Student Choice Test

The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel           

      I was wandering around the city, feeling scared and hopeless. Of course, this is no different from any other day. Ever since I was five, I have known nothing but fear and the bitter cold of my own plagued emotions. I was never loved, only thrown about between several relatives and finally dropped in my uncle’s arms. I was treated like one of his pigs on the farm by him and like a hunk of meat by my aunt.

            At twelve, I had had enough and left for the city where someone might find me more useful than dirt. I started out on the rails, hopping from train to train until I reached a city. It was beautiful in my eyes. Everything was so big and colorful. Lights played games with my eyes and people were everywhere. The smell of foods I had never sensed before made my mouth water.

            I started my city trek looking for a place to stay. I had ten dollars that I stole from my uncle’s money box but that wasn’t enough. All the hotels and apartments were too expensive. Instead I took refuge under some abandoned box carts back at the railway station. That night I spent alone with thoughts of a grand new start to life.

            For two weeks, I looked for a job but couldn’t find anyone to hire me. They all said I was too young or too small. Nobody believed me when I said I was as strong as a bull moose, as Teddy Roosevelt had said once on the radio. With no job and barely money to live, I had to revert to living low or maybe to a life of crime. My uncle taught me well in the art of the pick-pocket and subtle-store-store, as he called it.

            After just a few more weeks, my supply of money was on a thin line and it was beginning to get cold. With the last few cents, I bought a winter coat and some boots. I had never seen snow, only heard about it on the radio. I knew that it was going to get cold in the city and wanted to be ready for it.

            The nights were freezing and miserable. Sometimes it would rain cold and hard, soaking my coat, making it twenty pounds heavier. Now, I was starting to realize that I may not be able to make it through without help. I went to the railway station and looked for someone who was of my economic status. Eventually I found a group of them huddled around a small fire, under a canopy. They invited me in and gave me what I came looking for in the first place: a real home.

            These were the people I spent most of my time with. They were all homeless, dead poor, and ragged. But they were all nice people that wanted me. Nobody back “home” ever wanted me. I finally felt like part of a family. I survived that winter, even on the brink of death, and even survived the ensuing years with the little community. I am a fighter, just like all those out there who make their living on surviving.

Choice Test

The Boxer by: Simon and Garfunkel

I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises.
All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, hmmmm

When I left my home and my family, I's no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared, laying low,
Seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go,
Looking for the places only they would know.

Li la li...

Asking only workman's wages, I come lookin' for a job,
But I get no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores on 7th Avenue.
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there.

La la la...


i am older than i once was
and younger than i'll be that's not unusual.
no it isnt strange after changes upon changes we are more or less the same
after changes we are more or less the same

Li la li...


And I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone,
goin' home
Where the New York City winters aren't bleedin' me, leadin' me,
goin' home.

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'Til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains.


Li la li...

That Song...

By: Tom Hanlon and Liam Kenney

If you were expecting this song

To be deep and meaningful

You are sadly mistaken

I’m afraid

Woke up this morning

Had a project due today

Wrote the lyrics on a napkin

Threw the napkin away

The lyrics were so bad

They made my grandma cry

If they don’t get better

She will surely die

So help me out

Give me something to say

I could care less

‘Cause I don’t need an A

Lyrics are hard to come by

So I’ll tell it to you straight

Instead of telling you a lie

So if you were expecting this song

To be deep and meaningful

You were wrong

Now I’m making all this up

Improvising as I go

That’s the end of the song

That’s the end of the show

Homeward Bound Short Story

I sat motionless on the bench. To my left sat a middle-aged man with a suitcase, smoking a cigarette. He seemed overly occupied with his hands, rapidly twiddling his thumbs. To my right, I had settled my luggage; a large suitcase and a guitar in its case. All around me were people talking on phones, parents holding their children close, those listening to music, and others like myself: completely indifferent to the environment surrounding me.

I was not concerned with those walking around, waiting for the next train. They had meetings to attend, deadlines to meet, or parties to go to, but not I. For me, the trains going by gave me a soothing sense, calming my nerves, supplementing the thought to my mind. I could sit on the bench all day and halfway through the night and still be early to the next venue. Time was not the issue in my career. Lately though, this career has seemed to be more of a job.

Every night is a different bar or cheap eatery. The cities are all alike, as in they never come to be recognized and further plague my emotions. Every day I become more and more agitated, moving from town to town in an endless wake. The towering buildings envelop me in their dark shadows. All the strangers walk along the streets with swift strides and heads down, unwilling to offer to talk or give any of their time to me.

I am lost; utterly hopeless. The next train came up to the stop, brakes creaking harshly. The man next to me hopped up and boarded the train, probably going home after a long day at work. Home…when was the last time I had boarded the train to go home? The memories seemed to come over me like a cool breeze, renewing my senses and refreshing my being. I could feel the warm draft of an oven and smell the baking of a crisp apple pie. Then I listened for the sound of my love sprinting to the door to embrace me and tell me how much she missed me. There was no sound, except for the silence that disturbed the peace. I saw my love sitting at a table waiting for me, unmoving, placidly staring at the opposite wall.

At that moment I felt the wind of a passing train and the screaming of the brakes of another. I felt completely disconnected from the world I once knew so well. The crushing pain of despair was ruthless. It pounded me into the ground and fused me to the concrete floor. Home was the answer but was not on the list of possible choices. Being so far away, this was not possible. All hope was lost. Returning home would take too much time and besides, the budget would never cover such a journey.

On the other side of the station a clock chimed twelve o’clock. It was time to go to the next venue: a small, rundown diner. The next train pulled into the station and came to a screeching halt. As I boarded, I could see in the willowing wisp of steam and smoke a specter of a slender, womanly figure. It simply stared off past my shoulder. I attempted to wave but found my arm to be weighed down with the deep sorrow of the moment. It smiled in order to comfort me, lifting me slightly. There was still hope. I just had to be patient and wait my turn to go home.

Short Story Song

Homeward Bound

By: Simon and Garfunkel

I'm sittin' in the railway station
Got a ticket for my destination, Mmm
On a tour of one night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one man band

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Everyday's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines, Mmm,
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see
Reminds me that I long to be

(Chorus)

Tonight I'll sing my songs again
I'll play the game and pretend, Mmm,
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me

(Chorus)

SA2 Can't Find My Way Home

In “Can’t Find My Way Home”, Blind Faith uses detrimental symbolism, determined motif, and pleading tone in order to ask for help with a drug addiction.

            Through detrimental symbolism, Blind Faith explains their addiction to drugs. All the members of the band; Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech, were addicted to drugs back in the late sixties and early seventies. In “Can’t Find My Way Home”, the narrator cries for help as he knows the harmful effects of drugs. The “throne” represents the high that addicts strive for. “Home” represents sobriety and the overall good life that one should lead. So when the narrator explains “I can’t find my way home”, he is saying that he is not able to stop his addiction.

            Determined motif also shows Blind Faith’s drug addiction. The narrator desires to stop his addiction but it is hard for him. But he is determined to get “home” and back into sobriety. He cries repeatedly, “But I can’t find my way home” but knows that “Someone holds the key”, making him realize that he is not helpless. This gives a sense of desperation, making the audience feel sympathetic towards him. The fact that he knows that he “must change” shows that he has enthusiasm and wants it.

            Help with drug addiction is expressed through pleading tone in “Can’t Find My Way Home”. When the narrator explains, “You are the reason I’ve been waiting so long”, he is referring to those that turn their heads and walk in the other direction. When asks for help, those that are sober put him down. All he wants is to become like them but his disease prevents him from it. They say, “Come down on your own and leave your body alone”, giving him the advice he needs but not helping him with it. He says, “Somebody must change”, meaning that either he will become sober or they will help him.

            In “Can’t Find My Way Home”, Blind Faith uses detrimental symbolism, determined motif, and pleading tone in order to reach sobriety and ultimately live life to its fullest. The narrator realizes as he begs for help that there is hope for him and one day he will change, whether he gets help or not. “Somebody holds the key” to his problems and this could be anyone, including himself. He says, “I ain’t done nothing wrong”, and does not deserve the treatment he is receiving. He has found hope and knows that he can “find” his “way home”.

Song Analysis 1

Chicago released “Hard To Say I’m Sorry/Get Away” in 1982 on their album Chicago 16. It hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary in 1982. Also it hit number one on the Canadian, Irish, Swiss, and Italian Singles Charts in 1982-83. Chicago was a soft rock band that incorporated horns, synthesizer, and electric guitar into their music. In this particular song, the narrator talks of a loved one who is fed up with him for his mistakes. He is heartbroken and pleads his case. Shifting from remorseful to exuberant diction, in “Hard To Say I’m Sorry/Get Away”, Chicago uses essential repetition, serious tone, and indifferent irony to convey the idea that mistakes can be forgiven if true sorrow is expressed.

            Repetition is essential to the overall message and affect of the song. The narrator is obviously heartbroken, so he cannot help but to repeat himself. Though he repeatedly exclaims, “It’s hard for me to say I’m sorry”, he is making a point and emphasizing it which creates a sense of truth. Through the repetition of “I will make it up to you/I promise to”, the narrator evokes his feelings by saying he will not feel better until his lover does. He exclaims “I can’t let go” especially after “all we’ve been through”. Without his lover, he could not go on. Through repetition, the narrator gets his lover back.

            In the seriousness of the tone lie the narrator’s true feelings of sorrow. Distressed and living the consequence of his mistake promotes a serious-feeling realization as his lover explains that “Everybody needs a little time away/…from each other”. The realization of his mistake immediately sends him into shock. His shock reveals the truth within him as he states his case. Obviously, lying at this point would only cause the situation to worsen and his lover would completely ignore him and leave. But, the serious tone brings his lover to stop and think, eventually reasoning that he is truly sorry and deserves another chance.

            When the narrator gets his lover back, he is completely indifferent to the ironic situation. It is ironic that even after such a big mistake his lover takes him back. She even tells him, “Even lovers need a holiday”, to try to tell him off. Of course, once reunited, the narrator then becomes completely indifferent to the mistake and even the fact that she is mad at him. All he cares about is that she is back and that the love between them is renewed. Also ironic is the fact that he will probably make another mistake and the entire process will happen all over again. The love maybe made but the narrator’s immediate indifference foreshadows another problem in the relationship.

            Through essential repetition, serious tone, and indifferent irony, Chicago portrays the idea that true sorrow can fix mistakes in “Hard To Say I’m Sorry/Get Away”. Chicago explains that forgiving is an act that can be done easily when someone is truly sorry. But they also warn us of the dangers and tricks of love that lead to entering a vicious circle.