Chris Martin, the lead singer of the band Coldplay, wrote the hit song “Fix You” as a gesture to his grieving wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, after her father died. His love for her is shown through the deep lyrics of the song. Flight by Sherman Alexie is another heart wrenching piece of art that depicts a young boy’s, Zits, adolescence and the difficulties he faces. Both of these pieces have touched the hearts of many people. “Fix You” by Coldplay relates to Flight by Sherman Alexie through the language, message, and feeling.
For a fifteen year old boy, Zits has gone through more traumatic experiences than most adults. His mother died when he was young, he was beaten and sexually manipulated, he also abused alcohol and drugs times. Difficulty and hardship is part of Zits’s life. The biggest pain Zits felt was when he learned the truth that his father left his mother. He says, “All my life, I’ve been wanting to see my father, to meet him for the first time. I’ve wanted to ask him questions. To interrogate him. I stare at his face in the mirror. “Why did you leave me?” I ask. He doesn’t answer” (Alexie 145). Zits has gone on an emotional rollercoaster through his adolescent years and now, he wants answers. His father was never there for him and because of this, Zits’s life is tough and a day-to-day battle. He is constantly grieving his losses, but also accepting that his life is not perfect. Similarly, Coldplay passionately sings about a struggle with loss and acceptance in "Fix You". The band sings about different types of hardships. Chris Martin, the lead singer, sings, “When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep. Stuck in reverse… Could it be worse?” (Martin, “Fix You”). The songwriter has definitely felt some sort of loss and is trying to continue living through a tragedy. The lyrics suggest that there are many unanswered questions and thoughts running through the mind of the singer and songwriter. Overall, the song depicts that hard endeavours and difficulties are both things that come along with life. Both “Fix You” and Flight have similar messages that relate to the fact that life is full of hard times.
In both Flight and “Fix You”, there are sections that revolve around love and loss. The language of both Sherman Alexie and Chris Martin suggests that love and loss go hand-in-hand. A line from “Fix You”, “When you love someone, but it goes to waste. Could it be worse?” (Martin, “Fix You”), depicts that the feeling associated with love is often loss and depression. It is sad, but true that loss is felt everyday. Relationships don’t often work, family members pass away too soon, and people that are loved often leave. The language used in “Fix You” demonstrates that love is linked with loss through the words “love someone”, “waste”, and “worse”. Looking at these words alone, it is clear that the song depicts a tough loss of a loved one. Likewise, Flight by Sherman Alexie also incorporates the theme of love and loss through the language as well. It is evident that Zits has lost a lot of things he loves throughout the book. He has lost his sense of heritage, his real home, but most importantly his mother. At a young age, Zits felt a tremendous loss of the person that he loved the most, his mother. Since his dad was never in the picture, Zits’s mother was his one loving family member. Alexie writes, ““I love you, okay? You’ll be okay. I’m going to wait right here for you. All day, I’ll wait right here.” And my mother didn’t wait for me. She died” (Alexie 151-152). The death of his mother sent Zits in a downward spiral of a new life in the foster care system and bad experiences. In this case, the only person Zits loved had to leave him, which further depicts that love can definitely result in loss. Therefore, because the language that Alexie and Martin use in their writing suggests that love and loss go hand-in-hand, “Fix You” depicts concepts similar to those of Flight through language.
Although the title of the song is “Fix You”, and helping to fix someone is a happy and rewarding experience, the overall feeling of the song is sad. The songwriter exemplifies hardship and loss through the touching words of the song. Chris Martin sings about wanting to help and trying so hard, but yet not succeeding. This tone leaves the audience feeling sad. The band sings, “And I will try to fix you(repeated). When you try your best, but you don't succeed” (Martin,”Fix You”). Not succeeding, but trying your hardest is the worst feeling. Putting so much effort into something is not only hard, but also exhausting. Not succeeding is sad and depressing. The way the words are sung and the music is played leaves the audience feeling unhappy at times. Flight also forces the reader to feel the same way. Zits goes through many awful experiences and it is easy for the audience to sympathize with his am feel his emotions. When Zits says, “I learned how to stop crying. I learned how to hide inside of myself. I learned how to be somebody else. I learned how to be cold and numb… I am tired of being hurt. I need help” (Alexie 152-154), it is hard for the reader to not empathize with Zits. Anyone would want to help this neglected boy, which makes it easy to feel sad for him. Therefore, the provoked feeling of “Fix You” and Flight both cause their audiences to feel sad. “Fix You” by Coldplay depicts concepts similar to those of Flight by Sherman Alexie through the provoked feeling.
Flight by Sherman Alexie and “Fix You” by Coldplay are both creative pieces of writing that express many thoughts and feelings. Although they are written by different authors, the works both explore similar concepts through the message, language, and provoked feeling. They both examine the various relationship between love and loss, the fact that life is hard, as well as the feeling of sadness. Flight and “Fix you” also both incorporate the ideas and philosophies of existentialism. Both of the pieces express ideas that oppose nihilistic and absurdist philosophies as they depict that life is worth living, although it may be difficult. For these reasons, “Fix You” by Coldplay depicts concepts similar to those of Flight by Sherman Alexie.
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