Page 167 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 167
. gutman ■ the morphological and archetypal traces in the american dream
and fortune. The examination of significant biographical moments res-
onates with Propp’s narrative functions: as a child, Jay-Z grew up with-
out a father, who has abandoned the family [Absentation]. His teenage
years were mainly marked with criminal offenses and poor performance
at school [Interdiction], [Violation of Interdiction]. After the sudden loss
of his close friend who died of murder [Villainy], the rapper experienced
a tough and at the same time defining period [Meditation, The Connec-
tive Incident – Misfortune is announced B4)], followed by fan critics and
battles with other rappers [Struggle]. During the time of personal con-
frontations – the death of his friend, harsh critics and the memories of
a difficult upbringing [Struggle] – the rapper created a confessional al-
bum [Beginning Counteraction], [Difficult Task], which soon earned
him platinum record selling status in the United States13 [Recognition].
The first part of his life story might appear causal, but it is worth pointing
out that later events unfold in rather a circular than a linear fashion: for
example, certain periods of success [Victory] and acknowledgments [Rec-
ognition] overlap the open battles with other artists from the entertain-
ment industry; for example, in 2005 the rapper literally entitled one of his
concert “I declare war;”14this momentum can be attributed to the func-
tion of [Struggle (The hero and the villain join in direct combat)]. None-
theless, the periods of commercial success [Victory] are intermingled with
public disclosure episodes, in which the rapper was publicly exposing his
opponents in his lyrics during the concert15 [Exposure]. As already noted,
the acknowledgments [Recognition] do not necessarily follow the previ-
ous functions, for instance [Solution]. The pairs of functions can be de-
tected, but are, from the perspective of linear storytelling, interrupted by
other functions or even pairs of functions. This means that the biography
does not include only one typical example pair of functions ([Struggle]/
[Victory], but several functions that might reoccur over the course of his
life. For example, in 2013 the rapper received 9 Grammy Award nomina-
tions [Recognition], a year later (2014) he experienced the intermediate
episode of allegations that can be attributed to [Unfounded Claims], and
in 2016 he won a 2-year long battle [Struggle] against copyright infringe-
ment allegations in a lawsuit against his opponent16 [Victory]. In con-
clusion, one can follow the aspect of metaphorical transfiguration in the
artist’s lyrics and literal transfiguration in his socio-economic transition
13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Z#Early _life
14 Ibid.
15 ht t ps://web. a rch ive.org /web/20080812040043/ht t p://w w w. m i r ror.co.u k /celebs/lat-
est/2008/06/29/jay-z-s-glastonbury-wonderwall-dig-at-noel-gallagher-98487-20625795/
16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Z#Early _life
165
and fortune. The examination of significant biographical moments res-
onates with Propp’s narrative functions: as a child, Jay-Z grew up with-
out a father, who has abandoned the family [Absentation]. His teenage
years were mainly marked with criminal offenses and poor performance
at school [Interdiction], [Violation of Interdiction]. After the sudden loss
of his close friend who died of murder [Villainy], the rapper experienced
a tough and at the same time defining period [Meditation, The Connec-
tive Incident – Misfortune is announced B4)], followed by fan critics and
battles with other rappers [Struggle]. During the time of personal con-
frontations – the death of his friend, harsh critics and the memories of
a difficult upbringing [Struggle] – the rapper created a confessional al-
bum [Beginning Counteraction], [Difficult Task], which soon earned
him platinum record selling status in the United States13 [Recognition].
The first part of his life story might appear causal, but it is worth pointing
out that later events unfold in rather a circular than a linear fashion: for
example, certain periods of success [Victory] and acknowledgments [Rec-
ognition] overlap the open battles with other artists from the entertain-
ment industry; for example, in 2005 the rapper literally entitled one of his
concert “I declare war;”14this momentum can be attributed to the func-
tion of [Struggle (The hero and the villain join in direct combat)]. None-
theless, the periods of commercial success [Victory] are intermingled with
public disclosure episodes, in which the rapper was publicly exposing his
opponents in his lyrics during the concert15 [Exposure]. As already noted,
the acknowledgments [Recognition] do not necessarily follow the previ-
ous functions, for instance [Solution]. The pairs of functions can be de-
tected, but are, from the perspective of linear storytelling, interrupted by
other functions or even pairs of functions. This means that the biography
does not include only one typical example pair of functions ([Struggle]/
[Victory], but several functions that might reoccur over the course of his
life. For example, in 2013 the rapper received 9 Grammy Award nomina-
tions [Recognition], a year later (2014) he experienced the intermediate
episode of allegations that can be attributed to [Unfounded Claims], and
in 2016 he won a 2-year long battle [Struggle] against copyright infringe-
ment allegations in a lawsuit against his opponent16 [Victory]. In con-
clusion, one can follow the aspect of metaphorical transfiguration in the
artist’s lyrics and literal transfiguration in his socio-economic transition
13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Z#Early _life
14 Ibid.
15 ht t ps://web. a rch ive.org /web/20080812040043/ht t p://w w w. m i r ror.co.u k /celebs/lat-
est/2008/06/29/jay-z-s-glastonbury-wonderwall-dig-at-noel-gallagher-98487-20625795/
16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay-Z#Early _life
165
