Sportin Life, Ice, And Les Mis: Song Analysis

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.” This quote by Plato captures the importance and power of music. When analyzing the three works Porgy and Bess, West Side Story, and Les Mis, they all have a very important history and tells their story with music. The Characters Sportin Life, Ice, and Javert were all victims of their culture circumstances. Sportin life in the song “it ain’t necessarily so” portrays his struggle with fame and money during the depression. Ice from west side story was struggling with vengeance and became a victim of gang rivalries in 1950s New York, this can be seen in the song “Cool”. Lastly, Javert in Les Mis was a victim of duty. This can be seen in “Javert’s suicide” in which he takes his life shortly after he allowed Jean Valjean to live.
Gershwin considered Porgy and Bess as “a new form”, because the subject “Negro life in America have never been depicted.” This opera toke place during the middle of the great depression in the United States, many families were out of jobs and struggle to make a living. This was especially felt by African Americans due to discrimination and lack of assistance. African Americans were the first to be fired from their jobs and their unemployment rates are 2 to 3 times of whites. The assistance programs were discriminating against blacks and many soup kitchens and charities excluded blacks as well. This economic instability led to higher crime rates and gave rise to prostitution. According to the Seabury Committee, prostitution was at an all-time high for African-American women. Gershwin capture this greatly captures this aspect of history and depicts it on the character of Sportin life, who struggles for fame and money in the great