Theme and Symbolism in American Music Essay - 542 Words

Theme and Symbolism in American Music Music defines our culture. As Americans, we listen to music while we drive our cars, are at work, doing housework, studying, etc. We have songs for special occasions: Christmas, Hanukah, birthdays, weddings, parties, etc. We have taken songs from the various cultures that make us diverse: Arabic, German, Mexican, Native American, etc. We have many genres: country, hip-hop, rap, pop, blues, jazz, rock, heavy metal, etc. And although we may think of music as simple and easy, looking at all this makes one realize how diverse and complex our music truly is. Two things that contribute to this diversity are theme and symbolism. Theme can be defined as the subject or topic of something. In relation to†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"I love you, please say you love me too,† she sings. â€Å"I love you / I will be your light, shining through your eyes.† Still yet, we have â€Å"Crazy in Love† by Beyonce’ and Jay-Z, hip-hop artists. â€Å"Your love’s got me looking so crazy right now,† they sing/rap. â€Å"Looking so crazy in love.† Despite the musical differences between all these artists, all three songs/genres were able to give light to the theme of love. And even though the theme may be the same, the music and words were not. So even though two songs may have a theme that is similar, themes in music add diversity. Symbolism in music can vary from the author’s use of a word or phrase with personal meaning or the author’s use of a word or phrase to symbolize something relative to a culture. Take for example the songs sung during slavery. According to the CD â€Å"Steal Away† there are many symbols found in the music sung by the slaves. For example, in the song â€Å"Go Down Moses† the slaves were able to sing about the injustices of slavery right before their masters. â€Å"Let my people go† they would sing. But since the song appears to be a reference to the biblical story, the owners would allow it to be sung. In this song, the singers have personal symbols that another group of people would not understand. Yet in popular music you will find symbols, such as the rose, which haveShow MoreRelatedArnold Friend Symbolism1115 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†, was published by Joyce Carol Oates. She was born on June 16th, 1938 in Lockport, New York. As an American writer, Oates published over 40 novels, as well as a number of plays, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Out of her works, one of her publications consisted of the short story â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†. 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Though The Great Gatsby was not very popular when it was first released it has made up for lost time and is now one of the greatest classics in American literature and being read in classrooms all across the United States. What actually denotes a book as a classic or great, though? In my opinion, a lot of it has to do with what a person needs at the time. According to James L. W. West III, leadingRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Great Gatsby 1673 Words   |  7 Pagessomething better. The American Dream has been sought after by millions all over the world for hundreds of years. This country was founded on the belief that anyone could achieve their dreams. However, in the 1920s these hopes and aspirations began to splinter until they ultimately shattered. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism, setting, and theme to depict the unattainability of the American Dream. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism helps create an ambianceRead MoreThe Great Gatsby And Harlem By Langston Hughes1089 Words   |  5 PagesFitzgerald and â€Å"Harlem† by Langston Hughes. Both of these pieces of literature include literary elements to appeal to the reader’s senses and imagination. A prevalent theme that has been found in works of the roaring 20’s is the wealth that someone may or may not achieve. Literary elements such as figurative language, irony, and symbolism are profound in both The Great Gatsby and â€Å"Harlem†, adding depth to both literature works. One literary element that is prevalent in both pieces is their

Positive Psychology Reveals We Should Pursue Happiness For...

Positive Psychology Reveals We Should Pursue Happiness for Money, Not Money for Happiness By Alison L Price | Submitted On October 10, 2012 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Alison L Price Culture teaches us that I will be happy when... I live in a bigger house... I can afford to go on more holidays... I have that new car, computer, outfit, etc. Fascinating research from the field of Positive Psychology reveals that what culture is teaching us is actually a myth and, crucially, it is time to change what we tell ourselves and our children. So, what does society teach us? Here is just a flavour: Study hard at school, you need good grades to get a decent job. It is worth putting in long hours in your first job to get promoted. If you work really hard you will get that pay rise that you deserve. You can t leave earlier than everyone else, it will reflect badly upon you and your bonus. You must work hard to save for your retirement. Whilst I cannot argue with these, what I will do is ask the question when does society teach us to actually stop and enjoy ourselves? Probably only at our retirement, but the sad fact is that the governments around the worldShow MoreRelatedA Research Study On Happiness Essay2109 Words   |  9 PagesThe term â€Å"happiness† is an extremely broad term and has been defined over a wide array of studies in such a variety of ways that it has been deemed â€Å"an unworkable term for science† by psychologist Martin Seligman (qtd. in Kovac). 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Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesappropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use materialRead MoreAn Analysis of H.G. Wells’ Short Stories â€Å"Mr Skelmersdale in Fairyland†, â€Å"the Door in the Wall† and â€Å"a Dream of Armageddon†14742 Words   |  59 PagesEveryone has dreams; dreams of a better life, another world, an escape from reality. Sometimes it is these dreams that motivate us, that make us struggle, that keep us going. But is that all they are? 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Growth Surprises and Synchronized Slowdown

Question: Discuss about the Growth Surprises and Synchronized Slowdown. Answer: Introduction: Global management in emerging markets remains more challenging as compared to settled markets. These challenges include first, the need for managers of businesses in emerging markets to maintain and sustain strong financial and/or fiscal and external business buffers, along with implementing good policies in the emerging markets (Fayad Perrelli, 2014). This can be referred to as macroeconomic stability which is currently paramount for organizations managing emerging international markets. These institutions should now improve continually with the aim of creating and implementing policies that are better than those in settled markets. Secondly, global management in emerging markets is challenging due to the surge in local and international demand for goods and services (Tsangarides, 2012). An increase in demand automatically calls for an increase in demand. Thus, globally expanding organizations are continually focused on ensuring that the goods and services needed in particular sections of the economy are produced and distributed within time. Demand and supply shifts in emerging markets according to Ferreira et al (2013), influence the management to be on the lookout for any daily changes in prices, supplies, production, in order to optimally acquire due profits. Thirdly, emerging markets are quite competitive as governments tend to lift any monopolistic behaviors in the economies. Managers of globally expanding companies thus opt to find the strategies that are suitable to outdo their competitors (Tsangarides, 2012). This is not the case in settled markets where most companies are aware of their almost fixed market segment. According to the Inter-American Development Bank (2013), individual companies must thus ensure that they are continually instituting and implementing programs that will make their products more sellable than those of their competitors. Another challenge in managing emerging markets includes the increase need for innovation, research and development. In order to outdo particular supplies in the global emerging markets, there is a need for companies to invest heavily in innovation and implementation of research programs (Ferreira et al, 2013). Managers are compelled to invest in research so that they develop unique products that can sell well than those of their competitors. When compared to settled markets, there is a clear difference as such markets tend to innovate slowly and sometimes take longer to develop any new products. Further, managing globally emerging markets is more difficult as compared to settled markets due to the need to make heavy investments with an intention of preventing bottle necks. Organizations in emerging markets focus on improving their infrastructure including transportation, energy among others (Fayad Perrelli, 2014).). These enable the companies to expand and reach their emerging markets with their unique products. Heavy investments are also channeled to training of current workers and recruits in order to boost efficiency in production and provision of services in such economies. References Fayad, G., and R. Perrelli, 2014, Growth Surprises and Synchronized Slowdown in Emerging MarketsAn Empirical Investigation IMF Working Paper. Tsangarides, C. G., 2012, Crisis and Recovery: Role of the Exchange Rate Regime in Emerging Market Economies, Journal of Macroeconomics, Vol. 34, pp. 47088. Ferreira, P., S. De Abreu Pessoa, and F. A. Veloso, 2013, On the Evolution of Total Factor Productivity in Latin America, Economic Inquiry, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 1630. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), 2013 Rethinking Reforms: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Escape Suppressed World Growth (Washington: IDB).