Boulevard Of Broken Dreams Meaning

In 2004 Green Day came out with a hit song named “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” which was a huge addition to the punk rock music genre growth of the early 2000’s. Their song illustrates the thoughts of a teenage boy who feels alone in his mind. Throughout the song the boy mentions the empty streets that he walks on as well as his shadow which is the only one that walks beside him. The idea that his mind is split into two sections which he has names “what's fucked up” and “everything’s alright” plays a factor in his depressed mindset. The use of juxtaposition and metaphors in Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” illuminates the idea that failure leads to loss of confidence and isolation.
The speaker of this song is facing both internal and external conflicts which consume his mind into nothing but sadness. The internal conflict faced involves repeated accounts of failure faced by the teenage boy that in return diminish his self confidence and lead to his isolation from society. This internal conflict increases the division between the two parts of his brain, increasing his depression. In addition the external conflict described in the song adds more weight to his loss of confidence. The speaker describes being let down by multiple people and wanted to be helped but seems to be let down and stuck in his own mind.

Juxtaposition is used throughout the song by mentioning the split mind of the troubled teen boy.

When the speaker of the song was describing his split mind he named them “what’s fucked up” and “everything's alright”. The normal side of his mind is what makes him fit in with people and to feel accepted. On the other hand, the second part of his mind includes all the negative thoughts and personal issues that he fights within himself on the daily.This includes the part of him that he wants to change and fix. The inability to fix his problems has diminished his self confidence and led him to become isolated from everyone around

him.
The negative part of the speaker’s mind has been named the “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” which is one of the many metaphors used throughout the song to emphasize the negativity inside of his head. In this case the metaphor is used to illuminate the severity of his internal conflict regarding all the shattered aspirations in his life. The speaker’s use of metaphors in the song gave life to the problems facing him and personifies that part of his mind. Metaphors help emphasize literature so the reader can create comparisons in order to form relations between the piece and their life.
The speaker of this song used juxtaposition and metaphors to express the idea that failure leads to loss of confidence and isolation. From all the figurative language and tone of the song the readers are able to imagine the conflicts facing the speaker and feel sympathy towards him.