Rhetorical Analysis of Sunday Bloody Sunday - Case Study Example

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY RHETORICAL ANALYSIS By Location Sunday Bloody Sunday rhetorical analysis Introduction “Sunday Bloody Sunday" is partly aimed at responding to the civil rights demonstration in in Derry, Ireland when a troop the British army is believed to have killed 14 civilians and injured 14 others. Listeners of this song will get held at the first instant. The song does not only depict actions by the British army, but also those of Irish Republican Army. This incident of violence was later referred to as the “Bloody Sunday” because of the fact that it was the one act among several during the period of violence that claimed the most number of innocent lives. At the beginning of the song the most notable thing is the sound that results from Larry Mullen, Jr.’s drums. Larry Mullen, Jr. beats his drum in a marital rhythm that creates the vision of a troop in the minds of listeners (Fitzgerald& Oflynn 2014, p. 45). This song can be said to have been a successful creation of the picture of exactly what took place during the “Bloody Sunday” Audience In this song, U2 seem to be talking directly to the general public of Ireland. As much as a majority of the audiences might not be familiar with what took place during the “Bloody Sunday” what is certain is that they must have experienced violence at some point in their lives. Despite the fact that this is an incident that took place sometime back, violence is still something that is common for the people of Ireland. One thing that can never be disputed is the fact that whoever the targeted audience is, U2 aims at discouraging them against violence (Kraenzlin 2010, p. 22). Therefore, this fact can be used to assert that U2 would have targeted the general public and the law enforcement bodies. In most cases the law enforcement bodies and protestors are the people who usually make demonstrations such as the one that led to bloodshed during the “Bloody Sunday” the question in this case is if there is any more civilized way of protesting or bringing an end to protests. When it comes to ending protests, it can be said that U2 targeted governments, especially those who had used law enforcement officers such as armies to suppress those who opposed their styles of leadership and policies (McLeay 1995, p. 5). Logos The song’s first line which is, "I can’t believe the news today," is a common response of many people immediately they come across news on violence. U2 tries to bring to the attention of the listeners that it is not only those people who are killed or injured during violence that are affected. In most cases, the whole society is always affected. Violence usually creates confusion in the society with some people trying to retaliate while the other being so scared to keep on doing things that they used to do in their lives. This is specifically the main reason as to why the song begins with this particular line so that the listeners can be drawn to the satiations that usually follow violent incidents such as the “Bloody Sunday”. The song’s first line can be said to be an aporia. The use of enargia for the purpose of recreation of a vivid image of the violence period really helps in bringing out the main message of the song. A perfect example of enargia in this song is that line which states that, "broken bottles under children’s feet [and] bodies strewn across a dead end street". Through this it can be said that the song aim at using the occurrences during the “Bloody Sunday” to discourage the audience from involving themselves in any form of violence. Bring to the knowledge of the audience the possible results of being involved in violence seems to be one of the ways in which the songs tries to warn its audience from being involved in violence. In the song, Bono asserts that he "won’t heed the battle call." This line is a metaphor that refers to the strength that people should have when fighting the temptation of avenging the pain that is always brought about by the loss of loved ones during violence. Bono asserts that if in any case he would not be able to overcome the temptation of avenging his pain during violence then he would not be any different from the people who were responsible for the violence. This is anantirrhesis that he uses to support the statement that the best way to deal which hurting that are caused by violence is avoiding retaliation at all cost. In this manner, it can be deduced that U2 is advocating for people to always weigh the consequences of their deeds before they go ahead and act. Pathos Many people have the opinion that the ethical appeal I this song is brought into light even before a single word is mentioned. The persona that is used for this song is Bono. This works well for them since the audience and the other members of the band are Irish (Conway 2003, p. 311). When the audience is informed on the nationality of the band they can be easily convinced that whatever the song will be communicating to them has something to do with the struggle for their beloved country. This can be backed by the choice of musical instruments that are used at the beginning of the song (Petit 2010, p. 41). The lead and bass guitar which come after the foundations that seems to be Cadance-like play a very important role in this case. The band also makes sure that the riff is as close to concrete as possible. In showing his distaste for violence Bono use dehortatio when he is heard using the phrase, "Fuck the revolution,” At this juncture, it can be said that Bono his show, his anger at his fellow Irishmen for not having the strength to say decline to give in to violence. He had previously shown just how much it was not easy to say no to violence, especially when someone is tempted to retaliate after being put through pain (Oflynn 2009, p.72). In this case, it can be seen that Bono is trying to depict violence as a senseless act which only yields more pain instead of healing the pain that causes the retaliation. As much as people usually react to violence by being violent, at the end of the day everybody that is involved in violence directly or indirectly end up hurting (Morley & Somdahl-Sands 2011, p. 58). In this light the song aims at proving that violence does not bring any healing, but instead leaves all the involved parties hurting. In fact the main question that should be asked in this case is if putting someone else in pain can ease pain. Pathos Epizeuxis is commonly used in this song. In this case it can be said that it helps in enhancing memorability of this song. For instance the phrase,” Sunday Bloody Sunday,” is used for the main reason of drilling the message against violence into the audience. With consideration of the end there is the modification of the Epizeuxis so that it diacope in most parts of the song. The Epizeuxis is first found in the erotesis which says that, "How long, How long must we sing this song? How long?".This is an implication that this song would not have been sang were it not for the fact that people has continuously refused to bring an end to violence (Cantle& Brackney 2011, p. 78). When Bono use “we” instead of “I” he intends to involve the audience in the query. Just before Bono repeats the question, "How long?", he recreates the image of the things that took place during the “Bloody Sunday”. This is done as an enargia for adding more emphasis on the question the second time he asks it (Prastiyowati 2005, p.32). The erotesis that says that, "there’s many lost, but tell me who has won?" is used for the purpose of emphasizing on the fact that everyone was losing during the violence while no one was gaining at all. “Lost” is used as a paronomasia in reference to the people who had been victims of violence while at the same time would not bring an end to it but instead filed it. The song also has a number of rhetorical devices in the last stanza. There is an extra focus on the controversies surrounding shootings that took place more than twenty five years (Endrinal 2008, p. 55). Apparently each of the protagonists has resulted to distorting the story so that it serves the purpose of proving their innocence. Conclusion Terming “Sunday Bloody Sunday” as credible, emotional, and logical, is something that is undeniable. As much as the song uses an event that took place sometime back it is clearly evident that the song has been able to serve its purpose of warning its audience against the negative effects of violence. This is specifically true given its ability to communicate to people who were not even present during the time when the “Bloody Sunday” bloodshed took place. Bibliography Cantle, P & Brackney, WH 2011, “Bono as Contemporary Psalmist–U2ʼs Canon from 1979 to 2009”. Conway, B 2003, “Active remembering, selective forgetting, and collective identity: The case of Bloody Sunday” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 3(4), 305-323. Endrinal, CJS 2008, “Form and Style in the Music of U2” ProQuest. Fitzgerald, M & Oflynn, J 2014, Music and identity in Ireland and beyond. Kraenzlin, JN 2010, “Foucault vs. U2: An exploration of music and meaning”. McLeay, CR 1995, “Musical Words, Musical Worlds” New Zealand Geographer, 51(2), 1-6. Morley, V & Somdahl-Sands, K 2011, “Music with a Message” aether, 58. Oflynn, J 2009,The Irishness of Irish music,Ashgate, Farnham, England. Petit, F 2010, “What Executives Can Learn from U2: An Exploratory Study” Review of Business & Finance Case Studies, 1(1), 37-43. Prastiyowati, S 2005, “a study on the message of peace on u2’s songs” Doctoral dissertation University of Muhammadiyah Malang. Appendix Sunday Bloody Sunday Lyrics Yeah I cant believe the news today Oh, I cant close my eyes And make it go away How long How long must we sing this song How long, how long Cause tonight, we can be as one Tonight Broken bottles under childrens feet Bodies strewn across the dead end street But I wont heed the battle call It puts my back up Puts my back up against the wall Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday And the battles just begun Theres many lost, but tell me who has won The trench is dug within our hearts And mothers, children, brothers, sisters Torn apart Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday How long How long must we sing this song How long, how long Cause tonight, we can be as one Tonight, tonight Sunday, Bloody Sunday Sunday, Bloody Sunday Wipe the tears from your eyes Wipe your tears away Oh, wipe your tears away Oh, wipe your tears away (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) And its true we are immune When fact is fiction and TV reality And today the millions cry We eat and drink while tomorrow they die (Sunday, Bloody Sunday) The real battle just begun To claim the victory Jesus won On Sunday Bloody Sunday Sunday Bloody Sunday Read More