Hejie Yan

January 12, 2011

Song Analysis In The End Linkin Park

This song can be interpreted in many different ways. It can be interpreted in a more optimistic way the end doesnt even matter, its the journey that counts and its the journey that will help us achieve happiness. However it can also be interpreted in a more pessimistic way the song could mean that nothing matters (that we shouldnt even bother trying), or it could be about failed relationships and/or a suicide note. As time goes on, all of us begin to age, it is unavoidable and once we grow old and die all of our accomplishments will mean nothing. Generally this song portrays a nihilistic message which states that human striving is pointless because nothing matters. The song agrees with the theories of Arthur Schopenhauer regarding Nihilism. The lyric to this song also has significance to other theories that we have learned throughout the course. Right at the beginning of the song It starts with One thing we can see Monism being portrayed since by definition Monism is the belief that we all began with one thing (God). Its so unreal, I had to fall To lose it all, but in the end it doesnt even matter, these two quotes correspond to Buddhism beliefs that the self doesnt truly exist and therefore what the self does doesnt really matter. The Buddhism belief of the doctrine of impermanence is illustrated in the line, Things arent the way they were before, you wouldnt even recognize me anymore. The doctrine of impermanence states that all things are constantly changing, and the line from the lyrics depict that he (the singer) has changed. Finally, causality is shown in the line I tried so hard, and got so far the effects of his hard efforts resulted to the effect of him getting far in life.

Pursuit of Happiness Kid Cudi

This song is about doing the things you want to do to live life to the fullest. It is about pursuing happiness no matter what others think. He disregards what others think, whether what he does is against the law is of no importance to him as die happy than to live miserably. By driving drunk it shows his disregard for the law, but he is also risking other peoples lives to pursue his own happiness, this can be interpreted as being selfish. Hell keep living this way until he reaches his threshold and find happiness, and once he gets it hell be able to slow down, Ill be fine once I get it. He also takes a liking to dreaming because hes had too many nightmares, now he wishes that he would dream more because that set him free of the worries that he has about tomorrow. At the end of the song he starts to question whether this way of living is going to truly find him happiness. This song relate to Existentialism and Hedonism. It explains that we are in control of our own lives and that nothing can hold us back to prevent us from doing what we want to do. It shows us that we are free beings that have the choice to live by either our own rules or societys rules. This song promotes Soren Kierkegaards theory that people must make and judge their own moral choice rather than follow one universal moral choice. With Descartes ideology in mind, we can see how the person in the song eventually realizes the consequences of his actions and takes responsibilities for them

Hejie Yan

January 12, 2011

because no god can be held responsible for his actions. The song also appeals to the Hedonistic perspective which states that the good life is one that is devoted to pleasure.

Kit Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

This song is about a person looking at all the possibilities that he has available in his life. He eventually realizes that no one else is going to be making the decisions for him and thatll eventually he will have to pick from one or the other. He begins to feel more in control, but as he feels more in control he also feels more comfortable to open up to his loved one and give up a little bit of the control that he once had. This song goes well with the theory of existentialism because it opens us up to the idea that we all have many branching paths in our lives where we need to choose our path. The paths that are there cant pick themselves for us and no one else should be responsible to pick which paths that you want to take because life is a journey, in which all the major events are determined chosen by you. We cannot just sit there and wait for some higher being to guide or choose the path for us

Hejie Yan

January 12, 2011

References Philosophy: questions & theories . (2003). McGraw -Hill Ryerson. Linkin Park. (2004). In the end lyrics . Retrieved from www.metrolyrics.com/in -the-end-lyrics -linkin-park.html on January 7, 2011. Kid Cudi, Initials. (2009). Pursuit of happiness lyrics . Retrieved from http://www.lyrics.com/pursuit -of-happinessnightmare-lyrics -kid-cudi.html on January 9, 2011 USS, Initials. ( 2003). Kit lyrics. Retrieved from http://artists.letssingit.com/uss -ubiquitous-synergy -seekerlyrics -kit-5kq3fh5