"The Boss" of Rhetoric: Bruce Springsteen's The Rising as a Response to 9/11

Abstract

Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising album has been hailed by numerous critics as one of pop culture’s most significant reactions to the tragedy of 9/11. This article offers an evaluation of the cathartic properties of the album and its potential to provide comfort to those directly and indirectly affected by the tragedy. Specifically, it is argued that The Rising achieves its rhetorical power through: 1) the significant level of ethos and identity Springsteen possesses with fans of his music; 2) the multiple tones and personas Springsteen employs throughout the album; 3) the album’s balanced use of vivid imagery and metaphoric language: and 4) repetition of the albums most significant themes.

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Iowa Journal of Communication

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Smith, Tony (2003) ""The Boss" of Rhetoric: Bruce Springsteen's The Rising as a Response to 9/11," Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 35: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol35/iss1/6

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