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ElisabethSwanson CAS137H RhetoricalAnalysisEssay Imagine Theyearis1971.TheVietnamWarandtheColdWararestillongoingworldwide.InSouth Asia,awarragedwhichendedwiththecreationofthesovereignnationofBangladesh.Variousracial issuesintheUnitedStatesoccurred,especiallybetweenwhitesandAfricanAmericans.Hotpantsand bellbottomedtrouserswerethelatestfashiontrend.Inthemidstofallofthehorrorsandconflicts,one manemerges.JohnLennon,formerguitaristforthelegendarymusicgroup,TheBeatles,releasesanew solosong.Imaginebecomesoneofthemostfamoustunesinallofhistory,bothpastandpresent. Withinthesoftmelodyandgentlelyrics,Lennonpresentstheideaofaworld,freefromviolence,pain andhatred.JohnLennonssongImagineeffectivelyusesethos,pathos,andlogostomakea statementaboutbringingworldpeace,evenifitisahighlyimprobabletask. ThesongImaginefeaturesvariousaspectsofethosthataddsasenseofcredibilitytothe propositionthatisbeingmade.Onecharacteristicofthesongthatmustbeanalyzedisthecharacters. Becauseitisintheformofasong,thespeakerisJohnLennon.AtthetimethatImaginewas produced,JohnLennonwasasuperstar,evenafterthebreakupofTheBeatles.Hissoloworkwas highlyacclaimedbycritics.Hewaswellknownaroundtheworld,notonlyasamusicianbutalsoasa politicalactivist,whichaddstohiscredibility.TheaudiencethatLennonisaimingtowardsisthe listener.ThemoredirectaudiencethatLennonisspeakingtoisthepeoplewhowantworldpeaceand canimagineaworldfreefromstrife.Hespeakstohisaudiencebyconnectingthemwithhim,employing therepetitionofthepronounsyouandus.ThepronounyoubindsLennonandthelistening

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individualtogether,makingthebondmorepersonalanddirect.Usalsoaddsanotherbondbetween thespeakerandtheaudience,inawaythatitaddressesacollectivegroupofpeoplealongwithLennon. ItengagestheentireworldtojoinintocreatetheidealworldthatLennondreamsof.ThelineYou maysayImadreamer/ButImnottheonlyone(Lennon)alsoactsasawayforLennontoconnectto thelistener,bystatingthatwhileothersmaythinkheisadreamerandidealist,heisnottheonlyonein theworldwhowantstoseehisgoalsaccomplished.Anothercharacteristicthataddstotheethosof JohnLennonsImagineisthestylethatLennonuseswhenhepresentshissong.Thestyleis dreamlikeandpositive,butitcanalsobeseenaswishfulandnaive.Amajorpartofthestyleof Imaginethataddstotheethosisthetone.Lennonutilizesgentlechordsandnotes,addingtothe peacefulperspectiveofthetune.Also,usingprimarilypianoandasoftdrumbeat,themelodyofthe songisbroughtouttoitsfullest.JohnLennonalsoexercisesasimilarpassivetoneinhisvoice.While singing,hesayseverythingpeacefullyandwithoutforceortoomuchemphasis.IfLennonhadused forceinhissong,thetonewouldhavebeenmuchdifferentandwouldhavedeterredfromhisideaof internationalpeace,theideathatheispromotinginhissong.ThestylethatLennonappliestoImagine addstotheethosthatispresentalongwithhispopularimage,makingthesongseemcredibleinits artistry. LennonsusageofpathoswithinImagineisoneofhisstrongestpointsingettinghisideology acrosstotheaudience.Hislyricsgiveemotionalsupporttohisideas,andtheyhelptoconnecthimand hislistenerstogether.Forexample,therepetitionofthewordimagineaddsasenseofdreaminessand peacetothoselisteningtothesong.Thewordimagineissomethingthatisfamiliartoallpeople,and Lennonutilizedthewordinordertoconnecttoeverybodywholistenstothesong.Placeisanother emotionalappealthatLennonutilizesinImagine.1971wasaroughyearinternationally,especially

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sincemostoftheworldwasinvolvedinwarssuchastheVietnamWarandtheColdWar.Lennon, however,choosestodiscussaworldwithoutthethingsthatcausestrugglesamongpeople,including religion,politicsandcountries.Eveninthelyrics,LennontellspeopletoImaginetheresno heaven...Nohellbelowus/Aboveusonlysky(Lennon).Lennoninvitestheaudiencetojustthink aboutaperfectworld,wherethereisnofearaboutwhereeachindividualwillgoafterdeath.The structureofthesongisyetanotheraspectthatLennonusestoappealtohisaudiencesemotions, contributingtothepathosthathesetsinhissong.Itisamorelogicalandpragmaticapproach,inthat Lennonseesthatthereisacauseandeffecttoeverything.Thecauseoftheworldsproblems, accordingtoLennon,arematerialobjectsandhumanideas.SomeoftheissuesthatLennonpresents arereligion,countries,andpossessions.Lennonssolutiontothesituationsistojusttogetridofthem entirely.Theeffectoftakingawaythesebeliefsisworldpeace.HealsocallsfortheretobeNothing tokillordiefor(Lennon).Lennonstatesthattherewouldbepeoplelivingfortodayandlivinglifein peace,aswellassharingalltheworld(Lennon).PathosisaverystrongpartofLennonssongandit helpsimmenselyingettingLennonsideologyacrosstohisaudience. LennonalsoincludestheusageoflogosinImagineinordertosupporthisclaimofbeingable tocreateapeacefulworld.WhileLennondoesnotexplicitlyusefactsandstatisticsinhissonginorder tosupporthisclaim,asmanywouldthinktodoinanargument,hechoosestodrawsupportfromwhat hewasfamiliarwith.Inhiscase,heusesthehistoricalcontextbehindthesong.Imaginewas composedinMay1971andreleasedtothepublicafewmonthslaterinOctober1971.Duringthat time,allaroundtheworld,violencewasbreakingout.TheVietnamWarwasstillinfullswing.There waslotsoftensionbetweencountries,suchastheColdWarbetweentheUnitedStatesandtheUSSR. ImaginewaspartofLennonsgoaltobringforthpeacetoacorruptworld.Lennondoesthisby

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showingmultipleexamplessimilarincontext,andhethendrawsaconclusionfromalloftheconcepts thathepresents.Forinstance,thefirstlineofeachversebeginswithImaginetheresno...orImagine no(Lennon),andthenfollowedbyatangibleorintangibleidea,suchasheaven,countries,or possessions.Afterthesefirstlines,LennoncontinuestoclaimthatItseasyifyoutry,Itisnthardto do,orIwonderifyoucan(Lennon).Hemakesasimpleconclusion,justfromthefirsttwolinesof themainverses,thatitisnothardtoimagineworldpeace.Continuingthroughtheverses,Lennon proposesbenefitstofixingthevariousproblemsinthethirdandfourthlinesoftheverse.Forexample, inthesecondverse,hesaysNothingtokillordiefor/Andnoreligiontoo(Lennon),makingalogical suggestionthatgettingridofcountriesandreligionswouldpreventunnecessarybloodshed.Finally, Lennonfinishesuphislogicalargumentsinthelasttwolinesofeachversebystatingwhatgoodwould comeoutofthebenefits.HestatessuchthingslikeImagineallthepeople/Livingfortoday(Lennon) inthefirstverse,orImagineallthepeople/Sharingalltheworld(Lennon)inthethirdverse.While Lennonmaylacklogicintermsofpracticality,heisabletostillshowlogicwhenitcomestobackingup hisclaimaboutworldpeacebecomingpossible. AlthoughJohnLennonssongdidnotactuallyaccomplishhisgoalsofspreadingworldpeace, hewasstillabletomakeastatementthroughhisusageofethos,pathos,andlogos.Itisnotpossiblefor onesongtochangethecourseoftheworld.However,Lennonsuccessfullyconveyshisdreamthrough hismusic,evenifitisnotpracticalenoughforittobecompleted.Eventhoughhedidnotsucceedinhis dream,hehassetastandardfortherestoftheworldtoliveupto.HissongImaginehasleftalegacy intheheartsandmindsofthosewhocameafterhim.Maybeoneday,thehumanracewillobtain universalpeaceand,inthewordsofthelateJohnLennon,theworldwillliveasone(Lennon).

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WorksCited Lennon,John.Imagine.Onlinevideoclip.Youtube.Youtube,1Oct.2008.Web.22Nov.2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhqyO1KN8