Jessica Thompson
2-10-2009
English 102
Essay #1: Rhetorical Analysis
Word Count- 984
2-10-2009
English 102
Essay #1: Rhetorical Analysis
Word Count- 984
"Cowgirls Don't Cry"
Throughout the song “Cowgirls Don’t Cry”, Brooks and Dunn persuades the reader that no matter what happens in life you don’t have to cry about it you just have to keep going.
Through this song pathos is used a couple of different times. In the first verse it says “Her daddy gave her, her first pony / Then taught her to ride / She climbed high in that saddle / Fell I don’t know how many times.” In these four lines we know pathos is being used because the writer makes us feel pity for the girl because she got her first pony but she kept falling off. So we feel this pity because as we know to keep falling of a pony would hurt and when you are first learning you don’t want to keep falling off you just want to catch on to it and be able to ride. Another example of pathos is in verse three when it says “She grew up / She got married / Never was quite right / She wanted a house, a home and babies / He started coming home late at night / She didn’t let him see it break her heart / She didn’t let him see her fall apart.” In these seven lines we know pathos is being used because the writer makes us feel pity for the girl because she got married and she wanted all this stuff but then things started going wrong and her husband started coming home later than usual so she ends up becoming upset because she thinks maybe her husband is cheating on her or he doesn’t want to be with her anymore. Another example of pathos is in the fifth verse when it says “Phone rang early one morning / Her momma’s voice, she’d been crying / Said it’s your daddy, you need to come home / This is it, I think he’s dying / She laid the phone down by his head / The last words that he said.” In these six lines we know pathos is being used because the writer makes us feel pity for the girl because her dad is dying and also the girl’s mother is watching her husband die so we feel pity for her to because it is affecting both of them. While we also feel pity for the girl because the she hears the last words that she will ever hear from her father.
Through this song pathos is used a couple of different times. In the first verse it says “Her daddy gave her, her first pony / Then taught her to ride / She climbed high in that saddle / Fell I don’t know how many times.” In these four lines we know pathos is being used because the writer makes us feel pity for the girl because she got her first pony but she kept falling off. So we feel this pity because as we know to keep falling of a pony would hurt and when you are first learning you don’t want to keep falling off you just want to catch on to it and be able to ride. Another example of pathos is in verse three when it says “She grew up / She got married / Never was quite right / She wanted a house, a home and babies / He started coming home late at night / She didn’t let him see it break her heart / She didn’t let him see her fall apart.” In these seven lines we know pathos is being used because the writer makes us feel pity for the girl because she got married and she wanted all this stuff but then things started going wrong and her husband started coming home later than usual so she ends up becoming upset because she thinks maybe her husband is cheating on her or he doesn’t want to be with her anymore. Another example of pathos is in the fifth verse when it says “Phone rang early one morning / Her momma’s voice, she’d been crying / Said it’s your daddy, you need to come home / This is it, I think he’s dying / She laid the phone down by his head / The last words that he said.” In these six lines we know pathos is being used because the writer makes us feel pity for the girl because her dad is dying and also the girl’s mother is watching her husband die so we feel pity for her to because it is affecting both of them. While we also feel pity for the girl because the she hears the last words that she will ever hear from her father.
In verse one with the last two lines which say “Taught her a lesson that she learned / Maybe a little too well” and from here it goes into the chorus which starts in verse two where it says “Cowgirls don’t cry / Ride, baby, ride / lessons in life are going to show you in time / soon enough your gonna know why / it’s gonna hurt every now and then / if you fall get back on again / Cowgirls don’t cry.” When they say all of this they are saying that her father taught her a lesson that she learned very well and stuck to. However the lesson was that “cowgirls don’t cry.” As this goes on though it says that things will hurt but you just got to keep going and not give up while it also says that the lessons that you learn in life do have a purpose it’s just some you know why before others. The main point though through all of this is that through all of the obstacles that happened in her life she didn’t cry about any them, even if she wanted to she didn’t because of the lesson that she was taught from her father. Pathos is used in this part because we feel pity because when these sorts of things happen in our lives we cry because that’s our instinct and what we are used to, we weren’t taught not to cry when things like this happen to us.
Watching the video to this song I think the visuals add to the argument because what happens in the writing happens in the video most of the time. The director uses pathos in this video the same way as the writer uses pathos in the writing. The director matches the video to the writing so that we can understand how we feel pity for the girl throughout the song. There are three major parts to the song. In the first part it shows the girl riding her horse and it also shows her falling off of her horse while she gets right back up and doesn’t cry about it. This first part goes good with the writing because it covered all parts. In the second part it showed the girl waiting for her husband to come home. Her husband did come home then and you could tell she wasn’t happy but she did not cry or let her husband see her feelings. You could also tell that the relationship between her and her husband wasn’t going to well as when he did come home they did not say anything to each other and then he walked out of the room. This second part also goes good with the writing as the video showed all of the parts. In the third part it shows the girl picking up the phone talking to her mom. You could tell from her facial expressions that something was wrong but she did not cry. After that she did drive to her parent’s house and met her family outside but it did not show going inside the house or show her father dying. This third part does go good with the writing however the video did not show a small part of what happened in the writing. Altogether I think the visuals make the song clearer because the writing and the video match together really well.
Watching the video to this song I think the visuals add to the argument because what happens in the writing happens in the video most of the time. The director uses pathos in this video the same way as the writer uses pathos in the writing. The director matches the video to the writing so that we can understand how we feel pity for the girl throughout the song. There are three major parts to the song. In the first part it shows the girl riding her horse and it also shows her falling off of her horse while she gets right back up and doesn’t cry about it. This first part goes good with the writing because it covered all parts. In the second part it showed the girl waiting for her husband to come home. Her husband did come home then and you could tell she wasn’t happy but she did not cry or let her husband see her feelings. You could also tell that the relationship between her and her husband wasn’t going to well as when he did come home they did not say anything to each other and then he walked out of the room. This second part also goes good with the writing as the video showed all of the parts. In the third part it shows the girl picking up the phone talking to her mom. You could tell from her facial expressions that something was wrong but she did not cry. After that she did drive to her parent’s house and met her family outside but it did not show going inside the house or show her father dying. This third part does go good with the writing however the video did not show a small part of what happened in the writing. Altogether I think the visuals make the song clearer because the writing and the video match together really well.
Her daddy gave her, her first pony
Then taught her to ride
She climbed high in that saddle
Fell I don't know how many times
Taught her a lesson that she learned
Maybe a little too well
Cowgirls don't cry
Ride, baby, ride
lessons in life are going to show you in time
soon enough your gonna know why
it's gonna hurt every now and then
if you fall get back on again
Cowgirls don't cry
She grew up
She got married
Never was quite right
She wanted a house, a home and babies
He started coming home late at night
She didn't let him see it break her heart
She didn't let him see her fall apart
'cause Cowgirls don't cry
Ride, baby, ride
lessons in life are goinna' show you in time
soon enough your gonna know why
it's gonna hurt every now and then
if you fall get back on again
Cowgirls don't cry
Phone rang early one morning
Her momma's voice, she'd been crying
Said it's your daddy, you need to come home
This is it, I think he's dying
She laid the phone down by his head
The last words that he said
Cowgirl don't cry
Ride, baby, ride
Lessons in life show us all in time
Too soon God lets you know why
If you fall get right back on
Good Lord calls everybody home
Cowgirl don't cry
Peer Review: "Cowgirls Don't Cry"
ReplyDeleteThe writer produces a clear thesis.“Throughout the song “Cowgirls Don’t Cry”, Brooks and Dunn persuades the reader that no matter what happens in life you don’t have to cry about it you just have to keep going.” By putting in the word 'persuades' in her thesis it proves that it is dealing with rhetoric. He writer clearly states the argument written in her words and interpretation. The argument this writer is trying to prove is, “that no matter what happens in life you don’t have to cry about it you just have to keep going.”
There are many specific examples from the song and video that the writer mentions. The examples are: Her daddy gave her, her first pony, Then taught her to ride, She climbed high in that saddle, Fell I don't know how many times, Taught her a lesson that she learned, Maybe a little too well, Cowgirls don't cry, Ride, baby, ride, lessons in life are going to show you in time, soon enough your, gonna know why, it's gonna hurt every now and then, if you fall get back on again, Cowgirls don't cry, She grew up, She got married, Never was quite right, She wanted a house, a home and babies, He started coming home late at night, She didn't let him see it break her heart, She didn't let him see her fall apart, 'cause Cowgirls don't cry, Ride, baby, ride, lessons in life are goinna' show you in time, soon, enough your gonna know why, it's gonna hurt every now and then, if you fall get back on again, Cowgirls don't cry, Phone rang early one morning, Her momma's voice, she'd been crying, Said it's your daddy, you need to come home, This is it, I think he's dying, She laid the phone down by his head, The last words that he said, Cowgirl don't cry, Ride, baby, ride, Lessons in life show us all in time
The examples from the song include all the lines except the last four. The writer could add in:
Too soon God lets you know why, If you fall get right back on, Good Lord calls everybody home. These lines could be used to describe the pathos and ethos used. Her description in her essay is very good. The writer analyzes each line and describes the point behind the words used.
The writer provides an analysis of her examples. These examples help persuade the reader to see the argument in the way the song intends. Some of the lines could be analyzed more to try to describe it deeper than just all pathos. She could find examples of metaphors, symbolism, or describe the syntax. Maybe the house, home and babies mentions could be a form of symbolism for happiness and pleasure for example or “Ride, baby, ride”, could be metaphor for keep going on with your life.
The last paragraph sticks out to me. The writer really describes the video nicely. She explains the video in sections and breaks it down in an easy way to understand. The descriptions are what make it stick out vividly in my mind.