Revealing the Theme Through Symbols in Green Day's 21 Guns Lyrics and Music Video

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REVEALING THE THEME THROUGH SYMBOLS IN GREEN DAY’S 21 GUNS LYRICS AND MUSIC VIDEO

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By CLARA ADRIANE MAURETHA Student Number: 164214158

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2021 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

REVEALING THE THEME THROUGH SYMBOLS IN GREEN DAY’S 21 GUNS LYRICS AND MUSIC VIDEO TITLE PAGE

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By CLARA ADRIANE MAURETHA Student Number: 164214158

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2021

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MOTTO PAGE

QUE SERA, SERA

(WHATEVER WILL BE,

WILL BE)

-Ray Evans-

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FOR

MYSELF

DEDICATION PAGE

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Almighty God for giving me many lessons in the journey of writing this thesis. Thank you for provides me with such love and strength so that I can finally get to this point.

The completion of my thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and nurturing of my thesis advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum.

I am extremely grateful to the given advices and support from my advisor during the writing process of this thesis. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to my co-advisor, Dra. A. B. Sri Mulyani, M.A., Ph.D., for helping me finishing this thesis. Special thanks to my academic advisor, Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini,

M.A., Ph.D., who always supports and reminds us as her students to complete our thesis.

Thanks should also go to my parents and my sisters who always encourage me to finish this thesis. I very much appreciate the patience, support, and time given by Nandiel from the beginning until now. Particularly helpful to me during this time was Dimas, Tasia and Nanda who gives me practical suggestions in technical terms.

Thanks also to Gobret, Faza Amira, Angel, Natha, Aska, Cef, Septian, Aji, Siska,

Betri, Andita, ROBCOP, and all of my friends whom I cannot mention for their endless support to me.

Clara Adriane Mauretha

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...... ii APPROVAL PAGE ...... iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...... iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ...... v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ...... vi MOTTO PAGE ...... vii DEDICATION PAGE ...... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... x LIST OF FIGURES ...... xii ABSTRACT ...... xiii ABSTRAK ...... xiv CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 A. Background of the Study ...... 1 B. Problem Formulation ...... 3 C. Objectives of the Study ...... 3 D. Definition of Terms ...... 3 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 4 A. Review of Related Studies ...... 4 1. Theme Revealed through the Symbols in Stockett’s The Help ...... 4 2. The Contribution of Symbols in Revealing the Messages in “The Call of Cthulhu” by H. P. Lovecraft ...... 6 3. Symbolism in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room ...... 8 4. Semiotic Study on Visual and Verbal Signs of Taylor Swift’s Music Video “You Belong with Me” and Its Song Lyrics ...... 9 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 11 1. Theory of Symbol ...... 11 2. Theory of Theme ...... 16 C. Theoretical Framework ...... 18 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...... 20 A. Object of the Study...... 20

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B. Approach of the Study ...... 21 C. Method of the Study ...... 23 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...... 25 A. Symbols and their Meanings in 21 Guns Lyrics and Music Video...... 25 1. 21 Guns ...... 26 2. Throwing up your arms into the sky ...... 27 3. You and I ...... 29 4. Broken glass ...... 29 5. Hangover ...... 30 6. A stone ...... 32 7. The last trial ...... 36 8. Darkness ...... 38 9. The fallen bullet ...... 39 B. The Theme of 21 Guns’ Song ...... 41 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...... 46 REFERENCES ...... 49 APPENDIX ...... 51

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LIST OF FIGURES

No. Figure Page 1. Fig 1. Billie Joe Armstrong throws up his arms 28 Fig 2. The characters of the music video are looking to the broken 2. 30 glass 3. Fig 3. The female character walks towards the male character 32 4. Fig 4. The male character walks towards the female character 32 5. Fig 5. The characters are hugging in the middle of the room 34 6. Fig 6. The characters are kissing 34 7. Fig 7. Explosion 1 35 8. Fig 8. Explosion 2 35 9. Fig 9. Explosion 3 35 10. Fig 10. The break scene 37 11. Fig 11. The portrait of Billie Joe Armstrong from the back 38 12. Fig 12. The male character holds a bullet 40 13. Fig 13. The bullet in the male character’s right hand 40 Fig 14. The bullet drops down from the male character’s right 14. 40 hand

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ABSTRACT

MAURETHA, CLARA ADRIANE. (2021). Revealing the Theme through Symbols in Green Day’s 21 Guns Lyrics and Music Video. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Music is a universal language many people enjoy, not only because it entertains but also because it conveys ideas everyone can relate to. In this study, the researcher uses lyrics and music video of the song entitled 21 Guns from Green Day as the object of this study. There are two objectives of this study. The first one is to find the symbols both in the lyrics and the music video of 21 Guns and also the meanings of the symbols. Then the second one is to reveal the theme of 21 Guns based on the symbols and the meaning found. This study uses New Criticism approach to analyze the object of the study. The method used in this study is library research. Some printed and electronic sources are used in order to complete this study. The primary sources are the lyrics and the music video of 21 Guns. The secondary sources are some printed books and websites that provides the knowledge and information needed for this study. In 21 Guns’ lyrics and music video, there are nine symbols found. They are the term 21 guns itself, the act of throwing up your arms into the sky, “you and I”, the broken glass, the term “hangover”, a stone, the last trial, the darkness, and the fallen bullet. Those symbols carry the meaning of the salute given in the military occasions for the fallen soldier, giving up the war, the mental health condition after the war, the feelings of remorse, sorrow, misery as the result of war, and the desire to stop the war. From those symbols and the meanings, the researcher is able to reveal the theme of the song which is war gives nothing good to the soldiers and those who are involved.

Keywords: symbol, theme, New Criticism, lyrics, music video.

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ABSTRAK

MAURETHA, CLARA ADRIANE. (2021). Revealing the Theme through Symbols in Green Day’s 21 Guns Lyrics and Music Video. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Musik adalah bahasa universal yang dinikmati semua orang, bukan hanya sebagai hiburan tetapi juga karena musik mengandung nilai-nilai yang bisa dipahami oleh semua orang. Dalam studi ini, penulis menggunakan lirik dan musik video dari lagu yang berjudul 21 Guns oleh Green Day sebagai objek dari studi ini. Ada dua tujuan dalam studi ini. Tujuan pertama ialah untuk mencari simbol- simbol baik dalam lirik maupun musik video dari 21 Guns beserta arti dari simbol- simbol tersebut. Lalu tujuan kedua yaitu untuk menyingkap tema dari 21 Guns berdasarkan simbol-simbol dan arti yang sudah ditemukan. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan New Criticism untuk menganalisis objek dari studi ini. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian perpustakaan. Beberapa sumber dalam bentuk cetak dan elektronik digunakan dalam menyelesaikan studi ini. Sumber utama adalah lirik dan musik video dari 21 Guns. Sumber lainnya berasal dari buku-buku cetak, jurnal dan website yang menyediakan pengetahuan dan informasi yang dibutuhkan untuk studi ini. Dalam lirik dan musik video dari 21 Guns, ditemukan sembilan simbol. Kesembilan simbol tersebut adalah istilah 21 guns itu sendiri, tindakan mengangkat tangan ke atas, “kamu dan aku”, pecahan kaca, istilah “hangover”, sebuah batu, percobaan terakhir, kegelapan, dan peluru yang terjatuh. Simbol-simbol ini memiliki makna tentang penghargaan terhadap orang-orang yang gugur di medan perang yang dilaksanakan dalam ranah militer, menyerah terhadap peperangan, kondisi kesehatan mental setelah perang, rasa penyesalan, kesedihan, penderitaan sebagai hasil dari peperangan, dan keinginan untuk mengakhiri peperangan. Berdasarkan simbol-simbol dan maknanya tersebut, penulis mampu untuk mengungkapkan tema dari lagu ini, yakni bahwa peperangan tidak menimbulkan sesuatu hal yang baik kepada para tentara maupun semua orang yang terlibat.

Kata kunci: symbol, theme, New Criticism, lyrics, music video.

ABSTRAK

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

People say music is universal. Of course it might be true or it might be false.

It depends on one’s understandings and experience about music itself. The fact that cannot be ignored is that everyone loves music, specifically in the form of a song, either the genre is pop, punk, jazz, or either the music is about love, death, animal, or any other types. It is based on our own taste. The way we put interest in a certain song can be provoked by many factors, the meaning contained in the song for example. Each songwriter has their own ways of presenting the meaning of his song. One of the ways is by using symbols in their song, either in the lyrics or the music video.

In this research, symbol becomes the thing that is being analyzed. Therefore, it is important to understand what symbol is. According to Abrams, symbol is something which signifies another thing (1993, p. 195). In addition to that definition, Arp and Johnson explain that “a symbol means what it is and something more, too” (2009, p. 726). Furthermore, the definition of symbol is illustrated as something in which, “the connection between the signifier and the signified is entirely arbitrary” (Butler, 2005, p. 60). Consequently, the arbitrariness a symbol has makes it way more interesting to digging it deeper.

That is the main reason why the researcher chooses the song 21 Guns by

Green Day to be analyzed in this research. This song contains symbols which are interesting to do a further analysis on it through the lyrics and the music video to

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reveal it. The role of the music video is important since music video usually becomes the media to present the idea or the value that the song delivers, as Hughes states that pop songs is one of the example of ‘texts’ which produces representations

(2007, p. 250). In order to be able to acknowledge the meaning and the theme in 21

Guns the music video related with the lyrics of the song, the researcher uses the new criticism approach and examines it with theory of symbol and theory of theme.

Green Day, which firstly appeared as Sweet Children, is a punk rock band from America formed in 1986. The member of this band are Billie Joe Armstrong as the lead vocalist and guitarist, Mike Dirnt as the bassist and Tre Cool, who joins this band prior to their second album, as the drummer. Still exist until today, Green

Day has released 12 albums in total. The song 21 Guns is released in 25 May 2009 as one of their singles from 21st Century Breakdown, the 8th album. The music video of this song is published on YouTube in 7 October 2009 with Marc Webb as the director. The length of the song is five minutes and 21 seconds while the music video lasts in five minutes and 26 seconds.

There are two persons who play role in the music video besides Green Day themselves. Both of them are Christian and Gloria who are hiding in a white room.

The two of them are being chased by police after they rob a bank. The police then arrive outside of the room and they start to shot them. This action leads the couple to the feeling of fear and terror as they know they cannot run away. While the couple feel terrified by the bullets running inside the room, the band continues playing.

Suddenly, as the music is getting intense and the bullets are still flying and destroy the room, Christian and Gloria ignore the bullets and start to walk toward each other

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calmly. Although the police won’t stop shooting them from outside, they are unharmed when trying to get close to each other. In the middle of the room, they meet and then they are kissing as the room goes dark. Not long after, the song ends and the room lights up again while they stop kissing and just staring to each other.

B. Problem Formulation

In order to get a better understanding about this topic, I formulate two questions:

1. What are the symbols and their meanings found in 21 Guns’ lyrics and

music video by Green Day?

2. What theme is revealed by the use of the symbols in 21 Guns’ lyrics and

music video by Green Day?

C. Objectives of the Study

The first objective of this study is to find out the symbols along with their meanings which appear in 21 Guns’ lyrics and music video by Green Day. The second objective is to reveal the theme by using the symbols in 21 Guns’ lyrics and music video by Green Day.

D. Definition of Terms

In this study, there are two terms that needs to be explained. Those terms are symbol and theme. Symbol is a trope in which a word, phrase, or image represents something literal and concrete and yet maintains a complex set of abstract ideas and values that are usually interpreted according to the surrounding context but which may mean a number of things depending upon who is interpreting the symbol (Myers & Simms, 1989, p. 297). Theme is the overall meaning, or message, the text communicates (Tyson, 2011, p. 41).

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

There are four related studies that the researcher uses which relates with this research.

1. Theme Revealed through the Symbols in Stockett’s The Help

The first study is a thesis written by Fenny Monica Sari from English Letters

Department, Sanata Dharma University. In this study, Sari reveals what the theme of Stockett’s The Help using symbols in the novel itself. She also explains how the role of symbols in the novel can convey the theme. It is stated in her study that “the meaning of the symbol must only has its meaning inside the story not outside of it…” (Sari, 2016, p. 22). This statement leads her to use formalism approach in this study. There are several theories that she uses in this study which are theory on symbols, theory on theme and theory on the relation of symbols and theme.

Using the theory of symbols, Sari finds four symbols in the novel The Help, which are bathroom, chocolate “poo” pie, the book “Help” and Aibileen and Minny.

Those symbols are found because they are “the significant things that repeated several times…” (Sari, 2016, p. 26). The first symbol, bathroom, is considered as a symbol because it “becomes the major issues from the beginning until the end, it has drawn attention that make it becomes the focus of the story.” (Sari, 2016, p. 26).

Sari explains that in The Help, bathroom has a hidden meaning. There are colored

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bathroom in most of the white families’ houses for black people (their maid). Sari concludes that bathroom symbolizes segregation.

The second symbol is chocolate “poo” pie. It is a pie with chocolate and poo or excrement as the filling. It appears as a dish from a black maid named Minny to a high-society woman named Hilly Holbrook. Hilly lies to everybody that Minny is a thief which makes nobody wants Minny as their maid and Minny has to work as Hilly’s maid for free. That is why Minny gives her the chocolate “poo” pie. It is symbolized as a revenge.

The third symbol is the book “Help” which is a book written by one of the character named Skeeter. As Sari says in this study, it “is an interview book” (2016, p. 34). Skeeter, a white woman, makes an interview book about black maids.

Skeeter wants to know and also to show what it is like to be black maid. The book contains stories from many black maids who have suffered a lot in their life.

Although the process of making the book is not easy because many of them are too scared to tell their stories, but in the end the book still gets published. To make sure the identities of each of the black maids are safe, all names in the book are changed.

After the book is published, there is a change in the society. Therefore, the book is

“considered as the symbol of change” (Sari, 2016, p. 44).

The last symbol is two characters named Aibileen and Minny. They are black maids who are the first that wants to be interviewed and helps Skeeter finds another black maids to be interviewed. At first, they do not want to be involved in the book at all, but after some consideration of what they have suffered in their life, they dare themselves to tell the truth. Thus, these characters are symbolized as

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courage. After finding out the symbols in the novel, Sari tries to link all the symbols to reveal the theme of the novel. From all the symbols that are found, Sari concludes that the novel The Help “tells about fighting segregation” (Sari, 2016, p. 53).

This research has the same objectives with this study. The difference is the object of the study. This study uses a novel as the object of the study while this research uses lyrics and music video as the object of the study.

2. The Contribution of Symbols in Revealing the Messages in “The Call of

Cthulhu” by H. P. Lovecraft

It is a thesis by Rian Stevent from English Letters Department, Sanata

Dharma University. Through this study, Stevent wants to reveal the messages of a short story entitled “The Call of Cthulhu” with the contribution of symbols in the story. Stevent uses new criticism approach in this study. The theories that are used in this study are theory on symbolism, theory of symbol and theory of message.

In the analysis part, Stevent finds four symbols in “The Call of Cthulhu”.

They are the bas-relief, Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones, R’lyeh and Cult of

Cthulhu. The bas-relief is the sculpture created by the character named Henry

Anthony Wilcox. It is an unknown thing that none of the characters can determine the origin and the material of the bas-relief. Therefore, Stevent concludes that the bas-relief symbolizes the idea of chaos and disorder.

The second symbol is Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones. As Stevent states in this study, “Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones are the comic entities that originated from the dark star.” (2018, p. 21). Therefore, Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones “are not bound by the concept of good and evil because of the fact that their existence is

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beyond what human can comprehend.” (Stevent, 2018, p. 22). The cultists believes in the Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones’ existence in which will set them free from the idea of good and evil. Based on that understanding, Cthulhu and the Great Old

Ones is considered as the symbol of embodiment of chaos.

The third symbol, R’lyeh, “is the name of the city where the Great Old Ones and Cthulhu resided” and it is “hidden beneath the deep sea” (Stevent, 2018, p. 22).

Since its existence is mysterious and portrayed as a great horror, R’lyeh symbolizes

“the concept of immaterial or something unknown that crossing the boundary of human perception.” (Stevent, 2018, p. 23). The last symbol is Cult of Cthulhu which symbolizes the dark nature of human. It is because the Cult will always exist, the same like the dark side of human which will always be there, inside of them.

There are two messages that are revealed in this study which “are the human is insignificant creature in the face of cosmic horror and there is something in this world that is meant to be left hidden from the world.” (Stevent, 2018, pp. 28-29).

Three of the symbols stated in this study helps Stevent to reveal the first message, which is the human is insignificant creature in the face of cosmic horror. Those symbols are the bas-relief, the Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones and the Cult of

Cthulhu. The second message which is there is something in this world that is meant to be left hidden from the world is revealed through the symbol of R’lyeh.

This research also uses symbols as in Stevent’s study. The difference is the use of symbols in Stevent’s study is to reveal the theme of the object of the study while in this research the symbols are used to reveal the message of the object of the study.

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3. Symbolism in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room

The third study is a thesis written by Palupi Sulistyomurni from English

Letters Department, Sanata Dharma University. This study aims to find out the symbols in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and the messages which convey by the symbols. Sulistyomurni uses structuralism approach to analyze the character’s conflict as a homosexual who lives in a heterosexual community using its language, words and symbols (Sulistyomurni, 2018, p. 12). There are two theories used in this study, which are perspective on homosexuality and theory of symbol.

Sulistyomurni divides the analysis of the symbols into three parts.

There are three symbols analyzed in the first part. They are body, third class seats and Giovanni’s room. These symbols represent David’s feeling of confusion of his sexuality. The second part contains two symbols which are cavern and dark and dirty. It represents David’s fear of his future as homosexual in heterosexual community. In the last part, there are four symbols; mist and rain of Paris, locked and trapped, decomposing corpse and the beast. This part represents David’s repressed desire.

After identifying the symbols, Sulistyomurni reveals the message in the novel through the use of the symbols. It is found that what the symbols convey is

“to encourage people to fight for his life and happiness. The process may be long and require lot of efforts, but the best way of living is to be free and live a life we always wanted (Sulistyomurni, 2018, p. 40).

Although this study’s goal is the similar with this research, the difference lies on the theory used and the use of theory of symbol. This study uses perspective

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of homosexuality as one of its theories while this research does not use it. Instead, this research uses the theory of theme besides the theory of symbol. Moreover, this research uses the theory of symbol to reveal the theme of the object, not the message as in Sulistyomurni’s.

4. Semiotic Study on Visual and Verbal Signs of Taylor Swift’s Music Video

“You Belong with Me” and Its Song Lyrics

The last study that the researcher uses in this research is a journal written by

Ni Putu Diah Darmayanti, I Neenah Sudipa, and Ni Made Ayu Widiastuti from

English Department Faculty of Arts, Udayana University. The writers try to identify the elements of visual signs in Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me” and analyze the meaning of verbal signs in the song lyrics.

The theory of visual communication by Gillian Dyer is used to observe the visual signs in the music video. They analyze it through the eight models who are all in the music video as a nerdy girl, a handsome boy, a cheerleader girl, an

American football team, a cheerleader team, marching band members, spectators and party guests. Then Darmayanti, Sudipa and Widiastuti divide those elements into five components which are “appearances, manner, activity, prop and setting”

(2016, p. 178).

The nerdy girl as the first model to be analyzed is included in the appearances component. In the music video, the look of the nerdy girl shows how she is really in love with the handsome boy which proved by her appearance along with the part of the lyrics “I’m the one who understands you”. The next component,

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which is manner, consists of four elements which are expression, eye contact, pose, and clothes. Such happiness, anger and hatred expressions are shown by the cheerleader girl throughout the music video showing her transition manner following the scenes from looking at the handsome boy playing the football with admiration, then the handsome boy ignores her and finally when she stares at the nerdy girl which shows how much she hates her. The activity of the cheerleader team and the marching band are being analyzed by the touch and the body movement. While the book and eyeglasses as the part of the prop symbolize the figure of the nerdy girl and the folded paper with the word I Love You symbolizes love between the nerdy girl and the handsome boy. Moreover, the setting used in the music video are divided into four places which splits to two places for each outdoor and indoor settings.

Going to the song lyrics, the writers divide the lyrics into four parts and analyze it using the theory of meaning by Geoffrey Leech. The first part explains the conceptual meaning which the narrator of the song tells about a guy’s girlfriend who gives up to their relationship just because she can’t understand her boyfriend’s personality. The next part is about kind of comparing herself (the narrator) with this girl (the guy’s girlfriend) which is contrasting each other. Still having the conceptual meaning, the third part shows the dissimilarity between the narrator and the guy’s girlfriend in the way they dress up and also declares the big gap between their positions.

Those analysis comes to the conclusion that the elements of visual signs are found and put into some categories which are age, gender, hair, look, expression,

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eye contact, touch and body movement. Props and settings are also identified in the music videos. Meanwhile in the song lyrics, the writers find out that there are three types of meaning which are conceptual meaning, connotative meaning and affective meaning.

This study has the same objects with this research which are the music video and the lyrics of a song. The difference is that this research focuses on the theme using the meanings of the symbols in the song while this study focuses only on the meaning of the verbal signs. The theories used in this study are theory of visual communication and theory of meaning while this research uses theory of symbol and theory of theme.

B. Review of Related Theories

The theories used in this research are theory of symbol and theory of message.

1. Theory of Symbol

Something which signifies another thing is called a symbol (Abrams, 1993, p. 195). It is clear that a symbol can be anything which has more than one meaning.

According to Arp and Johnson, “a symbol may be roughly defined as something that means more than what it is” (2009, p. 726). Kennedy and Gioia state the same definition as written above, yet they give a further explanation that “symbols generally do not “stand for” any one meaning, nor for anything absolutely definite; they point, they hint, or, they cast long shadows” (1999, p. 217). Everything and every word around us are actually symbols. As Boggs and Pettrie say that “all of

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human communication involve the use of symbols” (2008, p. 72), each of it conveys a meaning. To be clear, symbol is

a way of using something integral to the work to reach beyond the work and engage the world of value outside the work. It might be an incident that takes on meaning,…; it might be the conventional object or device---a crucifix, a color, a tree---that becomes symbolic of meanings within and without the poem, story, or play. (Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, & Willingham, 2005, p. 106)

The meaning of a symbol can be as simple as it is, “but it is the nature of symbols to have extensional possibilities, to open out to the world beyond the art object itself” (Guerin et al, 2005, p. 106). A music video, as a work of art conveys many symbols on it. To make it more relatable with the object of this research, the definition of symbol can be defined as,

Something (a particular object, image, person, sound, event, or place) that stands for, suggests, or triggers a complex set of ideas, attitudes, or feelings and thus acquires significance beyond itself. …. Once a symbol is charged with a set of associations (ideas, attitudes, or feelings), it is capable of storing those associations and communicating them any time it is used. (Boggs & Pettrie, 2008, p. 72)

Colwell explains that a literary symbol must be distinguished from several other concepts since it is both literal and figurative (1968, p. 78). Furthermore, he states that a literary symbol is not a linguistic symbol; it is not a simile; and it is not a metaphor (Colwell, 1968, p. 78). It is the same as what Guerin says about the difference of symbol and metaphor. According to Guerin et al, “metaphors are comparisons between two seemingly dissimilar things, while symbols associate two things” (2011, p. 89). Guerin et al also expands Colwell’s explanation that besides literal and figurative, cultural and artistic contexts are things that a symbol also reaches out to. This leads us to the understanding that a symbol cannot have an

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absolute meanings because different culture can have different meaning for the same symbol (Guerin et al, 2011, p. 89).

Kennedy and Gioia, after saying a symbol usually is not the second term of metaphor, state that a symbol is a special kind of image with further explanation that it exceeds the usual image in the richness of its connotation (1999, p. 905). In order to not to be confused with another literary terms, in this case are image and metaphor, which are sometimes difficult to distinguish, Arp and Johnson explain that,

An image means only what it is, the figurative term in a metaphor means something other than what it is; and a symbol means what it is and something more, too. A symbol, that is, functions literally and figuratively at the same time. (2009, p. 726)

In addition, Kennedy and Gioia explain that another thing a literary symbol usually is not is abstraction. Unless personified, terms such as truth, death, love, and justice cannot work as symbols (1999, p. 905).

Although a symbol seems like a simple thing that we can easily find and interpret, Arp and Johnson give a statement that a “symbol is the richest and at the same time the most difficult of the poetic figures”, as a result from its imprecision

(2009, p. 727). It means although the poet has given hints so the meaning of the symbol can be interpreted precisely as the poet delivers, the meaning can actually vary because of the richness that the symbol carries. Each interpretation can lead to different meanings too. Later on, Arp and Johnson state that some authors or poets sometimes give more specific hints to identify the symbols while the others “do not

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identify them at all” (2009, p. 727). Lastly, Kennedy and Gioia conclude what symbol is as simple as this: “it evokes, it suggests, it manifests” (1999, p. 905).

After knowing the definition of symbol, it is also important to know and understand how to recognize a symbol. As stated before, a symbol is difficult to identify. Also, sometimes poets do not give any hints at all to the reader. Therefore, there are ways to help us recognize which are the symbols. According to Kennedy and Gioia, in order to spot a symbol in a poem, we should read the poem closely and pay attention to the concrete objects in the poem. After that, notice whether the poets emphasize any of the concrete objects “by detailed description, by repetition, or by placing it at the very beginning or end of the poem” (1999, pp. 904-905).

Giving another perspective, Boggs and Pettrie say that there are four principal methods to recognize symbols (2008, pp. 73-76):

a. Repetition – an object that is shown repeatedly clearly aims to draw people’s

attention and has symbolic power.

b. Value Placed on an Object by a Character – giving value and importance to a

certain object also shows that the object must be a symbol of something else.

c. Context – an object or image can have symbolic power through the placement

in the film and it “is built up through associations created (1) by its relationship

to other visual objects in the same frame, (2) by the editorial juxtaposition of

one shot with another, or (3) by the object’s importance in the film’s structure.”

d. Special Visual, Aural, or Musical Emphasis – these can be “lingering close-

ups, unusual camera angles, changes from sharp to soft focus, freeze frames,

or lighting effects.” It is said that “…musical refrains can become symbolic in

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their own right if complex associations are built into them by any of the three

methods discussed above.”

Similar to the previous explanation about how to recognize a symbol, Arp and Johnson state four ways or methods for reader to be alert of the presence of symbols. The first one, it is stated that “the story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically” (Arp & Johnson, 2009, p. 289). It is the same as what have been discussed earlier, which includes emphasis, repetition, and position.

The second thing they point is that the meaning of a symbol is supported by the context of the literary text. The meaning of a certain symbol must be correlated with inside of the literary text and not outside of it (Arp & Johnson, 2009, p. 290). It means that it is impossible if the meaning of the symbol has nothing to do with the literary text itself.

The next method, Arp and Johnson declare that “to be called a symbol, an item must suggest a meaning different in kind from its literal meaning; a symbol is something more than the representative of a class or type” (2009, p. 290). It is clear that a symbol must evoke more than its literal meaning, as discussed in the beginning of this theory. Lastly, it is more like the deeper explanation of the third method, which is a symbol, besides having its literal meaning, has more than one meaning. “A symbol is like a many-faceted jewel: it flashes different colors when turned in the light” (Arp & Johnson, 2009, p. 291). Although a symbol has more than one meaning, it does not mean that we can make it anything that we want

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because the second method controls it. If we make the meaning too broad and then ignore the context, it will lead us to misinterpretation.

Accurate interpretation of the symbol requires delicacy, tact, and good sense. …. Above all, we should avoid the tendency to indulge in symbol- hunting and to see virtually anything in a poem as symbolic. It is preferable to miss a symbol than to try to find one in every line of a poem. (Arp & Johnson, 2009, p. 733)

Patience is one of the main keys to figure out the meaning of a symbol. We have to read the literary text very closely to really aware of the symbols and also the meaning. If we find out that something has nothing more than the literal meaning, do not be disappointed. As Kennedy and Gioia say, “Not everything is a symbol. As Sigmund Freud once commented about symbol-hunting, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”” (1999, p. 917)

2. Theory of Theme

According to Colwell, “theme is what a story means; theme is a conviction about the real world you live in” (1968, p. 17). Every literary work contains a theme in it which makes a relation with the reader. Although theme is somewhat a meaning of a story, it “does not have to tell you what to do; it must simply express some conviction or belief about the way things are” (Colwell, 1968, p. 17). In order to not to be confused with the term topic, since they are often used interchangeably,

Tyson states that a theme is something that is said about a given topic (2011, p. 41).

As a meaning of a story, theme can be either simple and easy to find or complicated and hard to find. Like Colwell says that “theme tends to be complex,

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and may include contradictory evaluations; rarely will theme be as simple as the moral following the fable” (1968, p. 18). Furthermore, Colwell explains,

Theme may be explicitly stated. Sometimes, however, theme is implicit, not explicit. A work may have a definite theme that nevertheless is nowhere directly stated. Very frequently, theme is partly explicit and partly implicit. (1968, p. 18)

So, it depends on the author of the literary text, whether he puts the meaning of the story directly or he hides it beautifully within the characters, conflicts, plots, etc.

Explicit theme is not a problem for the reader since it is directly stated. Then what about implicit theme? It is hard to find an implicit meaning. The basic advice from

Colwell “is to read open-mindedly, alertly, aware that very frequently an author is trying to reveal something significant in the events, conversations, and the thoughts that he describes and presents” (1968, p. 19).

Another theory of theme brought by Blair and Gerber say that theme is the

“overall level of meaning” (1948, p. 115). It is similar with what Tyson says, “a literary text’s theme is the overall meaning, or message, the text communicates”

(2011, p. 41). In other words, Blair and Gerber explain that for the reader, the meaning of a literary text is something that the reader can relate to and find useful in understanding the reader’s experience in real life (1948, p. 111).

Actually, what meaning the author has in mind is unimportant unless the literary work makes it clear – and makes it clear, moreover, to you and other readers. Your task, therefore, is to find whatever clues to meaning there are in the work and to follow them through to their implications for you. Note that the implications are to be found in the works – that you should discover meanings in what the author has written as well as in your interpretations. (Blair & Gerber, 1948, p. 111)

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There are two guidance to discover meaning based on what Blair and Gerber state. The first one is the statements of meaning. This is provided by the author and expressed either directly by him or indirectly through one of his characters. Further explanation, the statements of meaning consists of three kinds, which are explicit, ironic, and symbolic. The explicit one is clearly a statement which directly stated from the author or through one of the character’s point of view that the reader can easily catch and understand. The second one, ironic, is a statement which portrays the opposite meaning of what the author actually means. Then the last kind of statements of meaning is symbolic. This is a statement which uses figurative language to carry the meaning of the story. It can be a simile or a metaphor but it can also be an analogy from a paragraph or even an entire work. The other guidance to discover the meaning of the story is the relations and conflicts. Some authors may not deliver the meaning through statements. In other hand, they may deliver it through the relations and conflicts of the characters within the story (Blair &

Gerber, 1948, pp. 111-113).

To sum up, Colwell, Tyson and Blair and Gerber have the similar definition of theme, which is the meaning a story conveys. Either directly or indirectly stated, theme can be found through a thorough observation of the story. The author expresses the meaning in the form of statements or by the character’s relations and conflicts in the story.

C. Theoretical Framework

There are two theories used in this research. These theories aim to help the researcher answering the problem formulations and getting deeper understanding

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about this topic. Both of the theories are the theory of symbol and the theory of theme.

The first is theory of symbol. The researcher uses the theory of symbol by

Arp and Johnson, Kennedy and Gioia, and also Boggs and Pettrie. These theories function in order to understand the definition of symbol and to find the symbols in the lyrics and music video of 21 Guns by Green Day. There are several sources, too, which are used to give a better comprehension in this topic. The second theory is theory of theme proposed by Colwell, Tyson, and Blair and Gerber. These theories help the researcher revealing the theme from the symbols found in the lyrics and music video of 21 Guns by Green Day.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The song 21 Guns is released on May 25, 2009 as one of the singles from

21st Century Breakdown, Green Day’s 8th album. The song has been a success on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 22. This song is also featured on the soundtrack of the film Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen. It is also nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best

Rock Song in 2010. The music video of this song is published on YouTube in 7

October 2009 with Marc Webb as the director. The length of the song is five minutes and 21 seconds while the music video lasts in five minutes and 26 seconds.

The video peaked at number one on VH1 Top 20 Countdown on August 22, 2009 and again on September 19, 2009. It also won Best Rock Video (Green Day), Best

Direction (Marc Webb) and Best Cinematography (Jonathan Sela) for the MTV

Video Music Awards.

There are two persons who play role in the music video besides Green Day themselves. Both of them are Christian and Gloria who are hiding in a white room.

Suddenly, as the music is getting intense and the bullets are still flying and destroy the room, Christian and Gloria ignore the bullets and start to walk toward each other

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This storyline is actually connected one another with the songs in the 21st

Century Breakdown album. Christian and Gloria characters are actually the same characters that appear throughout Green Day’s album, 21st Century Breakdown.

There is no reliable source that states the reason behind the chosen name, but many critics believe that it is related with religion.

B. Approach of the Study

The approach that is used in this research is new criticism. According to

Bressler, new criticism “provides the reader with a formula for arriving at the correct interpretation of a text using only the text itself” (1999, p. 37). It is clear that this approach concerns about the things inside the literary text, not outside of it.

Furthermore, Abrams explains that it is not the external factors or “effects” of a work which matters to understand a literary work, but the “detailed consideration” of the work (1993, p. 246).

One of the terms which has a close relation with new criticism is intentional fallacy. It is “claimed to be the error of interpreting and evaluating a literary work by reference to evidence, outside the text itself, for the intention – the design and purposes – of its author” (Abrams, 1993, p. 90). This term conveys the main idea of new criticism which sees that any external factors, such as the author's biography or the process of the literary work, has nothing to do with the analysis and the

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interpretation of the literary work. Moreover, Abrams states that new criticism “also tend to minimize recourse to the place of the work in the history of literary forms and subject matter” (1993, p. 247). Another term which is related with new criticism is explication or close reading. Close reading is a procedure in new criticism which means a comprehensive analysis on a literary work (Abrams, 1993, p. 247).

The researcher uses new criticism as an approach for this research because in new criticism, the vitally important components of any literary work, “whether lyrics, narrative, or dramatic, are conceived to be words, images, and symbols rather than character, thought, and plot” (Abrams, 1993, p. 247). In addition, Abrams explains,

literature is conceived to be a special kind of language whose attributes are defined by systematic opposition to the language of science and of practical and logical discourse, and the explicative procedure is to analyze the meanings and interactions of words, figures of speech, and symbols. (1993, p. 247)

Thus, this approach fits to what the researcher needs in analyzing the object of the study by focusing only to the object itself, which are the lyrics and the music video of “21 Guns” by Green Day, and analyzing one of the significant components, as described by Abrams in the explanation above, which is symbol within both the lyrics and the music video.

According to Bressler, there are several steps about how this approach works. These steps are the things that the researcher will use as a sort of guidance in applying this approach to this study. The first step is to do the close reading to each of the words of the literary work, trying to find any denotative and/or connotative meanings. Next, discuss any “possible allusions” from the literary

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work. After discussing any allusions found, the next step is to search a pattern which is developed through individual words, phrases, sentences, and figures of speech.

Then, take a note of any symbols in the literary work, whether it is a public or private symbols. Another things to consider is point of view, tone, and any other poetic device. After that, combine all the components mentioned above and analyze the correlation of each of them. Finally, the meaning of the literary work can be revealed (Bressler, 1999, p. 37).

Based on all of the explanation about new criticism above, it can be sum up that the analysis and the meaning inside of a literary work, when it comes to new criticism, depends on only the text itself. It can also be seen in the step-by-step about applying new criticism that there is “no library research, no studying of the author’s life and times, and no other extraneous information is needed” (Bressler,

1999, p. 37) because all the information within the literary work are enough to discover the meaning of the literary work. By saying no library research, it means that when analyzing the literary work, no other sources needed but the work itself.

However, a few sources function as a base to understand the theories used in analyzing the literary work. Since this study discusses symbols to reveal the theme in both lyrics and music video of “21 Guns” by Green Day, another components are not going to be considered in unveiling the theme of the object of the study.

C. Method of the Study

The researcher uses library research to answer the problem formulation in this research. Library research is used because this research utilizes some printed and electronic sources. The primary source of this research are the lyrics and the

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official music video of the 21 Guns song by Green Day, while the secondary sources are some printed books and websites which are supporting the topic of the research.

Some steps were done in order to complete the research. The first step was finding out the 21 Guns lyrics and then writing it down. After that, the researcher looked for the 21 Guns music video then watched it repeatedly, while also saw the lyrics, to really have a good information from what the music video is about in general and the connection with the lyrics. The next step was using the secondary sources in order to gain a proper knowledge of how the researcher should find the symbols within the object of the study. Then the researcher found out the symbols in the 21 Guns lyrics and music video based on the theories of symbols which had been discussed in the previous chapter. The next step was reading some sources related to symbols and theme in order to get a deeper understanding related to the topic. After reading the sources, the researcher applied the theories and analyzed the symbols found in both the music video and the lyrics. Next, the symbols that had been analyzed were linked together to reveal the theme of the lyrics and the music video.

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

In this part, the researcher analyzes and elaborates the object of the study, which are the lyrics and the music video of 21 Guns, to answer the problem formulations using the approach and theories explained in the previous chapter.

There are two things the researcher points; the first one is the symbols in the lyrics and the music video along with the meaning of it and the second one is the theme revealed through the symbols.

A. Symbols and their Meanings in 21 Guns Lyrics and Music Video

Some of the most important elements in any literary works, “whether lyric, narrative, or dramatic, are conceived to be word, images, and symbols rather than character, thought, and plot” (Abrams, 1993, p. 247). According to Abrams’ statement, symbols tend to play a quite important role in any literary works. It can be proven since most of literary works have symbols in it because symbols make the literary works richer in presenting the meaning of the works. As Arp and

Johnson says, “a literary symbol is something that means more than what it suggests on the surface” (2009, p. 284). In this section, the researcher looks for the symbols in 21 Guns’ lyrics and music video by paying attention to three things, which are emphasis, repetition, and position. To keep in mind, the researcher observes the symbols closely to get the meaning only based on the whole context of the object of the study and has the knowledge that a symbol should has something more than its literal meaning (Arp & Johnson, 2009, p. 290). After finding out each of the symbols, the researcher analyzes the meaning behind every symbols.

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1. 21 Guns

The first one to discuss is the words “21 Guns” which appears as the title of the song. It is recognized as symbol because of its position. As Kennedy and Gioia explain, the author of the literary work can give a hint of a symbol by placing it at the very beginning or the end of the literary work (1999, p. 905). A title, of course, is placed in the very beginning of any literary works. It becomes the first thing the reader notice and read. It attracts people’s attention and makes them gaining an interest about the literary work. Another thing which makes 21 Guns noticeable and can be considered as symbol is because of the repetition.

In this song, there are three verses, chorus, and bridge. The form this song has is verse 1-chorus-verse 2-chorus-bridge-verse 3-chorus-chorus. Aside from being the title of the song, 21 Guns is also in the chorus part of the song. As we know, chorus is mostly the core of the song and presented repeatedly throughout the song. The chorus part is as written below,

One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky You and I (Green Day, chorus, lines 1-6).

It is clear that in the chorus part, although the 21 Guns is written in the form of words, not number, it is repeated twice in the chorus which means it plays repeatedly eight times in total throughout the song. This strengthens the possibility of 21 Guns as one of the symbols.

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The word 21 Guns in this song may refer to the term 21-gun salute for military occasions. 21-gun salute is the highest honor given by a country to their fallen soldiers during the war based on the historical aspect. With that in mind, this song is generally about soldiers and war because amongst any other term, Green

Day, or specifically Billie Joe Armstrong as one of those who makes the lyrics, chooses 21 Guns as the title. Therefore, the song is about soldiers and war and 21

Guns means the salute to the soldiers.

Going back to the chorus part, the line “one, twenty one guns” may have another meaning. Come to think of it, the word “one” right before “twenty one guns” is more likely to count the soldiers who fall during the war. It is like a reminder that every time one soldier dies at the war, then a 21-gun salute is about to be held to honor him. Thereafter, why Armstrong puts that line in the chorus part is with the intention of questioning when the “twenty guns” will end if people are still at war, besides to make the line said repeatedly and draw people attention.

2. Throwing up your arms into the sky

This second symbol comes from the line in the chorus part, which of course is important, and it is included as symbol because of the repetition. If we take it in a literal way, it is just a statement which says raise your hand as can be seen in the music video.

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Figure 1

The picture in figure 1 is the scene from the music video of 21 Guns which shows the portrayal of Billie Joe Armstrong, as the lead vocalist of Green Day, who expresses the act of the line “throw up your arms into the sky”. From figure 1, the act of throwing up his arms captures the same gestures when someone surrenders or gives up. This is why the line “throw up your arms into the sky” means to surrender or to give up. Still, the point Armstrong wants to convey is not to do the act of surrender as the result of defeat or loss. Instead, he presents the idea of giving up as the act of making a better choice to gain a better future and as a follow-through from the previous symbol, which appears to be placed right before this line.

Therefore, “throw up your arms into the sky” is both a suggestion and an invitation for people to stop the war so that there is no more fallen soldiers and no more salute has to be held. In the context of the song, which talks about war, he believes that ending the war with just giving it up is a better option for both sides. This will lead us to the next symbol.

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3. You and I

“You and I” is the last line from the chorus part. This is considered as symbol because first of all, it is part of the chorus, which is the anchor of the song.

Secondly, as what has been stated and discussed earlier, chorus is the part that is repeatedly played throughout the song. Furthermore, in the context of the song,

“you and I” does not mean only about two people but more than that.

Seeing that this line is put right after the line “throw up your arms into the sky” offers the idea that this line supports line 5 of the chorus. Looking at the previous symbol, which discusses about giving up at the war, this line then gives a further explanation about it. The act of surrender Armstrong carries out is not just a message for one party. It must be considered as a call for both parties because a war cannot be ended if only one party who makes the decision not to take a part in the war anymore. The goal is to create a world without war, something that gives advantages for everyone. In order to achieve that purpose, it is important for both parties to realize it and make it happen together, you and I.

4. Broken glass

The next symbol comes from verse 2 line 5. The complete line is “your faith walks on broken glass”. This is considered as symbol because it emphasize something. It has something more than its literal meaning. Faith is not a living thing so it cannot walk, as walking is something that only a living thing can do. Moreover, it is almost impossible and useless to walk on a broken glass, even for a living thing.

Walking on a broken glass is a thoughtless act and will only cause harm.

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A broken glass is something that has many sharp edges which can hurt anything and anyone. Furthermore, a broken glass is a glass that is broken which means it has been damaged from its good condition. Therefore, the broken glass in this line symbolizes the state of the soldiers’ mental health which becomes fragile as the side effects of the war. It also represents the inability of knowing the good and the bad after taking a part at the war since the biggest feeling which controls them is probably a trauma.

Figure 2

In the music video, this line is represented with the moment when both characters look at the same broken glass as seen in figure 2. None of them can see clearly through the broken glass because it makes anything that is reflected becomes shattered and lost its perfect form. It works the same with the soldiers’ mental health condition after the war which has broken and filled with sorrow and misery. This feeling makes them easily hurt.

5. Hangover

The word “hangover” in this song is considered as one of the symbols because it represents something more than the literal meaning. As we know,

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“hangover” means the condition we get after we are drunk. However, in this case, the term “hangover” does not represent that situation. To get the full context, here is the lyrics

And the hangover doesn’t pass Nothing’s ever built to last You’re in ruins (Green Day, verse 2, line 6-8).

In the verse 2 above, it is clearly stated the thing that makes it different from the literal meaning. A commonly condition of “hangover” is something that is temporary and does not last forever. It will only take a few hours, or days if you have a severe hangover, and then you will get better after the hangover pass or you can even help reducing it by taking a medicine, eating food, and/or drinking particular liquid. Meanwhile in this song, specifically in verse 2 line 6, the lyric says that the hangover does not pass. It indicates that it is not the same with the regular hangover and of course is not caused by getting drunk. In fact, the hangover that is being discussed has something more than that.

Looking from the whole context of the lyrics, the term hangover means the mental health condition a soldier has after war. In most cases, veterans for sure have this side effects of war. Other words which come together with the word hangover, as written in verse 2 line 6, are “doesn’t pass”. This is to give the illustration of what those who go to war will get after the war ends. The hangover they get will haunt them for the rest of their lives and will not get cured.

However, in the music video, the woman, as one of the characters, suddenly shifts her gesture from getting frightened to being brave. Her changes starts from

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this line until the next chorus as seen in figure 3. The same change also happens to the other character which is the man as seen in figure 4. Both of them start walking towards each other with full confidence.

Figure 3 Figure 4

This sudden change happens as the result of realization from both characters. They understand what consequences they will get in the future if they keep on the fight. This leads them to the decision of not getting involved in the fight anymore and just focusing in the remaining time they have at the moment. They want to reduce the effect of the hangover as much as possible by dodging the fight as soon as they can.

6. A stone

Going on to the discussion of another symbol that comes from the bridge part, which says as written below

Did you try to live on your own When you burned down the house and home? Did you stand too close to the fire? Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone (Green Day, bridge, line 1-4).

It is clearly a symbol since the literal meaning just does not make sense in real life. Stone is a thing which contradicts with the word forgiveness that people

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only do to other people. Therefore, “looking for forgiveness from a stone” represents something more than that. In order to get the most relatable meaning, it is important to look at the larger context from the previous lines, even though sometimes each lines is not closely related to one another.

According to line 1 and line 2 from the bridge, it portrays the situation of the soldiers after war. It is likely to questioning about how the soldiers dare to hope for enjoying the rest of their lives at their home after destroying another homes and families. It also conveys the portrayal of the condition of the soldiers after the war in which they actually cannot live in peace since they are being traumatized with what they have done at the war. The next line which is “did you stand too close to the fire?” explains that the soldiers play a big role in tearing apart others’ lives, therefore it leads them to the traumatized feelings they have because they just cannot handle the after effect of the destruction they make. In short, it can be said that the bigger their role is in crushing everything during the war, the bigger their misery will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Subsequently, the last line then tells about the feeling of remorse of the soldiers. The words “looking for forgiveness” refer to their true feelings towards the things they regret. The stone itself points out the graves or, more precisely, the death. It is an impossible thing to say sorry and ask for forgiveness to those who are dead. This is why the last line symbolizes the sorrow the soldiers have as the result of the war they contribute in. Not only regretting the things they destroy during the war, but they also regret for the time wasted for the war while actually they can spend it with their loved ones and fill it in with happy memories. Even if when their

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families and/or loved ones are still alive when they return home, it does not mean they can create beautiful memories right after what they have been going through since there are several things they get from the war that give, most of the times, bad impacts to their lives, such as the “hangover”.

Meanwhile in the music video, the scene that is shown together with the lyric “looking for forgiveness from a stone” is a kissing scene (figure 6) from the two characters in the music video.

Figure 5 Figure 6

Figure 6 represents the opposite thing of the lyric. It is as if to say that the characters are appreciating the only time they have at the moment since they do not know what will happen anytime in the future, either good or bad. The background of the scene in figure 6 reflects the situation they are in and shows how messy it is, but they just ignore it all. They do not want to regret any seconds they have when they still have each other. The scene also represents their act of regret to replace the time they waste before when they only focus on the “war”. As seen in the picture above, figure

5 shows the scene before the kissing scene. There is a slight difference of the before and after which is the lighting. In figure 5, before the characters kiss each other, the condition in the room is bright while after they kiss suddenly the room gets dark and the light is only focus on them. The focus in figure 6 is directed to them, as seen

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there where the characters are standing with the spotlight on them. This is to draw the viewers’ attention so they will only look to where the spotlight goes. It is as though to represent exactly about their feelings at that moment which focuses only to themselves and just ignores their surrounded.

Figure 7 Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 7, figure 8, and figure 9 are the scene after the lyric “looking for forgiveness from a stone”. It displays some explosions which happens while the kissing scene goes on and also after that, though it still continues for several minutes

(outside of the figures seen above). These explosions are as if to depict the bad situation which is exactly like what the characters have thought before, which is the downfall or destruction. In the other hand, since the explosions occur at the same time, the explosions may be the real situation that happens even though it does not exist in the room where the kissing scene takes place as seen in figure 6. The disappearance of the explosions in the characters’ room is because of the kissing

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act. It confirms that their fear comes true and it does not matter because they have chosen the right choice; they cherish the moment they have. In other words, they do not get harm from the downfall because they do not even know that it happens.

They only focus on not losing each other.

7. The last trial

Moving on to the following symbol that comes from verse 3 line 2 with the complete verse written below

When it’s time to live and let die And you can’t get another try Something inside this heart has died You’re in ruins (Green Day, verse 3, line 1-4).

This is the last verse of the song and is played after the bridge part before the song ends with two times chorus. To gather the right images of the situation in the music video, it is important to see what the situation is like. Continuing the scene in the previous symbol, the explosions occur over and over again while the music is also getting more intense. After several explosions, then suddenly the music stops together with the explosions. The song enters the break, the part “where the song takes a breather, drops down to some exciting percussion, and then comes storming back in again” (Broughton & Brewster, 2003, p. 79). The scene that is shown when the break starts is as seen in figure 10.

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Figure 10

This particular scene is to set up the gloomy mood before entering verse 3.

It helps understanding the meaning of this verse, specifically line 2. Verse 3 starts with the line “when it’s time to live and let die” which can be interpreted if the line is watched carefully. Line 1 offers two options which are “to live” and “let die”.

This represents the situation the soldiers have at the war, when there is someone lives then there is someone dies. It will always be like that, since war needs sacrifices. If the soldiers want to keep alive, then it means either they have to kill someone or sacrifice their allies since it is almost impossible to end the war without sacrificing a big amount of victims. Therefore, when coming to the next line, “and you can’t get another try”, it has something more than the literal meaning so it is considered as symbol. It suits the symbol theory which says, “a symbol means what it is and something more, too” (Arp & Johnson, 2009, p. 726). In this case, the specific line may carry the meaning of once someone decides to become a part of a war, they can never have the chance to take their decision back or turn back the time. Hence, “another try” refer to another chance in life. No one can neither predict nor avoid everything that happens during the war. The one who survives and the one who dies, it is out of control.

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8. Darkness

The next symbol is the darkness seen in the music video when the line

“something inside this heart has died” is sung. In general, the word “died” is often related with darkness. Therefore, the scene in figure 11 is the images of that line.

Figure 11

As seen above, the scene depicts the back of the vocalist, who wears black outfit, with black background. The background itself has several holes from the bullets that is shot in the previous scene and from those holes there is light comes inside. He seems like he is starring at the holes in front of him. Based on both the lyric and the scene, it brings us to the meaning behind it.

The scene portrays the condition of the inside of the heart which has died.

It shows the darkness soldiers has inside their hearts along with the holes they get through the war. The things they have been through during the war have made them surrounded by the feeling of trauma and sorrow. They have seen people dies, but not only just seeing it, they also have killed people with their own hand. These experiences play a very important role in making them feeling guilty. The feeling of guilty comes from several things such as the inability of saving their allies’ lives,

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the act of taking away others’ lives whether or not it is intended, or the ignorance of letting people suffer and die just because that is the only choice they have at that time. Whether or not they realize it, at the moment when they kill people, they also kill themselves deep inside their heart.

The darkness which is correlated in the line “Something inside this heart has died” symbolizes the sadness, misery, pain, grief, and all the negative feelings they have as the result of the war. In that moment, Armstrong looks as though he is wondering if he can reach out the light from the holes. The way the scene depicts the image of him looking at the holes is as if it wants to indicate the feeling of remorse and wanting to turn back time. Although there is light which comes from the holes, the soldiers, in this case, are unable to reach it out since they have drowned into the darkness.

9. The fallen bullet

The last symbol being discussed is the fallen bullet. This symbol actually appears in the beginning of the music video. It is exactly before the first line from verse 1 is played. The scene of this particular symbol starts with the scene of one of the characters of the music video, which is the man, who sits down on a chair and looks like holding something in his right hand as seen in figure 12. The thing that he is holding on turns out to be a bullet. Not just holding the bullet, the man also looking at it with full of consideration.

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Figure 12

From the picture, it is clear that the man has something on his mind while looking at the bullet. The next scene is a close-up look (figure 13) at the hand of the man that holds the bullet. It looks like he feels uncertain with whatever he has on his mind. One thing for sure, it has something to do with the bullet since his hand keeps fiddling with the bullet as if he is about to decide whether or not he wants to throw out the bullet. Finally, as seen in figure 14, the man decides to drop the bullet.

Figure 13 Figure 14

This act has more meaning than just throwing out a bullet. From the hesitation and the time spent by the man before dropping the bullet, it gives a hint that the bullet is something important to the man. The close-up and the slow-motion scenes also strengthen the idea that the bullet symbolizes something. A bullet is something that is used in a gun. The function of it, especially at the war, is to hurt

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or to kill someone. Generally speaking, the presence of a bullet usually threatens and frightens people since anyone can die with just a single bullet shot in the accurate place. Therefore, a bullet represents as a dangerous thing which can cause a death.

Then, from figure 12, the man at the first hesitates about what he wants to do with a bullet in his hand. Looking from the hesitation and the thinking for taking a decision about the bullet, the man surely knows what consequences followed with that bullet. After a few moments full of consideration, at figure 14 he comes to the decision to drop the bullet which carries the meaning that the man does not want to join or participate at the war. The time when he fiddles with the bullet is when he considers the value of the war. He also knows the outcomes followed by each of his decision. The resolution conveys the whole idea of this song which is to not participate at the war and chooses peace instead.

B. The Theme of 21 Guns’ Song

Theme is one of the most important things in a literary work since almost all kind of literary works have meaning, just like what Colwell says, “theme is what a story means” (1968, p. 17). Although every literary works certainly has theme, not all of them present the theme directly. In fact, the authors have their own ways to make the meaning in their works remarkable. The song entitled 21 Guns is one of the works that delivers the meaning well. Not only presenting the meaning beautifully throughout the lyrics, but also performing it in visual way through the music video.

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There are many ways to reveal a theme of literary works. In this research, the researcher uses symbol as the tools to bring out the theme of 21 Guns. As Blair and Gerber state in how to discover the meaning of a literary text, symbolic becomes one of the three kinds of the statements of meaning. Based on their explanation, the symbolic one is a statement which uses figurative language to carry the meaning of the story (Blair & Gerber, 1948, pp. 111-113).

In the previous analysis, nine symbols have been analyzed to get the meaning behind it. In consequence, this part compiles all of the symbols along with the meaning to reveal the theme of 21 Guns lyric and music video. The symbols found are the term “21 Guns”, the act of throwing up your arms into the sky both in the lyrics and the music video, “you and I”, the broken glass, the term

“hangover”, a stone, the last trial, the darkness, and the fallen bullet.

The first symbol carries the meaning of the salute people in military usually do to honor the fallen soldier. It is also to show the general idea of what the whole song is about. Since this term is put in the chorus part as well, it wants to tell people to stop making war and ask everyone when the war will ever end. Going on to the next symbol, throwing up your arms into the sky, which still relates with the first symbol because it comes from the same part of the song. This line delivers the message to surrender, but not because of defeat. The idea of giving up aims to make peace and avoid the possibility of destroying one’s future and life. It is an invitation to put an end to the war. By making a call to not continue the war, Green Day meant it to both parties in the next symbol which is the last line from the chorus part, “you

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and I”. There will be no use if only one side who decides to stop the war because victims will still increase. Putting it in the end of the chorus part intends to emphasize the act of surrender as something that has to be done together.

The next symbol is taken from verse 2 which is being played after the chorus part. Broken glass in this song symbolizes the mental health condition of the soldiers who contribute in the war. Just like what broken glass looks like, their mental health condition appears to be the same. It is broken, extremely fragile, easily gets hurt, and of course cannot be fixed. This condition makes them experience a “hangover” for the rest of their lives. It is more likely to refer to the trauma feeling as the side effect of the war. Unlike the normal “hangover” from getting drunk, this kind of “hangover” lasts forever.

The following symbol talks about the feeling of remorse that the soldiers have related to death. The line “looking for forgiveness from a stone” depicts the urge to asking for an apology from those who is dead, either their allies or people they kill. The stone itself is the representation of the grave or death. Furthermore, this line may also convey the sorrow they perceive because of inability to spend good times together with their family or loved ones. Even though they can return home safely, the inside part of them has broken and they cannot enjoy life anymore.

The sorrow and misery the soldiers get at the war makes them wondering if only they can turn back time. This feeling links with the symbol from the line “and you can’t get another try”. As stated in the line, there is only one chance in life so when someone decides to taking part at the war, no one can ask another chance to

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go back and change what has been done. This leads us to the numb feeling as the result of the deep regret they carry on, as the line “something inside this heart has died” wants to tell. The darkness as the images of that line represents the misery and any other negative feelings the soldiers have because of the “hangover” which has drained their mental badly.

The last symbol is the fallen bullet which appears in the beginning of the music video. As everyone knows, a bullet is something dangerous which can cause wounds and even death. The bullet appears when the male character sits down and has the bullet in his hand. In this scene, the male character just look at the bullet as if he is thinking about something related to the bullet. He keeps thinking in a few seconds while his hand fiddles with the bullet. After that he drops down the bullet.

The action of the character in the music video when dropping the bullet indicates his desire to throw away the dangerous thing, which in the context of the song is the war, so nobody get hurt or has to experience the bad effects after the war.

Although at first he shows some hesitation, the part when he fiddles with the bullet, but in the end he decides to get rid of it.

After analyzing all of the symbols both in the lyrics and the music video of

21 Guns, then the theme can be revealed. Based on the symbols found along with the meaning, it can be said that the theme of the song 21 Guns is that war gives only bad impacts to the soldiers and those who are involved. This particular theme comes as the summary of the meanings from each symbol that is being analyzed. As seen in the analysis of the symbols, most of the symbols carry the meaning of destruction,

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either physically or mentally, as the result of war, therefore the writer of the song and Green Day, as the one who delivers the song, want to declare that war is meaningless and must be ended.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

In this research, a New Criticism and some theories of symbol and theme are applied in order to get the objectives of the study which are to find out the symbols in 21 Guns’ lyrics and music video along with the meaning and to reveal the theme by using the symbols and the meaning. As mentioned before, there are two main sources used in this research, they are the 21 Guns’ lyrics and the music video. The secondary sources include books and journal related to New Criticism approach, theory of symbol, and theory of theme in order to have a strong foundation to help the researcher examines 21 Guns in the analysis.

The researcher finds nine symbols from 21 Guns’ lyrics and music video.

Those symbols are the term “21 Guns”, the act of throwing up your arms into the sky, “you and I”, the broken glass, the term “hangover”, a stone, the last trial, the darkness, and the fallen bullet. Each of them are being analyzed to get the meaning so it makes it easier in revealing the theme of it.

The first symbol, 21 Guns, has the meaning of a salute to honor the fallen soldiers in military occasions. In addition, this symbol also wants to ask people to stop making war. The next symbol, throwing up your arms into the sky, has the meaning to surrender or to giving up but not in the context of having a defeat.

Instead, it is a call to everyone to just put an end to the war since it only creates a big loss, both physically and mentally. The invitation is not valid only to one party but both of them or, in other words, to everyone who are involved as explained in

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the third symbol, “you and I”. The following symbol is the broken glass which carries the meaning of the mental health condition of the soldiers that have been broken and cannot be fixed so it makes them easily get hurt and go under negative feelings. It is linked to the upcoming symbol which is the “hangover”. The term

“hangover” that is used in this song is to portray the soldiers’ feeling after war. Just like the “hangover” when getting drunk, it is the same effect they have to deal with.

The difference lays on the time they have to endure. The normal “hangover” only last from a few hours to a few days, while the soldiers’ “hangover” lasts for the rest of their lives.

Moving on to the next symbol, a stone which comes from the line “looking for forgiveness from a stone”. This explains the regret they have related to death during the war. It is as if they want to make an apology to those allies they could not rescue or to those victims they kill during the war. Moving forward to the further symbol, the last trial, which means that there is only one chance in everyone’s life so if it is used to participate in war, then there is no way of turning back and change it. Then the result of that decision is going to be drowning in a life full of pain, misery, deep sorrow, and the other negative feelings which is depicted from the darkness scene as the images of the line “something inside this heart has died”. The last symbol shows the action of dropping the bullet from one of the character’s hand in the music video which indicates the desire to end the war.

The theme that is revealed through the symbols and the meaning is war is something harmful and only gives bad effects to the soldier and those who are involved. Thus, the role of the symbols in revealing the theme of a literary works is

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significance. Symbols can help the author to delivers the theme of the literary work, meanwhile symbols also help the reader, or in this case the listener, to fully understand the meaning of the literary work and get the theme of the literary work.

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REFERENCES

Abrams, M. H. (1993). A Glossary of Literary Terms (6th ed.). Orlando: Wadsworth Publishing. Arp, T. R., & Johnson, G. (2009). Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense (10th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning. Barry, P. (2005). Beginning Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Blair, W., & Gerber, J. C. (1948). Better Reading 2: Literature. New York: Scott, Foresman and Company. Boggs, J. M., & Pettrie, D. W. (2008). The Art of Watching Films (7th ed.). (E. Barrosse, Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill. Bressler, C. E. (1999). Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall College Div. Broughton, F., & Brewster, B. (2003). How to DJ right: the Art and Science of Playing Records. New York: Grove Press. Butler, A. M. (2005). Film Studies. Harpenden: Pocket Essentials. Colwell, C. C. (1968). A Student's Guide to Literature (1st ed.). New York: Washington Square Press, Inc. Darmayanti, N. P., Sudipa, I., & Widiastuti, N. (2016, October). Semiotic Study on Visual and Verbal Signs of Taylor Swift's Music Video"You Belong With Me' and Its Song Lyrics. Jurnal Humanis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Unud, 17(1), 175-183. Erlewine, S. T. (2018). Green Day. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20120124233318/http://www.purevolume.co m/Vhawk Guerin, W. L., Labor, E., Morgan, L., Reesman, J. C., & Willingham, J. R. (2005). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Guerin, W. L., Labor, E., Morgan, L., Reesman, J. C., & Willingham, J. R. (2011). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (6th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Hughes, P. (2007). Text and Textual Analysis. In E. Devereux (Ed.), Media Studies (pp. 249-282). SAGE Publications.

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Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (1999). Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (7th ed.). New York: Pearson. Myers, J. E., & Simms, M. (1989). The Longman Dictionary of Poetic Terms. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman. Sari, F. M. (2016). Theme Revealed through the Symbols in Stockett's The Help. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University. Stevent, R. (2018). The Contribution of Symbols in Revealing the Messages in "The Call of Cthulhu" by H. P. Lovecraft. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University. Sulistyomurni, P. (2018). Symbolism in James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University. Tyson, L. (2011). Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write About Literature (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. Wellek, R., & Warren, A. (1956). Theory of Literature (3rd ed.). New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

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APPENDIX

21 Guns’ Lyrics Do you know what's worth fighting for When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away And you feel yourself suffocating? Does the pain weigh out the pride? And you look for a place to hide? Did someone break your heart inside? You're in ruins One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I When you're at the end of the road And you lost all sense of control And your thoughts have taken their toll When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul Your faith walks on broken glass And the hangover doesn't pass Nothing's ever built to last You're in ruins One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I Did you try to live on your own When you burned down the house and home? Did you stand too close to the fire? Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone When it's time to live and let die And you can't get another try Something inside this heart has died You're in ruins

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One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, One, twenty one guns Lay down your arms Give up the fight One, twenty one guns Throw up your arms into the sky, You and I