The Sound of Silence- sang by Simon and Garfunkel, lyrics by Simon

portrayed by the use of darkness. He feels as though he is venturing through a path of darkness. We are aware that this is a reoccurring feeling because he refers to darkness as “old friend” and he says, “talk with you again.” Simon then describes a thought he has. He is metaphorically comparing his vision to a plant. The vision he says left ideas and examples, which he compares to seeds of a plant, and as these ideas/ seeds grew over time they blossomed into a plant, which is a metaphor for his vision. This is a superb metaphor, because it shows us the time and effort Simon has taken to constitute his idea, with patience, the same way one carefully invests time and care into nurturing a plant. As well, it shows how powerful the author feels his vision is, because he has personified this vision with human attributes such as “creeping” and “leaving seeds.” Simon next depicts a path he took as “narrow streets of cobblestone…. street lamp…cold and damp.” This is imagery and symbolism. He feels very alone in his path, and cobblestone represents the uneven fragmented path he feels himself traveling. The weather being referred to as “cold and damp” symbolizes his inner feelings, meaning he is feeling angered and scared as well, similar to the use of the word “darkness.” The dimly lit street represents the social apathy to Simon’s ideas. It is quoted that “my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light.” His eyes being stabbed is a hyperbole. This is an exaggeration of the hurt he experiences by seeing what he does. The “neon light” is a metaphor for technology, which will later become clearer. Seeing this technology being used goes against all of Simon’s principles and therefore it deeply pains him to see this, and “stabs his eyes.” Simon explains that people are talking without speaking, and hearing without listening, which in my opinion sides with the theory that this poem and “neon light” is metaphorically referring to technology. Using today’s modern machinery it is quite possible to talk without speaking, and hear without listening. Using inanimate objects such as a computer or text messages over a cell phone, one talks by typing and not using one’s mouth, and one hears and understands the other person’s message without using their ears. Simon finds this way of life offensive. The narrator tried to warn people that they are leading detrimental lives, by comparing their silence from using lifeless objects to cancer with a simile, “silence like a cancer grows.” Cancer spreads all over and within time, if not treated, can kill. Simon feels the silence from the constant use of inanimate objects is isolating people from each other. This trend of technology is spreading all over the world like cancer, and slowly is becoming more and more popular and running our lives. We are not treating this by using technology with self-control and logic, instead we are basing our whole lives around it. He feels that if we do not get into the real world, and do things without our own hands and hear actual voices and see actual people we may slowly disintegrate. Thus technology is analogous to a malignancy. The narrator warns people by saying, “hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach you.” This means one should hear people speak and learn from them, and touch people to enrich one’s life. However, this society is in a sense deaf to the narrator’s opinion and does not absorb his wisdom. Simon uses another hyperbole, “the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made,” which is used to show that people are centering their entire existence and values around technology. They are idolizing technology, and are unable to see the real world. “Neon god” is a metaphor for all modern advances, such as computers, cell phones, pagers etc. The word neon is bright and tacky. The poet does not feel that technology is a beneficial advance, but however is eye-catching and draws people in, the way something neon does. A sign appeared to show what the people’s life will be like if they do not change. The sign says that wise words will be written in poor places such as tenement halls and subway walls along with graffiti because people do not listen to wisdom anymore, because of technology, and feel that it is not needed. Valuable lessons and passages will be among the graffiti that no one bothers reading. This shows that the society is shallow and foolish. As well, every stanza refers to the “sound of silence” which is the title of this song. This is a very powerful literary device. Sound of silence is a very effective oxymoron or paradox, because if there is silence there is obviously no sound. There are no sounds or life because of the technology, thus the only sound people can be accustomed to is silence. The sound of silence essentially means no sound at all. Sound creates variety and excitement, as well is a source of knowledge. The “sound of silence” could be taken to mean that this society is monotonous and useless. The theme of this poem is that our society is leading superficial lives. The author believes that we are basing our whole life around technology, and we are missing out on many different life experiences. The central idea is based along the line “silence like a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach you.” This means that because we revolve around technology, we have stopped doing some things that make us human, for example hearing, because with instant communication on the computer we no longer have to hear to understand what the other person is saying. As well, we have stopped feeling things and doing things for ourselves, like research, because everything is available through technology. It is the author’s opinion that this kind of a life is deadly, and without human contact and using technology excessively, we are slowly going to isolate ourselves further and further, as though we had a horrible disease. This lifestyle will tear the whole world apart. This song is definitely lyrical. While it tells some parts of a story, the purpose of Simon writing this song was not to be narrative. He wanted to leave his listeners with a message and a deeper meaning based on the ideas and principles exhibited in this song. Using poetic devices and parts of a story, Simon was able to voice his opinion, though slightly exaggerated, that technology could destroy the world if not properly managed.         One could conclude that The Sound of Silence is an excellent piece of literary work. It leaves its readers with a valuable lesson and causes us to reflect some of our lifestyles. Besides this, it has a catchy tune and is a great song as well.