For The Love Of Ellen Foster

Hi there! It's Emily and I am back, once again relating another sad book to another song! Lately, I have been reading the novel, Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons. It's about a little girl who lives in an abusive home. Her father was an abusive alcoholic and her mother was very ill. Ellen's father was very cruel to his wife and daughter. One day, Ellen's mother overdosed on pills and Ellen's father refused to let Ellen call for help. This resulted in his wife passing away. After this traumatic event, you would expect Ellen's father to realize that he had gone too far and get help. However, that was not the case. Ellen's situation reminded me of a beautiful and heartbreaking song by Demi Lovato called, "For The Love Of A Daughter." Some powerful lyrics from this song are, 

"Lied to your flesh and your blood

Put your hands on the ones that you swore you loved
Don't you remember I'm your baby girl?
How could you throw me right out of your world?
So young when the pain had begun
Now forever afraid of being loved". 
These lyrics can be related to Ellen's relationship with her father because Ellen feels abandoned by her father. He abuses her and makes her believe that she isn't worthy of being loved by him. Some more lyrics from the song are, 
"Please father
Put the bottle down
For the love of a daughter".
 These lyrics are especially powerful because all Ellen wants is for him to quit drinking. Yet, again and again, he chooses alcohol over his own daughter. Ellen's situation is very sad, and I am hopeful that as the book goes on, she will find a parent figure who will truly love her and be there for her. Until next time, Emily. 

Lennie Was A Candle In The Wind...

Hey there! Its Emily and I am back with more to say about John Steinbeck's, Of Mice And Men. Like I said in my last blog post, George and Lennie are very close with each other! So, the ending of the book was extremely sad for me to read! George having to kill Lennie was heartbreaking! One thing that I like to do to try to make me feel comforted when I'm sad is listening to music. When I thought about Lennie's death and how it must have affected George, I thought of the classic song "A Candle In The Wind" by Elton John. Some beautiful lyrics from the song are,

"And it seems to me you lived your life

Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in."

These lyrics relate very well to Lennie and George's situation. I think that these lyrics could represent the way George feels about Lennie. When he was alive, Lennie was like a candle in the wind. A candle in the wind is something that is vulnerable and likely to fail at any given moment. In the Great Depression, being mentally ill like Lennie, made you very vulnerable. Lennie was also lost, "never knowing who to cling to when the rain set in." However, he had George. George was always there for him to depend on during rough times. The greatest example of this was at the end of the book, when George killed Lennie. At first thought, it seems like a horrible thing that George did. However, killing Lennie as he thought of happy things, was actually an act of love and protection. It spared him from what could've been a very harsh death if Curley had done it instead. So, now whenever I hear John Elton's, "A Candle In The Wind", I will think of George and Lennie. Until next time, Emily. 

Of Mice and Men And Music

Hello there! I'm Emily and welcome to my blog where I relate books to music! Today I will be relating the first few chapters of "Of Mice And Men" to the song "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King! In the first few chapters of the book, George and Lennie's interesting relationship is introduced! It is very obvious that Lennie heavily relies on George. And while George may not show it, he needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs him. The song, "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King perfectly fits their relationship. Some lyrics in "Stand By Me" are, 
"If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me". 
To me, these lyrics represent Lennie's relationship with George. Lennie and George live a very rough life, traveling together on the road. The two men are very dependent on each other, however, Lennie is the most needy of the two and couldn't survive in the depression without George. The lyrics are about sticking together and staying strong with the help of a friend. I think that the lyrics perfectly represent Lennie's attitude towards George at this point in the book. Lennie is not very mature and needs George to get by. Maybe this will change later on in the book, but for right now, this song relates perfectly to their relationship. Until next time, Emily.