12/20/2023 0 Comments Simon and garfunkel sound of silenceThey are not willing to go beyond the superficial, but merely to accept the world around them, as no one "dares disturb the sounds of silence." They are content to "hear without listening," not willing or interested in focusing on anyone or anything too intently. I feel it is an allusion to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." While the ideas of commercialism (the people bow and pray to a neon god they made, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, etc) run throughout the poem, it also has to do with a frustration the narrator feels with humans in general. I interpret this song slightly different. And perhaps one day, when someone has an idea which is very important to them, they will not feel too intimidated to open up and share that idea or have that idea challenged by someone else’s idea. is not very meaningful, we DO still reach out to one another people ARE still capable of sharing great ideas (as is required of great philosophers and inventors and builders) even if only in whispers. I personally like to think this means that, though much of what we blather on about today in school, in the media, with our friends, ect. These important words are also “whispered in the sounds of silence”. The words and ideas they conveyed are now no more important than any other carelessly scribbled message. As for the ending, I think it is an anthropomorphized neon sign warning the silent people that “the words of the prophets”, or ideas that used to be incredibly meaningful, are “written on the subway walls and tenement halls” - are now written in crappy public places alongside posters, dirt, and graffiti. When people are too afraid to open up and disturb their comfortable bubble of silence, all that is left for everyone to see is the neon light - the glaringly obvious and superficial. A person’s refusal to share or receive meaningful ideas dissuades others from sharing meaningful ideas, which leaves people isolated in their personal bubble of silence. The people “talking without speaking” and “hearing without listening” are too afraid to share their deep and personal ideas or consider the ideas of others. I think that this song is about a struggle to share and exchange MEANINGFUL ideas. People writing songs that voices never shareĪnd the sign said, "The words of the prophets When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light And the vision that was planted in my brain
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