In Class…
In class this week, we began reading The Tempest and learned about each character. We picked what character we would like to read and naturally I picked Sebastian as he was my favorite singing, red crab from my childhood. So far, my class has read through Act 2 and I’m really enjoying the play so far. I love how the interception of the play can vary from person to person. For example, personally I don’t believe Caliban is a horrible being, but misunderstood and misused. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next act!
Since the name Ariel was invented by Shakespeare, and I just so happen to have a Disney + subscription, I decided to re-watch The Little Mermaid. While I was reminiscing on my childhood, I noticed how much rhetoric was in “Under the Sea”. The entire song is Sebastian trying to convince Ariel to stay away from the human world. He uses vivid imagery and pathos to try to prove to Ariel that the ocean has so much more to offer than the human world. Being the stubborn teenager she is though, she doesn’t listen.
Practice makes perfect…
To practice my knowledge of rhetoric today, I decided to analyze “Under the Sea”. In the beginning of the song, Sebastian states “Up on the shore they work all day, out in the sun they slave away” (Wright, “Under the Sea”). This suggested that all humans do all day is work and don’t have any fun. Ariel is a carefree spirit who loves to explore and have fun, so by saying this Sebastian attempts to appeal to her hopes of freedom. He also claims that humans are just fish killers when he says “Nobody beat us, fry us and eat us, in fricassee” (Wright, “Under the Sea”). Most likely he says this because of his own fear of being eaten, since he is a crab. This also suggests that humans are ruthless and dangerous towards sea creatures, though.
Works cited
Giphy. “Sebastian The Little Mermaid GIFs – Get the Best GIF on GIPHY.” GIPHY, giphy.com/explore/sebastian-the-little-mermaid.
“Under the Sea Lyrics.” Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2020. Web. 1 Mar. 2020. https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/3383576/Samuel+E.+Wright.
The not-so-secret life of Ella 