miércoles, 27 de septiembre de 2017

Entry # 8 Literary Essay

                                                   LGBT struggle over the years

            For centuries belonging to a sexual minority meant discrimination, harassment and shame. Fortunately over the years this situation has changed and this minority group has gained acceptance throughout society and accorded many legal protections. Influential singers such as Elton John, Sting and Bono have used the lyrics of songs such as "All the Girls love Alice", "An Englishman in New York" and "Where the Streets have no Name" not only to raise awareness of their suffering but also to show their support and concern about segregated minority groups. 
          Elton John has been openly gay since 1988, since then he has became an activist for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender social movements worldwide. In 1973 his song "All the Girls love Alice" marked the first time he sang about a gay character. It tells the tragic story of a 16-year old lesbian who died in the streets. 
                            Poor little darling with a chip out of her heart
                            It's like acting in a movie when you got the wrong part 
                           Getting your kicks in another girl's bed 
                           And it was only last Tuesday they found you in the subway dead 
The lyrics of this song gives an account of his concern about statistics around self-harm and suicide in non-heterosexual young people. 
            Similarly to Elton John, Sting also inspired one of his songs in a gay person. The song "An Englishman in New York" is based on the gay author Quentin Crisp and his experiences as an outcast. "I´m an alien. I´m a legal alien. I´m an Englishman in New York". As the majority of gay people this man felt like an alien, society make him feel like someone who does not belong to this world.
                          If manners maketh man as someone said 
                          He's the hero of the day
                          It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile 
                          Be yourself no matter what they say 
With these lines Sting not only encourages his friend to be himself but also to everyone who feels the same way. 
         Bono was not inspired in gay people when he wrote "Where the Streets have no Name". Nevertheless, LGBT movements could feel identified with some of its lines. "We're beaten and blown by the wind. Trampled in dust" This line could mirror the violence they suffer just because they are different. In the same way the line "I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside" could mirror their struggle, since from the beginning they have struggled to live freely and not in the shadows. 
             In conclusion, whilst in countries located in Asia and Africa there are still laws criminalizing homosexuality, in other countries, most of them located in the Americas and Western Europe, struggle of this minority group obtained positive results and legal protection. The rights laws obtained include same sex marriage, allowance for LGBT adoption and antibullying legislation. 

 Consulted sources: www.time.com 
                                www.muse.jhu.edu 
Cited sources: www.songfacts.com 
                        Where the streets have no name. U2 (1987)   
                        An Englishman in New York. Sting (1987) 
                        All the girls love Alice. Elton John (1973)

Improve written assignment

The thesis statement should state the topic of the essay. The topic of my essay was the struggle of sexual minority groups. Then according to the theory I needed to state my claim. My claim was that influential singers used the lyrics of their songs to support that struggle. Finally I needed to mention three points that would support my claim, so I decided to rewrite my thesis statement and mentioned the songs and the purpose of those songs in supporting my claim that would later be developed in the body of my essay.

Improved thesis statement
Influential singers like Elton John, Sting and Bono have used the lyrics of songs such as "All the Girls love Alice", "An Englishman in New York" and "Where the Streets have no Name" not only to raise awareness of their suffering but also to show their support and concern about segregated minority groups.

Analysis of the third paragraph

  • The paragraph begins with the linker similarly because the previous paragraph is also about a gay character. There is a similarity between the two of them.
  • The topic sentence is: Similarly to Elton John, Sting also inspires one of his songs in a gay person. The paragraph is going to be about Sting´s song and how it is related to gay people.
  • a gay person is a cataphoric reference, the referent is the author Quentin Crisp, who is mentioned in the following sentence.
  • his, this man, him and his friend are all anaphoric references, the referent is also the author Quentin Crisp.
  • Society and everyone are exophoric references.
  • The linker As at the beginning of the fourth sentence is used to compare Quentin Crisp with the majority of gay people as they all feel like aliens. They feel as weirds.
  • The word gay is repeated three times along the paragraph. It is used as a cohesive device at the lexical level. It is direct repetition.
  • Supporting material: the lyrics of the song "An Englishman in New York"
Analysis of the fourth paragraph


  • The topic sentence is: Bono was not inspired in gay people when he wrote the song "Where the Streets have no Name". The paragraph is going to be about this song.
  • Nevertheless in the second sentence is used to contrast the idea that although the song was not inspired in gay people, gay people could feel identified with the song.
  • LGBT movements is the acronym of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender social movements mentioned in the second paragraph. It is used as a cohesive device at the lexical level. Repetition/Reiteration.
  • Modality is used in this paragraph as the song is not inspired in gay people there is only a possibility that gay could feel identified and that some lines could mirror their personal situation.
  • They and their are anaphoric references. The referents are the LGBT movements.
  • Its is an anaphoric reference. The referent is the song "Where the Streets have no Name".
  • In the same way at the beginning of the fourth sentence is introducing another example of how the song could mirror LGBT movements suffer and struggle.
  • The word gay was mentioned three times in the previous paragraph and it is repeated in the topic sentence of this paragraph to link the two of them.

None of my paragraphs have a terminator sentence to conclude the ideas discussed in the paragraphs.




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