In the song “Royals” by artiste Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, commonly known as Lorde, she tells her story of poverty to riches. She starts by giving a brief overview of her insecurities about where she grew up and her poor lifestyle. She then progresses into describing her fantasies some of which she feels are unachievable. Finally, she acknowledges that she has figured out the secret to achieving her dreams. She has no specific audience because her message can be applied to individuals of all ages. Because of its argument, about achieving the supposedly unachievable, the text proves that having a good mindset is more pivotal to becoming successful, rather than having a lot of money Humans often base success by how much money you have accumulated, the …show more content…
type of lifestyle that you have, or even the type of community you grew up in. This causes the poor to feel like failures and to believe there is no hope to ever becoming successful. In the introduction of her song up until the first line of the chorus, Lorde writes on behalf of persons who fail to understand what Professor of Psychology Carl Dweck might describe as “knowing that how you cope with adversity and your beliefs about adversity might affect your success.” (Gupta, 2013). Lorde starts her song by describing some adverse situations. She paints a picture of someone, possibly herself, who has never been exposed to the fancy side of life. The persona comes from a “torn up town,” somewhere where no one would even think to visit, let alone “envy.” (Lorde, 4) She has never seen diamonds except for those in the movies and the persona is often the victim of stereotypical descriptions such as those who are “trashing hotels” and “trippin” or getting high in the bathroom (Lorde, 5&6). Never is this persona seen as part of the crowd with diamonds and jet planes etc. This causes the persona to have a negative mindset which leads to her thinking that she will never be “royal” or successful because it doesn’t run in her “blood” and that type of life is not for her (Lorde, 11&12). By doing this Lorde captures the heart of so many types of people who feel like they will not be successful or “royal” because they do not have the money or because their background isn’t exactly classed as royalty. It is not until the mindset changes, that hope begins to rise. Midway through her chorus, Lorde makes a drastic change in her tone, which ultimately brings hope to the listeners.
Her mindset changes. Instead of shunning where she’s from, the persona embraces it and starts to develop ambition. She starts to “crave” other things (Lorde, 14). She now wants to rule and be called “Queen Bee” (Lorde,15). This is symbolistic of wanting something better for herself. Despite where she’s coming from and the fact that she doesn’t have much money, she sees that there is still hope, and she can become something great in life; she can become a ruler. This gives listeners hope that they too can have an Oprah Winfrey rags to riches story. Like the persona Lorde sings about, Oprah was also a victim of abject poverty. She didn’t grow up in a town with a “post code” that would have been envied, she wore potato sacks and was sexually abused (Kashyap, 2011). She probably had never seen diamonds in the flesh either and was perhaps not proud of her address, but this did not deter her. She had an ambitious mindset which led her to become one of the richest persons in the world. As Lorde depicts, with the proper mindset, fantasies can become realities, but the proper mindset also includes
humility. Humility is the feeling or attitude that you have no special importance that makes you better than others. In her song, Lorde has finally “cracked the code” meaning, she has finally become successful; however, she remains humble (Lorde, 18). She has the money, but she doesn’t flaunt it. She would rather “ride the train to the party” than fly in a private jet (Lorde, 19). The persona remembers where she is coming from and doesn’t pretend to be better off than anyone else. She realizes she didn’t “come from money”; it was the proper mindset, not money that got her where she is (Lorde,18). After all, considering she is now a leader or Queen Bee it was important for her to learn that “acknowledging weaknesses leaves leaders open to learning from, and appreciating those who are skilled in areas where the leader may be lacking” (Owens, 2016). Her life might not have been perfect, but it sure taught her lessons that as queen, she could now teach to her listeners. That is exactly what she did. Lorde is quite happy with where she is at, she is in love with being “queen,” but at the same time, she does not indulge in all the “luxe” that comes with it. She maintains her positive mindset. By writing this song, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, commonly known as Lorde influences her listeners to have a positive mindset. She makes it known that regardless of where you are from, you can still be successful. Money does not make you, you make money. Lorde is successful in bringing positivity to her listeners. She writes from a perspective that many individuals can relate to. Today, there are many people who feel like they will never be successful, so it doesn’t make sense they even try. This often results in depression. As seen in an American Medical Association experiment, “approximately 8.4% (95% CI, 7.9-8.8) of adults screened positive for depression.” However, Lorde’s song gives hope. She shows that with a positive mindset you can be even more successful than if you had an exuberating amount of money, but a negative mentality. Her song teaches that no matter where you are in life, you can still rise from the ashes, and become Queen Bee. The supposedly “unachievable” is indeed achievable.
Cantecul Miresei, a piece also known as “Bride’s Song” is a Romanian piece, which by the english title is used for weddings. The ensemble playing it consists primarily of a brass sections with trumpets, tubas, trombones, and baritones, giving allowing the melody to be doubled in a higher and lower octave. The lower instruments also articulate the polymeter structure: triple meter with 2 extra beats. This meter is made more prominent by the scratch board and percussion. The dynamics stay mostly constant, until the closing of the piece where the quick diminuendo leads to nothing and the tempo stays constant. The melody travels between octaves, first starting with the trumpets, making it bright and piercing, virtually impossible to mistake. The
“Over There” is a song written by George M. Cohan in 1917. Nora Bayes, Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray, Arthur Fields, and Charles King were among many who recorded the song. It was written as a propaganda piece encouraging young American men to join the army to fight in World War I. The song was incredibly popular, selling over two million copies of sheet music and one million copies of recordings by the end of the war. Cohan, the writer, was eventually even awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his work on this song.
Everyone grows up with a dream, but everyone will not get the opportunity to do so, being born in the financial situation of their family. In third world countries people struggle to make money on a daily basis. These people want more than what they have, but to attain those extra luxuries, they have to sacrifice their current possessions.This is not possible in as sacrificing what they have can lead to starvation. They want a better future but they need to be able to live on a daily basis. It is called investment in the future vs temporary happiness. Attaining security requires risking one’s belongings to earn liberty and equality in the future. Although temporary contentment must be sacrificed to attain security in life, it must be one’s
All music created has some kind of story behind it. It could be a bad story, good story, or even a complicated story. Every artist tells a story in their music that can relate to anyones life. Big Sean’s story on this album, Dark Sky Paradise talks about the bad and the good of paradise. The album has a lot of features from well known artist such as, Drake, Lil Wayne, Jhene Aiko and most importantly Kanye West because he started Sean’s career.
...at the American culture places economic success at the pinnacle of social desirability, without listing legitimate ways for attaining the desired goal (Merton 672-682). Today, the American Dream no longer reflects the dream Adams had, but instead, the idea that one can only call themselves truly successful if they have become rich, regardless of the way they got there. The American Dream does not guarantee happiness, but rather the pursuit of it, but with the media strongly persuading people that money guarantees happiness, people are encouraged to do whatever it takes, even it means disregarding their morals, so that they achieve ‘success.’ The inability to achieve this goal often leads people to destructive, and ultimately life-threatening criminal behavior as their feelings of anxiety and frustration over this vision of the “American Dream” get the best of them.
Lorde's experiences with women have shaped her life. Lorde has discovered who she is and where she fits into society through all of the relationships with women that she has had. In overcoming the hardships, that society has placed on her because of her minority status she has defined herself as different. Lorde embraces her differences from society and therefore is able to integrate, find freedom and therefore settle into her home.
Oprah’s childhood was not the greatest. Her unmarried parents split up, and she grew up on a farm with her grandmother. She developed rapidly and could read before she was three. Also, she was tested out of kindergarten and second grade, thus only taking first grade and skipping to third grade. When she turned six, she started to live with her mother and was very lonely. However, she began her speaking profession around that time. “She was invited to recite poetry at black social clubs and church teas, where she became known as ‘the little speaker.’ At 12, during a visit to her father in Nashville, she earned $500 for a speech she delivered at a church” (“Winfrey, Oprah”). As you can tell, Oprah started young in her profession and was determined to make a living off of this since her prior experiences.
Winfrey’s early life was filled with arduous hurdles from the beginning, she was raised in a small podunk town in Mississippi that was anything but safe for a young girl, but on top of that she was raised by a single mother who was not around nearly enough. However the most formidable part of her upbringing was, she was sexually abused by ‘family friends’ and relatives on multiple occasions starting from the age of just nine. At twelve she was sent away to middle Tennessee to live with her father, there she realised her passion, she began giving speeches in front of her church and ultimately came to the conclusion that she wanted to speak for a living. Without her parents divorce Winfrey might have never figured out her passion of speaking to people until it was too late, this was a hidden advantage in the making of her success. However all too soon she had to leave the comfort of her father’s home where she could pursue her interest and journey back to her mother, where she was sadly yet again
Most people don’t know that Oprah Winfrey, who has a net worth of 2.9 billion in the market, was actually born into poverty. That’s right. Oprah was born into poverty in the state of Massachusetts but this didn’t stop her from her dreams and desires, instead, it motivated her to do better with her life. Oprah Winfrey’s successful background serves as a prime example for the dicho Como Se Acuesta, Se Levanta because she didn’t let her poor environment stop her from pursuing her dreams. The dicho Como se Acuesta, Se levanta translates to how one’s actions carry on to the next day. This dicho is very accurate in that if an individual wants to feel powerful and confident the next day, he or she will have to do their absolute best daily in order
During her childhood years living with her mother, Oprah had very little money and life was difficult. She wants to help as many children as possible grow up in a sound, safe, and educational environment. Oprah has changed the world with all of her organizations and charity efforts. Oprah Winfrey has helped thousands of children attend school with her scholarships that she has funded. Many of these children would never go to school or continue their college career without her amazing efforts of providing financial support to these children. Oprah also helped build homes for families through her efforts with Habitat for Humanity and her donations after Hurricane Katrina helped families start their lives over again after the mass destruction of the hurricane by providing the financial support to rebuild many communities and neighborhoods(“Oprah Winfrey”). When researching Oprah Winfrey, I now realize why she is such an incredible person. The world is a better place because of Oprah Winfrey. This is another example of a person that has worked very hard to achieve her goals in life. Oprah strived for her dreams of being able to give back to the community and world. Oprah came from nothing, built an empire and became one of the most influential people in the world. While building an empire, Oprah has influenced millions of people achieve a better way of live. Oprah has positively
Instead they rely completely on money to be happy. People often do not appreciate what they have, and they feel like they deserve better, and they complain instead of making the best of what they have. It is not necessary to be rich to enjoy life. Often those who have everything tend to live miserably. People can become too attached to money to the point that they forget about enjoying life and caring for their family. The theme of materialism is shown throughout the story of “The Rocking Horse Winner” to explain how being too attached to money can ruin people’s lives.
Oprah Winfrey is an African American woman who is known as a U.S. media celebrity. She has done so much to contribute to society as we know it and her legacy will forever live on. Mrs. Winfrey is well known and she uses her platform for positivity and love, which is a huge reason for her success. She is an intelligent leader who worked hard for the spot she has in life and strives to encourage others to be successful also. Mrs. Winfrey has written books, acted and produced films, hosted an infamous television show, and given to charities. Her hard work and dedication has made her one of the most influential women of all time. She strived for greatness and accomplished what she wanted out of life, despite various obstacles that had been in the
Conclusion Time: The “glorious” life ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Because when a person wakes up from the fantasy of having everything they want, they are able to realize that money is nothing more than paper with a dead man’s face on it. The youth should know that there is more to life than wealth. Look hard, and they will be able to find what I’m talking about.
J.K. Rowling once said “Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticized by fools,” and this really resonates with me as my family has always struggled with money. It was this state of poverty that has stayed with me my whole life and defined who I am today.
For most people growing up is filled with memories of joy and happiness. A childhood should be filled with affection and care, but Oprah did not always feel those things. Oprah did not have such a great upbringing, but despite the odds she rose up and became who she had wanted to be. Oprah had dealt with many accounts of sexual abuse, the lack of attention from her mother, and moving from place-to-place for most of her early years (Fry, web). Not only was Oprah faced sexual abuse, but she also became pregnant from one of the instances (Fry, web). This made things even more difficult for the young Oprah.