Topic > Analysis of Bob Dilan's song The Death of Emmett till He was originally from Chicago and lived with his mother. On August 24, while in Mississippi, he went into a grocery store to buy a pack of gum. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay On his way out, he whistled or flirted with the white store clerk who was very offended, and she told her husband, Carolyn Bryant. Four days after this incident, Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Millam, kidnapped Till from his uncle's house. Then they beat him and killed him, shooting him in the head. They also tied him to a large piece of metal with barbed wire and threw him into the Tallahatchie River. His body was found three days after the accident. His face was so badly bruised and distorted that the only way police could identify him was by his ring, which originally belonged to his father. Eventually, the brothers were charged with the murder of Emmett Till and, on September 19, 1955, the court heard the case. However, the jury was all white and the brothers were acquitted despite there being an overwhelming amount of evidence against them. The discussion lasted only about an hour, an extremely short time. In January 1956, the brothers admitted to killing Till and told the full story to Look magazine. In the magazine, one of the last things the brothers say to Till is, "Damn, I'll make an example of you." – so everyone can know how me and my family are doing”. The brothers killed Till to send a message: they did not approve of African Americans being allowed to "flirt" with white women. However, they could not be charged again due to double jeopardy laws. Even more recently, in a 2007 interview, the store clerk told the press that Till never whistled or attempted to flirt with her and that she made the whole thing up. This interview was later released in 2017. Throughout the history of this murder, many civil rights activists and other members of society have spoken out against it, including Bob Dylan. Artist Bob Dylan, who was originally named Robert Allen Zimmerman, was born on May 24, 1941, the same year as Emmett Till. He grew up in Duluth, Minnesota and always had an interest in music. He began making a name for himself performing folk music during college under the name Bob Dylan. He was inspired by the famous folk singer Woody Guthrie, who also sang protest songs. Dylan probably wrote this song for the same reason Guthrie wrote his songs, to try to bring attention to an unjust cause. He tried to follow in his idol's footsteps and write a prevalent protest song. During the time he wrote the song, there were many pressing issues related to racial justice. One of the most popular issues was Brown V. Board of Education in 1954. During this case in the Supreme Court, the “separate but equal” clause was created. stating that facilities could be separated for whites and African Americans if they were equal. However, these structures were rarely the same, and the white structure was usually more beautiful. In the 1960s, when the song was written, the fight for equal rights in America was becoming more and more widespread as Dr. King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech about a year after Dylan wrote his song. Later in his career, Dylan said that the main reason he wrote this song was to write about somethingtopical. However, this song still had a positive impact because it was able to shed even more light on the murder of Emmett Till. The lyrics "The Death of Emmett Till" were a very literal song that got straight to the point, that racial injustice in the world the South needed to change. He sang this song in the folk genre, which he is most famous for. Dylan uses simple and direct language to speak to his audience to get his point across. In the song, Dylan skips almost no time and begins describing the story of Emmett Till. It says: “His skin color was black and his name was Emmett Till. Some men dragged him into a stable and beat him there. They said they had a reason, but I don't remember what it was." Dylan begins by providing just a few facts of the situation. He also says that the brothers had a reason, but he doesn't remember it. In this way, he is discrediting the brothers and condemning their “reason”. Shortly afterward, Dylan says, “They tortured him and did some evil things too evil to repeat. You could hear screams inside the barn, you could hear laughter outside on the street.” Dylan is commenting on how this situation and murder were acceptable in southern culture. He claims that this murder was even supported by the community. The brothers even admit this, because as they took Till to the river, Milliam says, “When we got to that gin, it was daylight and for the first time I was worried. Someone might see us and accuse us of stealing the fan.' The brothers were more worried about someone seeing them with the fan than preventing them from getting rid of Till. This shows the reader that this behavior was completely acceptable in Southern culture. Later Dylan talks about his brother's trial for Till's murder. It says: “Two brothers have confessed to killing poor Emmett Till. But there were men on the jury who helped the brothers commit this terrible crime.”Dylan believes that the only reason the brothers were not charged with this crime was that the jury was made up entirely of white men because there was still racial discrimination during the choice. juries. Although there was enough evidence for a convention, the brothers were acquitted. Dylan decides to end the song by reminding us that "But if all of us, like-minded people, if we gave all we could give, we could make this great land of ours a better place to live in." Dylan tries to remind his audience that the ideology and thoughts that allowed Till's killers to escape still exist and that we must fight them. Music Bob Dylan managed to convey the right emotions in his song by singing it like a popular song. The lack of other instruments besides the guitar makes his voice more prevalent and captivating. He sings this song in a somber mood to show that Till's death was a tragedy and something that should not be taken lightly. He believed this was a serious topic and wanted his song to reflect his views. He sang this song with an ache in his voice that almost convinced the listener that he had a personal connection to Emmett Till, even if that wasn't the case. He sang this song this way so that people would remember it and remember the injustice of Emmett Till's murder. Overall, Dylan sings this song so that form fits function. He sings in a way that the listener remembers and with a serious mood. The Legacy The legacy of this song changes greatly from the time it was written. At first Bob Dylan was proud of his song. He was proud when he first heard it on the radio in 1962, and said he was proud in interviews. This song contributed to.
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