulnerability is also seen in the rhyme scheme of the song. His haphazard rhyme scheme suggests Keiths feelings of confusion, not knowing where to turn, who to go to, who to avenge. Keiths use of patriotic and familial terms, such as Statue of Liberty, Mother Freedom, mother, brother, sister, are emphasized in order to convey the idea of America as a giant family, all striving to protect their country and its history. Keiths word choice helps to further illustrate the idea of the need for Americans to stand together to seek out and avenge their enemies, namely those of the September 11th attacks. Throughout The Angry American, Toby Keith uses many techniques to stress the need for revenge to be taken for the pains our country has had to endure from attacks by enemies, specifically those enemies of September 11th. Keith is emphatic that America will prevail over any evil, and that the attacks on September 11th give Americans a chance to fight for their country, and stand on what our fathers and forefathers did for us, and make sure we dont let em down.

Extacy the Drug Essay examples -- essays research papers

In the past 20 years, chemically made drugs have been increasing in popularity among drug users all around the world. Although "old" drugs like marijuana and cocaine are still used among addicts, chemically prepared drugs like Extacy and Angel Dust are becoming more common and desired by drugs users today. It is also true that these drugs contain a much larger percentage of life threatening substances. Although Extacy is a dangerous drug, it has been excessively rumored by the media to be the "Killer Drug from Hell". This is unfair though, because the statistics show that deaths due to Extacy are rare and can usually be prevented by the user. Over the past years, it has adapted many other names including E, XTC, X, Ecstasy, MDMA, MDA, Dove, Love, and Adam. (1) Extacy is 3,4 methylenedioxymethylamphetamine, (MDMA). It was invented in 1912 to help in medical science, but was used very rarely. In the 1970?s, it was also said to have been introduced as helping in psychotherapy. It was first used as a street and illicit drug in the mid 1980?s. MDMA is a part of the phenethylamines family of drugs. It is very similar to another drug in this family known as MDA (3,4 methylenedioxyamphetamine). MDA is basically a heavier form of MDMA, where the effects of the drug can last longer, and the symptoms can get more severe. MDMA is also close to MDEA (3,4 methylenedioxyethylamphetamine) which is basically a lighter form of MDMA, where the effects last less and the symptoms are less powerful. It is proven to be extremely dangerous to those suffering from asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, hypertension, glaucoma and pregnant women. (1,3) Extacy is a powerful mood changer, which lets the user act the way he/she wants without having to... ...om the dancing is recommended for the heart to give itself a break. For the body to recover from Extacy, lots of Vitamin C and Calcium are needed. Also, sleeping and eating is another way of recovery, since a lot of energy is lost from the dancing and being hyper while at the peak. (1,3,4,7) Extacy has been one of the drugs most desired by the public in the past decade. It is known to carry a risk factor along with it, but this factor seems to have become exaggerated by the media to certain levels. Although it is no "Killer Drug", Extacy has caused some deaths. Most of these deaths could have been prevented if the users had been careful. After saying all this, I must state again that Extacy is among the Class A group of drugs. This group contains the most dangerous drugs, and that is why all people are recommended to stay far away from this drug as possible.

Arthur Miller Essay

The theme of morals and guilt is explored by the characterization of ‘John Proctor’. ‘Proctor’ is portrayed as being around the age of thirty and a well-respected farmer in the town’s community. He is described as ‘the kind of man- powerful of body, even-tempered, and not easily led. ‘ From these descriptions, we recognize that he is a strong, calm individual who is quite cynical. As soon as ‘Proctor’ appears in the play we see that he is very much in conflict with himself due to the terrible secret he conceals within the dark and forbidding chambers of his heart. A history of sin, which goes against every moral fibre of his body and the society in which he dwells. â€Å"He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion but against his own vision of decent conduct. † ‘John Proctor’ is guilty of committing adultery with the young ‘Abigail Williams’ while she was serving as a servant in his household and this has a great effect on his conscience. ‘Proctor’s’ conscience eats away at him throughout the play as it manifests itself into his relationship with people, especially his wife, ‘Elizabeth’. This is presented when Elizabeth states: † I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John- only somewhat bewildered. † Here we see the idea of morality being reflected on a personal level, or Proctor’s conception of himself. He conceives himself as a blatant sinner because of his ‘raw deeds’, being his lechery. † I blush for my sin,† he admits to his wife. Overall, through the characterization of ‘John Proctor’ the theme morals and guilt is presented and from this we see that his perception of right and wrong are decided by his own ‘vision of decent conduct’. Characterization is essential to the exploration and development of themes in ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller. The characterization of ‘Rebecca Nurse’ explores the theme of evil. ‘Abigail Williams’ explores the themes of evil as well as the power of fear and ‘John Proctor’ explores the theme of morals and guilt. All these characters and many more help develop the themes within ‘The Crucible’.

A Study On Juvenile Offenders - 960 Words

In the past fifteen years, the number of juveniles detained or committed for an offense has ranged from 50,000 to 100,000 (Foley, 2001; Office of Juvenile Justice Detention Prevention, 2015), with only a small number of these going on to finish at the high school level (diploma or GED) after release. In fact, a seminal study by Haberman and Quinn (1986) found that only 1.6% of former juvenile offenders earn their high school diploma. More current research has found that that number varies, but that less than 20% of juvenile offenders who were detained ever achieve a high school diploma or GED (Osgood, Foster, Courtney, 2010; Uggen Wakefield, 2005). Unfortunately, the National Center for Educational Statistics does not track high school graduation rates for this subgroup of individuals, so the exact number is not obtainable. Educational achievement is important for all students, but especially for juvenile offenders. Previous research on juvenile offenders has found that incarceration prior to age 16 significantly reduces the probability of graduating from high school (Hjalmarsson, 2008). Unfortunately, research has also shown that juvenile offenders who do not experience academic achievement have a high rate of recidivism and ending up back in the juvenile justice system or even being incarcerated as adults (Bullis, Yovanoff, Mueller, Havel, 2002; LeBlanc, Pfannenstiel, Tashjian, 1991; Sullivan, 2004). Academic success, therefore, can reduce delinquency (Arum Show MoreRelatedThe Need For Risk / Needs Assessment1731 Words   |  7 Pagesrate of juvenile offenders. There are many different instruments used to help classify delinquent youths and their likelihood of reoffending. Risk / needs assessment were primarily designed to the male population. 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