A Toboggan's Memories

Upon opening our garage door, heaps of car parts, ancient posters and toys that we couldn’t quite bring to throw away sit untouched. In the corner sits a prized wooden toboggan. The simple wooden design is far from a fancy $350 “Northern Toboggan and Sled” downhill deluxe toboggan of red oak, but it got the job done just the same. During the first substantial snow of the season, our trusty toboggan seemed to beg to be taken out for a ride.

The L.L. Bean toboggan was made of honey colored steambent northern hardwood slats, which had suffered a fair share of scrapes and cracks through the years. A frayed rope lined both signs of the sled, providing torturous rope burns should anyone be brave enough to take a ride without gloves. Once-sturdy crossbars created individual spaces just perfect for young ones to sit and latch their feet around the person in front. The curved front end of the sled was notorious for continuously blasting the bravest of children who sat in front with snow.

Dad long ago attached a thick, long rope to the front of the sled so the toboggan could give a true sledding experience, not just a wimpy downhill ride: a continuous ride behind the pickup. The toboggan pounced around unpredictably as it flew over hidden pasture trails and frozen cow pies, always seeming to find the perfect bumps to send us into squealing fits as we fought with all our strength to stay on. If the toboggan seemed to be having trouble throwing us off, it always knew just what tricks to pull to send us flying into the snow.

As children, my siblings and I never wanted to leave that toboggan. Frozen fingers, bruised bodies and our mother’s worries didn’t phase us. As teenagers and young adults today, the toboggan holds countless memories for my siblings and I. Though we may feel and act that we are too old for such childish play, when the youngest begs to be taken out tobogganing, none can refuse.

Strength Through Generations

The morning of my confirmation in spring of 2004, I opened a small box to find a dull gold necklace inside. I took the necklace out and turned it over in my hand, examining the tiny worn chain that held a small gold cross with an opaque gem in the center. Clearly an ancient piece of jewelry, I knew I had seen it before but could not quite place where. My mom watched as I contemplated this, and then sat to tell me its origins. This tiny treasure had belonged to her grandmother and then was passed down to her mother, on to my mom and finally to me. The necklace was more than just an heirloom, however; it held years of memories, perseverance and, above all, strength.

I have few memories of my great-grandmother. What I do remember is a sweet, frail woman whose home always smelled like a mixture of her late husband’s woodwork creations and my favorite “m & m party cookies.” She passed on her favorite cookie recipes to her daughter, my grandmother, of whom I have a few more memories. Playing “good ball, bad ball,” sharing the best ice cream treats, and watching soap operas that I didn’t comprehend one bit are among the things that stand out to me. At the time, I never would have imagined that this ill woman had suffered from depression issues for most of her life. To me, she was full of happiness and laughter.

My mother possesses many of these characteristics, and the strength that has been a part of her family for so long is the most apparent. Faced with any obstacle, my mother prevails. Upon opening this small piece of jewelry, I knew it meant more than just a pretty accessory. The cross necklace represents the strength of my mother’s side of the family, the strength that I can only hope to one day have.

Rhetorical Analysis

“Everybody” grabs the audience’s attention immediately by stirring emotions with the first line. Keith Urban opens with “So here you are now, nowhere to turn… just the same old yesterday. You made a promise to yourself that you were never gonna be this way.” This line uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos to initially provoke listeners to relate with their own experiences and feelings of loneliness. This content is paralleled in the video, as individuals walk alone through the dim light. By each person’s expression, we can see that they too are experiencing loneliness. Urban connects with the audience in this way. Everyone has likely felt lonely and a sense of despair at some point in their lifetime; this opening line brings to the surface those emotions.

After the opening verse the song changes tone a bit; our emotions are still tugged at but in a slightly different manner. Urban advises “don’t give up now, you’re so close to a brand new day.” While our emotions and feelings of loneliness are on the line, this line assures us that no tough time is permanent, and with persistence and optimism feelings of despair can be overcome. Listeners are likely relating these words to their own experiences, and this truth that “everybody needs somebody” instills a sense of hope and assurance in the audience. At this point, the individuals in the video are coming together and we see that although they may experience hard times, they do have somewhere to turn. As they begin to play, we no longer see the emotions of loneliness and sadness; instead they are content being in each others’ company. This visual and audio convinces the audience to not let their emotions kill them; to be strong and reach out. Feelings of needing someone are no false need; as humans we do, in fact, need somebody. By the conclusion of the video the audience feels that although tough times will inevitably happen, others will be there if we allow them to.

Reflective

“Everybody” reflects on the idea that everybody does indeed need somebody. The song initially stirs emotions of loneliness and despair; the empty feeling of having no one to turn to is all too familiar for most of us. Everyone experiences tough times, yet many of us feel we have nowhere to turn when we do experience pain. This is no individual fault; society may put pressure on everyone to hide emotion, to be “tough,” and therefore we feel it is deviant to reach out for assistance or to give it away ourselves. Our individual pride may keep us from reaching out to others, but society only emphasizes this notion with the “tough guy” appeal that so many of us strive for.

Before the chorus, these are the only feelings the song and video convey. However, as the tone of the video changes, so does the emotion felt by the audience. As soon as Urban confirms that “everybody needs somebody sometimes,” we feel that it is indeed okay and normal to feel we need somewhere to turn, to want a hand to hold or an ear to listen to us. In fact, needing someone is part of our lives; without others we would be hopeless. This is where despair turns to hope, and we feel that perhaps there will always be someone there for us. As the band comes together, this feeling of hope grows; those empty feelings that were initially brought to the surface are replaced with optimism. Certainly no one wants to feel alone, and the conclusion that everybody needs somebody is an obvious but valuable idea. Perhaps those of society who value the “tough guy” appearance do not matter; what matters is that we as individuals have somewhere to turn to in tough times. Keith Urban’s “Everybody” persuades his audience of this point, and makes us want to reach out.

Observation

Keith Urban - "Everybody"

Keith Urban’s “Everybody” video begins with gloomy clips of very different individual characters. First, we see Urban himself walking slowly down a dark corridor. The scene quickly flashes to a bald man walking alone along a building, and then to a larger man riding alone in a taxi. Each man seems to be feeling a sense of loneliness, as none are smiling and each appears to be completely by themselves. A fourth individual also walks alone, this one next to a graffiti-covered wall. A biker slowly rides away down an empty street. As Urban begins to sing, clips of each individual flash again; this time they are each singing the words we hear. Still, they are all alone in dark settings. The first verse of the song confirms that these individuals are, indeed, lonely: “Here you are now, nowhere to turn… just the same old yesterday.” From each character we feel a sense of despair; the dim lighting with only gray and off-white coloring gives the impression that times are tough for each of these people.

As Urban continues to walk in the darkness, he acknowledges that “everybody needs somebody.” After this statement, one by one the characters step onto a stage in a still dim setting. However, as Urban advises to not give up, the characters come together on the stage. Finally, Urban himself steps onto the stage and the band prepares to play as one. As soon as the tone of the music changes, color fills the screen and the individuals are no longer alone: they are part of something bigger, something stronger. The brightness and cohesiveness conveys a new message of hope, rather than despair. The remainder of the video shows the band as a group who stands together: “ You’ve got to have someone beside you,” Urban concludes.