A Rhetorical Analysis Of Coming Down By Five Finger Death Punch

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The song “Coming Down” by Five Finger Death Punch uses pathos to appeal to its audience by addressing the issue of suicide through music. Both the lyrics of the song and the music video use an abundance of emotions but you cannot understand one without the other. The song by itself gives you a general idea of the message but the video really ties it all together. My first thought when hearing this song was that it was about one of two things, saving a life or ending one. These things very heavily contrast but the video confirmed my thoughts to both be true. By hearing the music and seeing the video it showed me that one friend can prevent a suicide from happening. The video begins with no music and very little sound. This gives the audience …show more content…

Both the girl and the boy were being bullied and abused. The girl was verbally abused by her friends and peers and we don’t find out why until later. The boy was physically and emotionally abused by a group of boys due to his sexuality. These examples give off a sense of feeling sympathetic towards the characters. During these moments the lyrics say, “I could never be what you want me to. You pull me under to save yourself.” This shows the audience that the expectations of their parents and the world around them are too high for them to live up to and that people will drag anyone down to feel better about themselves. The lyrics then go on to say. “You will never see what's inside of me. I pull you under just to save myself.” By using this perspective switch it is showing that the victim has more potential than you care to see and as humans our main goal in life is self preservation. The lyrics ask, “Was there ever any question on how much I could take?” and then state, “You kept feeding me your bullshit hoping I would break.” The video goes on to show different ways the boy and the girl deal with their demons; through self harm, drugs, and harmful chemicals. They tried everything to forget their problems but they caught up to them in the end. The video shows the boy giving away all his stuff to his friend and the friend is hesitant of taking it but the boy convinces him with a smile and he does so without a second

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