Comparative Essay Example: Kendrick Lamar's Song “N95” and David Foster Wallace's Short Story “Good Ole Neon”

When we think about Kendrick Lamar's song “N95” and David Foster Wallace's short story “Good Ole Neon”, we question why are we comparing two different types of stories and how they even come together. Well in reality if you closely pay attention they’re quite similar but very different at the same time. I understand that one may be a short and the other a song, they are stories in the end just two different forms of expressing and sharing them. They both come to a conclusion that no matter what you do, or how you try to perceive yourself you are still you and nothing will change that. Although you try to change for people, or society only you will know who you are and if it is worth losing yourself to satisfy other people. 

When I listened to “N95” by Kendrick Lamar, I didn’t quite understand what he was trying to explain to his audience, the further I went into listening and paying close attention I realized his whole purpose of the song was to encourage and let people know that there is no amount of money, power, or fame that will cover who they truly are. No matter what you have or how known you are, you will always be that person, and having things or a reputation will not change that. It’s a way of people and society, the government, and companies making money off you. Consumed with what society wants us to believe while we go into debt and they profit off us. No amount of anything will make real-world problems vanish. They will always be around and there’s nothing to do but be the change we want to see. He also gets into his own life and even questions the audience on how far they are willing to go for certain things. 

As for “Good Ole Neon” by David Foster Wallace, the author right from the start lets the reader know how the character is and what the story will be about. He is honest from the start and explains his reason as to why he did the things he did and why he acted in such a way. What I took from this story was the fact that he was very candid from the start and admitted to having an issue that he seemed to have acquired in a situation when he was a younger kid. The purpose as to why he did the things he did and acted a certain way was because in reality he was just empty on the inside and didn't know how to fix it.  His solution was to get people to see him as what he wanted, not considering anyone else but himself. It didn't get him anywhere though, he didn't get anything from it but the way he was perceived. It's why as time went on he realized he wasn't happy and chose to do things to get him being himself again. 

In both the story and song, we could come to an agreement that one is trying to get the audience to get themselves to take off the masks they're hiding under and the author in the story is describing his character as one who hides behind the mask to portray himself as someone he thinks they want. A significant thematic strand in Kendrick Lamar’s song “ N95” that caught my attention was when he stated, “Take off the new logic, that if I’m rich, I’m rare (take it off)”. What I can presume is that he's asking the people to take off the idea implemented nowadays that if you have the money you're unique, one of a kind. In reality, money doesn't make you any different than who you are. Is there a significant or specific group he's trying to reach out to?  What was significant about this portion is that he's using rich and rare, not necessarily comparing but using together. The new idea in today's society is that if you're wealthy you are considered to be  Is he referring to a specific age group or is it meant for everyone? Repetition was also demonstrated in that same portion of the song, “take it off”,  the songwriter is determined and encourages the audience to take off whatever it is they are hiding behind. Nothing good is coming out of listening or believing what society wants us to believe.

On the other hand in David Foster Wallace's “ Good Ole Neon”, Neal consistently mentions or refers to himself as a fraud/ fraudulent. He's aware of how he is when he believes his behavior began and even attempted to get out of the habit he had picked up on as a kid. He is giving us a glimpse of what it's like to have to always pretend and hide who one truly is to impress and be liked by everyone else. The author is specifying what Kendrick is telling his audience not to do and to get out of habit. Neal knew he wanted a change and attempted many things to break free but couldn't. So what if you pick up on hiding behind the mask that you don't know how it is to be yourself? How has society been so manipulative that people come to a certain point In their lives where they do not know anything better than to be what everyone else wants. This short story is the perfect example of how easy it is to say “take it off” when in reality it's harder than it seems. 

When considering the perspectives of both songwriter and author, they are both completely different but have a common almost similar message to give to the audience. The message is that it's not worth hiding or pretending to someone you're not because it doesn't get you anywhere and it doesn't show anyone who you are. No matter how much money or how looked up to you are by a few how you choose to act for them is not worth it because it's not the real you. No matter whom you try to persuade or manipulate, it's not worth losing yourself because at the end of it all your who matters. Kendricks's Song “N95”, had a lot to do with how people nowadays are so caught up with trying to fit into a society that they are willing to go to extreme measures to fit in and be “rare” when in the end it makes no difference. As for“Good Ole Neon” we dive into Neals's life and how he spent a great deal of his life always trying and painting himself as what he believed others would like him to be, that he never actually got to be himself and spent a good amount of time being miserable because nothing could seem to help him. But what if we lived in a society that encouraged us to be ourselves? How much of a difference would that make? Would people be capable of owning and accepting who they truly are with flaws or not?