"Puff The Magic Dragon"

Paper Summary:

During the 1960s, one of the revolutionary developments that changed the landscape of American culture and history was the establishment of the Hippie Movement. The paper shows that besides rock music, traditional folk music came into being once again, only this time, a mixture of rock influence was infused with traditional folk music. This type of music was played by bands such 'Peter, Paul and Mary' which received acclaim and popularity because of the liberal ideas they incorporated into their songs. This paper analyzes one of the band's songs, the famous children's rhyme entitled, "Puff (the Magic Dragon)." The paper looks at how the song can be interpreted in two ways - the loss of innocence of children as they embark into the real world and the issue of drug addiction.

From the Paper:

"Symbolism is used to connote the themes of lost childhood and drug addiction in the song. The dragon symbolizes the child/ drug addict, while Little Jackie Paper represents the lost childhood/ drug addiction of the "dragon" in the song. Also, Honah Lee is said to represent more than the land where magic and fantasy becomes a reality; what the place really stood for is symbolic of Hanalei, a Hawaiian village wherein marijuana plants are dominantly cultivated (Mikkelson 2001). Rhyming is utilized to create the childish tone and theme that the song assumes, while the audience the song aims at is the adult audience."

More papers on "Puff The Magic Dragon":

• Analytical Essay # 67851 : "The Magic Mountain"
• Analytical Essay # 115252 : "The Magic Flute"
• Analytical Essay # 56177 : "The Magic Mountain"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: