The song Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer is a "perfect fit" to To Kill A Mockingbird in its theme of changing the world. John Mayer intended his song to raise the question of why people today see injustice in the world but just wait around for change to happen -- without stepping up to make a difference themselves.
"Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it"
"One day our generation
is going to rule the population
so we keep on waiting, waiting
Waiting on the World to Change"
The generation that is waiting for the change to come in TKAM is the generation of Scout, Dill, and Jem -- the children who realize that everything is not okay in the world, with the way whites treat colored people or those of lower social status. However, they feel like they don't have the means, or the ability, to change anything in the world of grown-ups. Jem especially gets frustrated after the jury unanimously declares Tom Robinson to be guilty. When Scout's second grade teacher, Ms. Gates, informed the class about Hitler's discrimination of the Jews in Europe, Scout is confused and asks Jem why people are allowed to hate Hitler for the evil things he did to the Jews in Europe, if people were discriminating here in Maycomb too. One kid in the class even said it was bad to do so to the Jews because "they were white, ain't they?", showing the great inequality between the races at the time. Scout also is upset when Aunt Alexandra tells her not the hang around with Walter Cunningham because he is inferior to them. In this way, the characters of TKAM (or at least the children) are aware of the wrongs of society and are waiting on the world to change, or else growing up until they can do something about it.
What an excellent choice on your song! It is quite insightful and is perfect for connecting to To Kill a Mockingbird. I agree that it pertains to the younger generation in the book. They are seeing all the wrongs of their world and are intent on changing it as soon as they can. Your connection was thorough, since you did not only focus on the treatment of the blacks in the society, but also on the lower classes of whites, who are regarded with disdain and are not accepted.
ReplyDeleteOh I really like the song you chose; it describes the situation in To Kill a Mockingbird perfectly. I like the way you labeled Jem, Scout and Dill as the "generation" that is waiting for the world to change, but don't have the ability to. You could also apply the song in a different way, as in Atticus actually agreed to defend Tom, defying the social standards of whites. He changed the view that people have of blacks in the Maycomb.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good way to explain your connections of this song with the book. John Mayer really did try to change the world for the better with his music. There are situation when you can not wait for things to change on their own. I like how you indirectly referred to this in your last sentence. There is someone else that is waiting for the "world to change." Check out .
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