Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] Title: Figurative Language in “Heal the World” and the Song’s Social Impact Introduction: “Heal the World” is a highly emotional song that offers hope for the next generations to be born in this world. The song’s message of hope has influenced the founding of a non-profit organization called Heal the World Foundation. “Heal the World” is a popular song that is constantly used in several charity events and social community services that advocate for the improvement of living conditions of children who are exposed to exploitation, world hunger, and homelessness. The song’s impact to society and popularity has lasted several decades after its launch in the 90s because it raises awareness and civic action for impoverished children in war-torn countries worldwide (Vogel). Thesis statement: “Heal the World” contains metaphor, personification, and hyperbole to appeal to listeners to help impoverished children in war-torn countries and to help improve the feeling of the world through love and lending a helping hand. Attached below are the complete lyrics of “Heal the World”: Body Paragraphs 1–2: Metaphor I. The metaphorical language in “Heal the World” shows optimism that people will shift to love from hatred, grief, and evil acts. II. The following stanzas are the metaphors in the song “Heal the World”(Jackson): Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] A. There’s a place in your heart And I know that it is love B. And this place could be much Brighter than tomorrow C. In this bliss we cannot feel fear or dread We stop existing and start living D. Make a little space to make a better place III. These are the meanings behind the metaphorical language in the song “Heal the World”: A. The song mentions a place in a caring person’s heart and this space symbolically represents love. B. The song says that this place that is full of love and care is brighter than tomorrow because it represents a world that acts to improve the conditions of disadvantaged children in war torn regions. It is a happy and bright place without war, poverty, and hunger. C. The song says that this place that emanates with love is blissful where people need not be afraid of living happily with great joy and satisfaction. D. The new and better world that cares for humanity is possible to be found as long as people give love and importance to their fellow human beings. IV. The song conceptualizes a better world that is safe for everybody. There is no greed, no war, no poverty, and no hatred in this “healed world”. "See the nations turn their swords into plowshares". (Jackson) Body Paragraphs 3–4: Personification Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] I. The personification in the song “Heal the World” manifests great hope that people will still choose love instead of war and other evil acts. II. Instances of personification in the song are listed below (Jackson): A. Heal the world B. If you want to know why There is a love that cannot lie Love is strong It only cares for joyful giving C. And the dream we were conceived in Will reveal a joyful face D. Then why do we keep strangling life Wound this earth, crucify its soul III. These are the meanings behind the personification in the song “Heal the World”: A. The title of the song is a personification of an inanimate being, the earth that represents the entire human race. The world or earth per se is consisted of soil and water but in the song, the world personifies all citizens of the world who are prone to cancerous illnesses that are described in the song as either poverty or war that results to death of people. B. The song also personifies an abstract concept, “love” like an individual with good characteristics or human values. Love personifies a person who does not lie, who is strong, who is generous, and cares for joyful giving. C. The song personifies an abstract concept, “dream” as a person with a happy or joyful face. Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] D. “Life” is personified in the song as a hapless victim of violence who is strangled by evil people. In the same manner, “earth” is also personified in the song as a hapless victim of violence who gets wounded and crucified. IV. The song advocates for the complete healing of a sick world that thrives on greed, hatred and other evil acts. This advocacy is highly achievable through everybody’s help and cooperation by correcting people’s erroneous ways and by learning to love their fellow human beings. Body Paragraphs 5–6: Hyperbole I. “Heal the World” effectively conveys the message that it is possible to improve the world for the next generations using hyperbole. II. Instances of hyperbole in “Heal the World” are listed below (Jackson): A. This world is heavenly B. Be God's glow C. We could fly so high D. Let our spirits never die III. These are the meanings behind the hyperbolic language in the song “Heal the World”: A. The song describes the “healed world” as not only a better place or a highly developed economy where no one need worry about his or her food and safety. This is exaggeratedly described as a place which has reached the zenith of perfection or heavenly. It is a hyperbole because the biblical heaven is a place where only perfect beings dwell. These heavenly beings need not eat any physical food because they are immortal beings like God. Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] B. The song also exaggeratedly describes people in this “healed world” as “God's glow”. This is a hyperbole because the biblical saints are perfect beings who are immortal like God and their only task in heaven is to glorify God incessantly. C. The song also exaggeratedly describes people in this “healed world” as high achievers who can do impossible tasks like “flying”. This is a hyperbole because science has proven that people are mammals and not birds. Literally speaking, people do not have any capacity to fly like birds, unless they are sky diving or jumping out of a plane in a parachute. D. The song also exaggeratedly describes the possibility of people’s spirits as not dying. This is a hyperbole because science has never discovered any medicine that prevents aging and death so the oldest person in the present world is less than 120 years old. Literally speaking, people are not eternal beings so their death is imminent and only the biblical God can make their spirits live eternally. Body Paragraphs 7–8: Song’s Impact to Society I. "Heal the World" has captured the hearts of listeners into doing something for the disadvantaged children in Somalia and Serbian region. People worldwide has donated large sums of money to the Heal the World foundation while has helped bring food and medicines to war- torn countries in Asia and Africa. 2. “Heal the World” is more than just a beautiful song with hidden meanings. The song has been able to call out everyone’s attention to the conditions of children in Somalia and the Balkan region at a time of civil war, poverty, and plague in those places. Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] 3. Several scholarly studies reveal that music can influence prosocial behavior. One of the songs in experimental studies is “Heal the World” and the results are astounding and amazing. Restaurant customers or total strangers have became more generous when exposed to music with global themes of brotherhood, love for humanity, world peace, and helping the needy (Ruth). Conclusion: “Heal the World” is a powerful song that has become a classic. It is one of those socio-political songs, which has a lasting impact to listeners and to society (Sarkar). It has become a classic socio-political song, which carries tremendous power to move people into greater kindness and generosity towards the needy (Jacob). Experimental studies have shown that “Heal the World” push people to become more generous after listening to its theme of love for humanity, world peace, and helping the needy (Ruth). Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] Works Cited Jackson, Michael. "Heal the World Lyrics." https://www.elyrics.net/read/m/Michael-jackson- lyrics/heal-the-world-lyrics.html. Accessed July 20, 2018. Jacob, Chris. "Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on tipping behavior in a restaurant". International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29 (4), 761-763 doi.:10.1016/j.ijhm.2010.02.004. Accessed July 20, 2018. Ruth, Nicolas. (2016). "Heal the World: A Field Experiment on the Effects of music with prosocial lyrics on prosocial behavior". Psychology of Music. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0305735616652226 Sarkar, Patricia. "6 Songs That Had A Lasting Impact On Society". https://beat.media/6-songs- that-had-a-lasting-impact-on-society. Accessed July 20, 2018. Vogel, Joseph. "Michael Jackson's Forgotten Humanitarian Legacy". https://www.huffingpost.com/entry/Michael-jacksons-forgotten-humanitarian- legacy_us_59c7c8d3e4b08dd661550436a. Accessed July 20, 2018. Tammie Coulston 25 Busby Ln 22391175 500502 Bells, TX 75414 [email protected] Annotated Bibliography Jackson, Michael. "Heal the World Lyrics." https://www.elyrics.net/read/m/Michael-jackson- lyrics/heal-the-world-lyrics.html.