Narrative Artifact Essay

'Cats in the Cradle' By Harry Chapin

I decided to do my essay on my last and final artifact. It is my narrative artifact and I chose to talk about a song by Harry Chapin called Cats in the Cradle. This song has had a tremendous impact on my life. It has impacted me so much that it is almost humorous. A song shouldn't be able to affect someone as much as this song has affected me. For this reason I wish to explain how this song and its rhetoric have been successful in impacting me and my actions. The methods used are very powerful. I wish to explain what these methods are and how they can be used to impact anyone as long as the right ingredients are in place. I will expound on the idea that pathos combined with values that a person already holds, is a very powerful combination that can be used to possibly change peoples actions hopefully for the better.

The Song

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I need to give a brief history before I continue. Growing up I was very close to my family especially close to my dad. I always valued family relationships as being paramount in life. As I got older and entered high school I spent less and less time at home and it seemed like I was always gone with friends. But inside I was still very close to my dad. He would often invite me to do things with him and I never made time to spend time with him like I did as a young kid. Well needless to say, I heard this song while driving in the car or something and it changed my life. The song starts out with a dad singing about when his boy was born, the dad was very busy though, and wasn't around much. But his little boy loved his dad and always said "I'm gonna be like you dad, you know I'm gonna be like you".  It continues talking about how the dad was always away when his son wanted to be with him, although the son still loved his dad and wanted to be like him. The chorus of the song says "And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man on the moon. When you comin' home dad? I dont know when. But you know we'll have a good time then.". The lyrics "cats in the cradle and the silver spoon" etc. Are all symbols of the boy being young. Back in the day children played with silver spoons as a baby and they were still young enough to think there was a man on the moon. It was back when the cat would jump in the cradle with the kid. The chorus is about a young boy. The chorus stays the same as the song evolves and eventually the boy is all grown up with his own family. Well the dad on the other hand isn't as busy anymore and wants to spend that quality time with his son. The son is too busy now and the chorus sings "When you comin' home son? I don't know when, but we'll get together then. You know we'll have a good time then." Finally the dad realizes what has happened when it is too late and he says "As I hung up the phone it occurred to me, He'd grown up just like me My boy was just like me." As I heard this song I started getting emotional and I realized I was becoming the young dad and the older son. I was too busy for my dad. The song was so sad to me that I vowed this wasnt going to be me with my dad. Or me with my son.

The context of the song is definitely social and cultural. In my culture the song hit home to my values.  In my analysis it is important to point out that playing to a persons culture can have a big sway. This song may not have meant much to someone who wasn't raised in a strong family culture.

Semiotics of Cats in the Cradle 

The lens through which I analyze this is the semiotic lens. The whole song is symbolism to me. There is power in the symbolism of the chorus, namely the silver spoon, man on the moon, cradle. It is elements like this that remind us of a young little boy who needs his dad. And throughout that song the little boy appears in the dad at the end. Because he needs his son. There is a larger symbol with this song though. The song itself is a symbol of me. I underline that because as I did this analysis I realized that is why the song affected me so much.

Symbols, Pathos, Values

My findings on what has made this rhetoric so persuasive is wonderful knowledge that I am glad to have gathered. There are three primary ingredients that this rhetoric includes which made it so good. The first as I briefly mentioned is the semiotics of the song. As I heard the song and it pertained to me so much that I thought of it as a symbol of my younger self I completely swallowed the message that the song embodies. Namely, spend time with your loved ones and make them your number one priority while you have the chance. So I think there is much power when rhetoric is so similar to a person that they think of the lyrics, words, or whatever as describing them. This leads into the values. Obviously a person would prefer to be an embodiment of his or her own values. Subsequently if you make the rhetoric a reflection of someone's values, they just may do as I did and think the whole thing is a symbol of themself. I now feel like playing to the values of the audience can only be a plus if you are trying to come up with persuasive rhetoric. So it's great that this rhetoric of cats in the cradle was a symbol and a value verification. However the thing that really gets me is how sad the song is. I have a soft spot in my heart for my youngest years of life before age ten. When the chorus of the song was pretty much about anyone under the age of ten it really got to me. It brought back sweet thoughts of the young, almost forgotten years. And then the body of the song explaining the lack of a relationship between two people that clearly loved each other, it was bitter sweet to hear the song. Now with this said I think the pathos of this song is what makes it so powerful. I was already caught on the symbolism and values, but when they made the song emotional it pushed me over the edge. In a good way of course. It made me become more convicted to spend some good quality time with my dad. I saw the song as a symbol of self. But then I wanted to be completely different than the story of the song. The pathos in the song makes the glue of conviction that remains after the song is over.

The New Me

Well when all is said and done, this song changed my life for the better. Till this day many years after high school when I hear this song it still hits that cord. Thankfully I have spent a lot of quality time with my dad. I still get emotional but I dont get that feeling of guilt anymore! I think by picking apart this song I learned some great stuff about how to make persuasive rhetoric. Make sure you play to values and emotions. And symbols that apply to the audience are extremely beneficial. I think these can improve our life by better eqipping us with communication skills needed to achieve our goals with other people. These tactics found in this rhetoric will help us. I hope you find something useful in this song as I have.