Mrs. Robinson Rhetorical Analysis: A Warning Cry To Consumerist America

Mrs. Robinson Rhetorical Analysis: A Warning Cry To Consumerist America

Eden Preston

Mrs. Robinson is a timeless classic in the music world. It’s catchy quick beat and scatting make it stick in one’s head. The song plays a key role in a classic film The Graduate. It also helps that it was written by one of the most famous bands ever. Written by Simon and Garfunkel in the late 60’s, it is a commentary on topics that were at the forefront of society at the time, as a younger generation was rebelling against their parent’s mania of owning things. This song explores loopholes in the philosophy of consumerism, and probes the painful effects it has on identity, relationships, and ultimately numbing isolation.

Mrs. Robinson was conceived by Simon and Garfunkel in 1968 as part of the soundtrack for The Graduate. Originally called Mrs Roosevelt, Simon changed the name to fit the character Mrs. Robinson in the movie. The character Mrs. Robinson is a middle-aged woman who seduces a younger college graduate into having an affair with her. A movie based on the themes of the baselessness of consumerism, and isolation, found a perfect medium in the character of Mrs. Robinson. The song is nearly indistinguishable from the character in the movie, and thus its meaning is deepened through its connection with the film. It has been well established that the graduate is anti-consumerist, for example, the recurring emphasis of plastics by the morally corrupt (Zimmerman).

The song has four distinct parts that make up its message. The first of these begins with “and here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson.” This opening line is very integral to the message of the song, as it sets it up in the format of a toast. This line sounds triumphant, as if Mrs. Robinson has achieved some great accomplishment, however the next line contradicts that idea, “Jesus loves you more than you will know” implying sin, or a fall from grace. We start to see into Mrs. Robinson’s mind as we discover she does believe in an omnipotent being, but doesn’t believe in his omnibenevolence. She believes that her implied sin (unknown from us) excludes her from God’s love. The word “will” is also incredibly important here, we see that she doesn’t believe his love now, and is unlikely to believe it later. (“Jesus loves you more than you will know.”) This leads the audience to question what sin did she commit? Why does she feel isolated from divine love? These implied rhetorical questions set up the stage for the prophecy of isolationism that Simon and Garfunkel have concocted. In a society so obsessed with the ideal role of a woman defined by material possession, we ultimately become distanced from ourselves, and some of our deepest beliefs, and relationships--including the one we hold with God in the case of Mrs. Robinson. The next few lines assure Mrs. Robinson that “heaven holds a place for those who pray” and yet, the narrator himself seems unsure. This is demonstrated by the line “God bless you, Please, Mrs Robinson.” The narrator is pleading for God to bless Mrs. Robinson, and yet, he seems doubtful as he interjects with a ‘please’ as if wondering himself if she will be redeemed. This just aggravates the question in the audience’s mind further concerning the sin that Mrs. Robinson has supposedly committed. This song ceases to sound like a toast of congratulations, and becomes a pleading prayer for redemption.

There are two main opposing sins that Mrs. Robinson in this song could have committed. From the perspective of the God she is appealing to, her sin is worshipping a false idol. Simon and Garfunkel begin to use religion to persuade the audience that consumerism is, in fact, a sin, as it is the worship of a thing rather than a God. However the choice of God that Simon and Garfunkel use is very deliberate. They reference a Christian God by appealing to Jesus, which is more closely associated with the model lifestyle in America. Even in her prayers, Mrs. Robinson is defaulting on the most prominent choice of worship. Simon and Garfunkel also imply what sin is from the perspective of consumerism culture. From the perspective of consumerism culture, the sin Mrs. Robinson is committing is recognizing the flaws in consumerism. She does this by recognizing that it has caused her unhappiness, and isolation, by appealing to a god to forgive her for participating in it.

The song continues in this consumerist lense with the lines: “We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files. We'd like to help you learn to help yourself. Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes. Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home” This indicates an asylum or mental health institution, an insinuation that Mrs. Robinson is crazy for denying the lifestyle of consumerism. This is written in a very condescending manner, subconsciously off-putting the audience to the commercialistic voice in the song.

The second section of the song deals with a secret, “Hide it in the hiding place where no one ever goes… It's a little secret just the Robinson's affair” We don’t know what Mrs. Robinson is hiding, but it most likely is the “sin” she has committed. If this sin is her consumerist lifestyle, leading to isolation and the decomposition of her relationships, she feels shame by hiding it behind a facade of the bounty of her chosen lifestyle, her ‘pantry’ and ‘cupcakes.’ The line “Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes” further illustrates that Mrs. Robinson is leading an ideal lifestyle, she certainly has no need for more food, or space. The last line is the most telling, “most of all you’ve got to hide it from the kids.” What is she hiding? If it is indeed the discovery of the emptiness of the American dream, then why would she hid it from her children? Wouldn’t she want them to learn from her mistakes? Most likely she didn’t see another way of living, having pursued this dream for so long. So often one thinks that only poverty is of a cyclical nature, however, prosperity also carries its own patterns.

Another theory about the identity of the secret could be her coping mechanisms for her isolation. A consumerist lifestyle leads to isolation from people as the gravitation towards objects grows. Some have suggested that this secret deals with alcohol, or drugs. This would also correlate with the facility she is touring at the beginning of the song, possibly a rehab center. This secret could also be the emptiness in her marriage. In the movie The Graduate Mrs. Robinson starts an affair out of desperation and isolation with a young graduate student. Regardless of what the listener thinks the secret is, Simon and Garfunkel directly tie it to their message of anti-consumerism.

The third portion of this song mainly focuses on the effects of this commercialism lifestyle on individuality. “Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon. Going to the candidates' debate. Laugh about it, shout about it. When you've got to choose. Every way you look at this you lose.” The characters in this song leisurely approach a political debate as a social event. They all laugh about it, and shout about their opinions, until they have to choose. They lose identity as they follow the crowd. They can choose the popular candidate, undermining the democratic process, or they can choose another candidate and fall out with ‘good society.’ The use of the word ‘they’ is conscious, Simon and Garfunkel delete all sense of the individual in this section. By doing this they show that the cycle of consumerism, and how the bandwagoning it inspires destroys individual thought.

The final portion of this song also deals with individuality’s relationship with commercialism.

“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.” Joe DiMaggio was a famous baseball player. So in essence what Simon and Garfunkel is saying is that commercial culture relies heavily on celebrity influence. This also affects individuality negatively. However, they also allow for a little inkling of hope in Joe Dimaggio. Paul Simon once said he chose Joe DiMaggio because he “thought of him as an American hero and that genuine heroes were in short supply.”(Chicago Tribune) In another interview, he said: "In these days of Presidential transgressions and apologies and prime-time interviews about private sexual matters, we grieve for Joe DiMaggio and mourn the loss of his grace and dignity, his fierce sense of privacy, his fidelity to the memory of his wife and the power of his silence."(New York Times) Paul Simon offers Joe DiMaggio as a beacon of individuality in the mainstream conception of personhood. Although this song is mostly a warning of the loopholes in the philosophy of consumerism, and probes the painful effects it has on identity, relationships, and ultimately numbing isolation; it also hints at hope and a method to breaking the cycle of flashy falsehood.

Citations

Associated Press. “Paul Simon Told Dimaggio Lyric Meant No Disrespect.” The Chicago Tribune. March 09, 1999, Website address: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-03-09/news/9903100368_1_paul-simon-joe-dimaggio-lyric

Simon Paul. “The Silent Superstar.” The New York Times. March 1999, Website address: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/sports/baseball/dimaggio-simon-oped.html

Zimmerman, Jonathan.“Why ‘The Graduate’ Still Matters.” Inside Higher Ed December 1, 2014, Website address: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/12/01/essay-why-film-graduate-still-matters

Mrs. Robinson

Simon & Garfunkel

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson

Jesus loves you more than you will know

Wo wo wo

God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson

Heaven holds a place for those who pray

Hey hey hey, hey hey hey

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files

We'd like to help you learn to help yourself

Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes

Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson,

Jesus loves you more than you will know

Wo wo wo

God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson

Heaven holds a place for those who pray

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Hide it in the hiding place where no one ever g

Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes

It's a little secret just the Robinson's affair

Most of all you've got to hide it from the kids

Koo-koo-ka-choo, Mrs. Robinson,

Jesus loves you more than you will know

Wo wo wo

God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson

Heaven holds a place for those who pray

Hey, hey, hey hey, hey, hey

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon

Going to the candidates' debate

Laugh about it, shout about it

When you've got to choose

Every way you look at this you lose

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio

Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you

Wu wu wu

What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson

Jolting Joe has left and gone away

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey