Personification And Diction
Personification and Diction in “Colors of the Wind”
Forests are known as the planet’s most diverse ecosystems as well as the home to over 30 million species of plants and animals. Caused by land clearing for infrastructure building and timber logging, deforestation is extremely present but often overlooked. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz’s song “Colors of the Wind” challenges the listener to question whether as occupants of the earth, we look beyond our planet’s physical value. Featured in Disney’s 1995 film Pocahontas, the well-known tune won the Academy Award for “Best Original Song”, as well as the Grammy Award for “Best Song Written for a Movie.” These poignant lyrics which contain vivid mental pictures serve as the foundation for the …show more content…
For instance, Pocahontas’ rebuttal to John Smith “But I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name” (ll.10,11) assigns human conditions to the environment. Pocahontas explains that she sees the earth as a “comprehensive ecology”, as opposed to pure resources. The word “spirit” (l.11) implies that each component in nature has its own character and is an individual entity. Therefore, each time a tree or critter is killed to benefit a person with its resources; the nature we are stealing from is suffering and feeling the pain. Similarly, “You think you own whatever land you land on. The earth is just a dead thing that you claim” (l.9) references the practice of old English hunting in which the slaughter of animals is praised. The adjective “dead” (l.9) suggests that the earth expires after so much bloodshed and destruction. In an extension of the theme, “Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?” suggests that the sounds of nature are a part of its existence. Pocahontas implores Smith to sensitize himself to the beauty of nature’s intricacies, as the mountain’s “noise[s]” are only a part of the life they emanate. The line “The rainstorm and the river are my brothers” (l.25) suggests Pocahontas’ relationship with the water around her, which gives her life by providing for her tribe. The use of the word “brothers” (l.25) connotes a family-type bond that …show more content…
For example, in Pocahontas’ rhetorical and repetitive question to John Smith “How can there be so much that you don’t know you don’t know?” (ll.6) she questions the Englishman’s ignorance towards the environment and its functions. She calls attention to the fact that John Smith not only lacks knowledge of the natural world, but is not even aware he is lacking this knowledge. Because of their single objective in obtaining as much land as possible, they have managed to completely turn a blind eye to how their actions damage nature. Similarly, the repetition in “You think you own whatever land you land on?” (l.8) implies Pocahontas’ frustration and criticism towards the foolishness of the “superiority mindset” most of the settlers seem to have. This mentality has led them to believe the are above nature and therefore have a right to claim and modify it. She exposes the European tendency to take over land and force destruction with no preceding regard to plants, animals, or people. In Pocahontas’ blunt statement “You think the only people who are people are the people who look and think like you” (l.12,13), she goes further to say that the settlers are prejudiced towards to every other being that does not physically resemble or behave like them. Through this statement, she extends the theme by communicating that this discrimination and inability to accept other living beings,
Forests are known as the planet’s most diverse ecosystems as well as the home to over 30 million species of plants and animals. Caused by land clearing for infrastructure building and timber logging, deforestation is extremely present but often overlooked. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz’s song “Colors of the Wind” challenges the listener to question whether as occupants of the earth, we look beyond our planet’s physical value. Featured in Disney’s 1995 film Pocahontas, the well-known tune won the Academy Award for “Best Original Song”, as well as the Grammy Award for “Best Song Written for a Movie.” These poignant lyrics which contain vivid mental pictures serve as the foundation for the …show more content…
For instance, Pocahontas’ rebuttal to John Smith “But I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name” (ll.10,11) assigns human conditions to the environment. Pocahontas explains that she sees the earth as a “comprehensive ecology”, as opposed to pure resources. The word “spirit” (l.11) implies that each component in nature has its own character and is an individual entity. Therefore, each time a tree or critter is killed to benefit a person with its resources; the nature we are stealing from is suffering and feeling the pain. Similarly, “You think you own whatever land you land on. The earth is just a dead thing that you claim” (l.9) references the practice of old English hunting in which the slaughter of animals is praised. The adjective “dead” (l.9) suggests that the earth expires after so much bloodshed and destruction. In an extension of the theme, “Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?” suggests that the sounds of nature are a part of its existence. Pocahontas implores Smith to sensitize himself to the beauty of nature’s intricacies, as the mountain’s “noise[s]” are only a part of the life they emanate. The line “The rainstorm and the river are my brothers” (l.25) suggests Pocahontas’ relationship with the water around her, which gives her life by providing for her tribe. The use of the word “brothers” (l.25) connotes a family-type bond that …show more content…
For example, in Pocahontas’ rhetorical and repetitive question to John Smith “How can there be so much that you don’t know you don’t know?” (ll.6) she questions the Englishman’s ignorance towards the environment and its functions. She calls attention to the fact that John Smith not only lacks knowledge of the natural world, but is not even aware he is lacking this knowledge. Because of their single objective in obtaining as much land as possible, they have managed to completely turn a blind eye to how their actions damage nature. Similarly, the repetition in “You think you own whatever land you land on?” (l.8) implies Pocahontas’ frustration and criticism towards the foolishness of the “superiority mindset” most of the settlers seem to have. This mentality has led them to believe the are above nature and therefore have a right to claim and modify it. She exposes the European tendency to take over land and force destruction with no preceding regard to plants, animals, or people. In Pocahontas’ blunt statement “You think the only people who are people are the people who look and think like you” (l.12,13), she goes further to say that the settlers are prejudiced towards to every other being that does not physically resemble or behave like them. Through this statement, she extends the theme by communicating that this discrimination and inability to accept other living beings,