ipl-logo

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Crooked Smile By J. Cole

778 Words4 Pages

Music all over the world has been shaping generations for many years now. The rock n roll of the 70’s and 80’s, pop and hip-hop of the 90’s and early 2000’s and finally, many different popular genres of the generation we now live in. Music provides a means of expression for all types of individuals. Some music even goes against the social norm and tries to bring attention to social injustices. The song “Crooked Smile” by rapper J. Cole tackles the issue of unrealistic expectations of women with the songs exceptional lyrics, broad metaphors, and positive tone. In this essay, I will talk about how J. Cole goes about empowering women through exceptional lyrics, broad metaphors, and positive tone. Incorporated throughout the entire song are exceptional lyrics. The song is about flaws, a “Crooked smile” for example, and how those flaws do not limit any …show more content…

There is no doubt that there is great value assigned to external beauty. For some how they look physically is simply an expression and celebration of their internal beauty, but often those who are physically attractive are emotionally unattractive. As mentioned before, the title of the song has broader meaning. “Crooked Smile” is a metaphor for any imperfection. This happens to be Cole’s flaw; he has accepted the imperfection and embraces the attention that he receives from it. For another person, a “crooked smile” could be weight, height, or hair color. Anything that makes an individual feel insecure. Women especially voice these insecurities that are flaws by the public eye, when in fact they are what makes every woman unique in their own way. Uplifting lyrics, “I can tell you ain’t laughed in a while, but I wanna see that crooked smile” help embrace imperfections and let women know that its all right to smile about things. Every woman deserves pure happiness no matter what they do or do not

Show More
Related

  • Summary: The Feminist Movement

    2480 Words  | 10 Pages

    The Third Wave of Feminism qualifies women to participate in the entertainment industry such as films and music, whether it’s an individual artist or group, which ever they desired. It allows women to personalize their songs’ lyrics also, expresses their personalities. Numerous of our celebrities in music today are taking part in feminism, fighting for what they were told that women do not have the rights to accomplish: The famous pop singer Beyoncé isn’t afraid to reveal her deepness, lady Gaga expresses herself through “Born This Way”, Ani DiFranco voices her feeling through writing; however, Katy Perry rejected the feminist

    Read More

  • Crooked Smile Analysis

    730 Words  | 3 Pages

    With that being said the tone of this story is that you shouldn’t be worried about what other people think of you because the only thing that matters is what you think of yourself, he refers to his teeth in the song where he says, “A perfect smile is more appealing but it 's funny how My shit is crooked look at how far I done got without it, I keep my twisted grill, just to show the kids it 's real.” Which is a perfect symbolic line because it shows the listener that he isn’t just saying this, this is something he actually cares about and lives by. The emotions that are stirred up from the listener is a feeling of hope because we realize that

    Read More

  • The Chicana Feminist Analysis

    506 Words  | 3 Pages

    Additionally, these stories reveal the great diversity among women. Generally, women are grouped together, as stated by Lorde: “As women we have either been taught to ignore our differences or view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than forces of change (Lorde, 1979).” Despite the efforts to categorize women’s issues into one mass of problems, White women perceive the world differently than African American women, Hispanic women, Native American women, etc., and vice versa. This conglomeration of “women’s issues” does not address every aspect of being a woman in patriarchal and unjust societies throughout the world.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Pico Iyer's The Joy Of Quiet

    761 Words  | 4 Pages

    Does being alone for help a person to think well? In Pico Iyer’s article, “The Joy of Quiet,” he addresses the issue of children not having enough time alone. The question posed by many is what made rhetorical strategies did he use to convince the reader of his main idea. Iyer uses many different types of rhetorical strategies, but the ones, which stood out were the evidences he backed up his main idea with. In “The Joy of Quiet,” Pico Iyers convinces the reader of his main idea that children should spend time away from electronic devices in order to gain more control of their lives by the use of textual evidence, statistical evidence and anecdotal evidence.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Poetry Is Not A Luxury By Audre Lorde

    526 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is a real life example of what it looks like when feminism and Poetry intertwine. Nikki Giovani an American writer and activist from Knoxville, TN has a quote a about poetry that really relates to the way Beyonce creates her music. “Writers don’t write from experience, although many are hesitant to admit that they don’t. If you wrote from experience, you’d get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.”

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hip-Hop's Betrayal Of Black Women

    633 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her essay “hip hop’s betrayal of black women,” Jennifer McLune implies that “(h)ip-hop owes its success to the ideology of women-hating” (193). She does not agree with Kevin Powell’s article that hip-hop does not mean to “offend” black women, but instead artists are only letting out their temper throughout their music. McLune feels infuriated that many artists in hip hop (including black men) rap about their community and downgrade their own women. In the hip-hop genre, sexism is mainly used, not only by black men but also by many other race hip-hop artists. Artists assume that women-hating in their rap songs will be accepted by women, but do not realize that it is affecting all women.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By Jamila Lyiscott

    553 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States is made up of some of the most diverse and interesting cultures in the world. Jamila Lyiscott proves this by showing her different dialects and how they are all equally important. Lyiscott believes that the way she speaks towards her parents, towards her friends, and towards her colleagues are all one in the same.  Throughout the entirety of her speech, Lyiscott changes up her vocal patterns and dialects so that the audience can understand first hand what each of these dialects are. When she talks about her father, Lyiscott uses her native tongue, when she talks to her fellow neighbors and close friends she switches it up to a more urbanized dialect, and when she is in school she masks the other two dialects with a professional sounding language.

    Read More

  • Feminism In Octavia Butler's Speech Sounds

    1682 Words  | 7 Pages

    Octavia Butler is an Afrofuturist, science fiction author who writes many dystopian stories that allude to questions about gender, social structures, and an individual’s ability to control her body and sexuality. When people think of speculative and science fiction they tend to think of nerdy white men writing stories about space and light sabers, but Octavia Butler challenges this stereotype herself by being one of the few African American women in this genre. In Octavia Butler’s speculative fiction short story “Speech Sounds” there is a reversal of gender roles and a strong idea of feminism that is portrayed through the main character Rye. There is also the use of simile and metaphor to help point out flaws in the social structure of the story and the world of the reader.

    Read More

  • House Of The Seven Gables Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    759 Words  | 4 Pages

    You’re a Big Fat Phony!: Corruption in The House of the Seven Gables Appearances can be everything. In today’s society, especially, appearances are a major factor in how society views and values individuals. However, while one can appear to be high-principled and faithful, he or she can easily be deceiving the public in order to maintain his or her reputation. In The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne, through a collection of oxymoron, syntax, tone, rhetorical question, connotation, details, metaphor, and direct characterization, reveals the corrupt nature of Judge Pyncheon.

    Read More

  • The Glass Menagerie Rhetorical Analysis

    1540 Words  | 7 Pages

    This quote begins the plot by creating the exposition. The narrator or speaker does this by explaining the setting of the Younger household, telling the audience which rooms are where and that they have lived in that space for many years. The narrator also gives personification to the objects such as the furniture around the house which makes them feel alive in a way. The time and place is also given which is the period after World War II in Chicago which may explain certain tones and language that the characters may use. Moreover, by telling the audience that many people live in the Younger household, other than themselves, and that they all share rooms or that their son sleeps in the living room, the audience can infer that they are not very

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of We Should All Be Women By Adichie

    1015 Words  | 5 Pages

    When I first heard “We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, it was because Beyoncé samples Adichie’s speech. Though it was a small and heavily edited, it made me pressed “repeat” on my IPhone because her verse alone made me love the song. After the fifth or sixth time listening to the song, I had to google Adichie’s lyrics: “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful.

    Read More

  • Fenimore Coopers Rhetorical Analysis

    429 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mark Twain, an 18th century humorist, was known for his critical and satirical writing. In one of his most famous essays, “ Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses” Twain addresses Coopers inability to realistically develop a “situation” and his failure to effectively back up his stories in order for them to be more plausible. To dramatically convey his unimpressed and sarcastic attitude, he applies biting diction, metaphors and hypophora throughout this work . By continuously using biting diction, Twain develops a mocking tone towards Fenimore Cooper’s incapability to create even the simplest of storylines. In the title of the work a sarcastic tone is evident; the word choice is utilized to reinforce the argument stating how Coopers work is an offense to the world of literature.

    Read More

  • Sonny's Blues Rhetorical Analysis

    838 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin was a short story about the struggles of living in a tough, rundown neighborhood and looking to drugs as a way out. Baldwin’s intent on writing this piece focuses on pain and suffering. The author stresses that not everybody is born in the best circumstances. Sonny was one of those people who grew up in a rickety town where people often did not make it out successful.

    Read More

  • Pretty Hurts Analysis Essay

    857 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, the speaker feels that women can overcome the pressure to adhere to these standards and be happy with their bodies. This message is directed toward other young women who, like her, are also affected by these detrimental beauty standards. The video for “Pretty Hurts” starts off with a tentative

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Beyoncé's Song Flawless

    1389 Words  | 6 Pages

    When we write we are often confronted with some sort of “rhetorical situation”. This term is best described as a combination of factors. There is a rhetor(s), an exigence, an audience, and specific constraints to consider when analyzing a text. Through an interview with Professor Funnell, who teaches a course that aims to explore the representation of women in various facets of popular culture, I identified how these elements contribute to Beyoncé’s song, Flawless, and consequently discovered how to better address future situations regarding other texts. Music is a way for people to send a message through the lyrics.

    Read More

More about A Rhetorical Analysis Of Crooked Smile By J. Cole

Open Document