Hard Rain Tony Hoagland Analysis

Ignorance and materialism negatively affects humans some way or another, and society only increases these lifestyles. Whether or not we believe it, ignorance and materialism is a daily part in our lives today; thus, we cannot live without it. We try to ease our problems by blindingly accepting society’s norms and trends. Because we cannot formulate our own ideals and ways of life, we live in a false sense of justice and peace. In Tony Hoagland’s “Hard Rain,” the speaker witnesses these faults in our behavior at a shopping mall; however, he, similarly, is not able to escape that reality. The larger meaning of this poem, that we have no sense of individualism and morality, is specified by the author’s usage of diction and the disappointing, humorous, and controversial tone he uses to prove it. The poem begins with the speaker at a shopping mall and hears It’s a Hard Rain’s a- Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan. By listening to this, the speaker begins to question how we live our lives. The speaker
The therapist tries to make his murders insignificant, even though Billy seems to want to face the consequences and take responsibility as he keeps beating himself up (14). When the therapist solution is “to be the best person you can be," we can realize that he is trying to make this out as entertainment and is not truly trying to help Billy (15-17). However, something even more troubling is the audience appears to have been touched emotionally by this event (18-19). If this event makes the audience tearful, then they have no true thought of what a deep emotion is. This episode manipulates the audience into believing that consequence is not a reliable solution and that forgiveness is best answer to the problem (21-22). Ultimately, people would rather take the easy route than the hard