Blowing in the Wind Summary and Analysis - Poem by Bob Dylan

Blowing in the Wind Summary - Poem by Bob Dylan

The song “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan is a series of questions along with a single answer that invites the reader to think about these questions as never before.

He asks how many times the same old mistakes may be repeated and how many times would people have to suffer until we realize that things should change for good. The song-writer simply suggests that it’s just a negligible amount of effort we should take so that all these problems could be solved.

The song addresses multiple moral issues of the world that prevailed in the 1960s. These universal social issues such as war and peace, freedom and social injustices are deeply discussed in the song.

He observes that life is not easy for many people. He sees that many are suffering. Some are suffering because of the futile wars. Many others suffer due to racism or colour discrimination. People get discriminated against for their social class. There are so many obstacles on their way that prevent people from being happy and relaxed.

People suffer due to discrimination. What does it take for them to be treated as human beings? How hard should they try to gain social acceptance?

There are many levels of victims in society due to war. War creates hunger, poverty, diseases and death. It divides people. It creates mental trauma.

If not for war, people suffer due to colour disparity where each and every person is not treated equally in society. Some are treated as slaves and looked down upon. They are deprived of freedom which is food for happiness.

Certain social classes and people of power stand tall as mountains that refrain others from seeing the sunshine of happiness. Under such circumstances, there are also certain groups of people who fight for the freedom of those who are suffering. They are like the white dove who sails across the seas of suffering. They are trying hard and tired of the unending fight against the bad. Because the mountains of obstacles cannot be washed away so easily.

On the other hand, there are those who turn a blind eye towards the social injustices that are taking place around us. The song-writer asks, for how long would they pretend that they don’t see the destruction going on in front of them. They also pretend that they cannot hear the crying of the people who suffer from the social injustices. The question is how many more should die from the sufferings before preventive measures are taken.

The answer to all these questions exists in the wind and the speaker repeatedly says, “The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, The answer is blowing in the wind”

Having learnt that there are problems and answers do exist, the reader is provoked to think why aren’t measures taken to resolve the problems.

Blowing in the Wind Stanza-wise Explanation

The poem comprises three stanzas posing three questions for each along with one common answer.

In stanza 1, the speaker asks how many roads must a man walk down before they consider him a man. The speaker on one hand asks how many years of experience and maturity one should gain before he fully grows to be a man who is capable of understanding the truth prevails in the world.

On the other hand, the speaker questions what amount of effort it takes for a person to be recognized and treated as a man. Is it worth that much toiling for the sake of social recognition or acceptance? Isn’t it unfair to judge people and discriminate against them for several unjustifiable reasons. After all, we are all human beings.

The next question is how many times must a white dove sail before she rests in the sand. The speaker also asks how many times must the cannon-balls fire before they are forever stopped.

The world suffers from wars. The white dove represents those who take the message of peace to where war and suffering exists. From the beginning of time itself, wars had been there and people have had their bitter lessons. The messengers of peace have toiled so much to stand for the victims and tried to eliminate war from existence. However, it is unlikely that the dove is able to rest in peace since the wars never seem to cease.

The speaker also directs the reader towards the answers to these questions.

The same answer is repeated at the end of each stanza.

In stanza 2, the speaker asks how many years can a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea. The speaker refers to the people who are in power that play a major role in shaping their lives. They are referred to as obstacles that create hardships for them. People try to wash away those obstacles which seems really difficult despite how hard they try.

The next question is how many years can some people exist before they are allowed to be free. People are kept under control being subject to oppressive treatment. The song-writer asks for how many years do they have to tolerate this until they earn freedom.

Above all, the next question asks how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see what’s going on around him. The speaker is quite surprised by the absurd behaviour of many people who stay silent confronting injustice in the world. He emphasizes the gravity of such behaviour.

Just as in the previous stanzas, the answer is just the same; the answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.

The third stanza starts with the question, how many times must a man look up before he can see the sky. The “sky” here represents “freedom” which many people long to own. Though they need to have their own freedom, it is unlikely that they see the sky despite looking up so many times.

The speaker’s next question is, how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry and see the pain they undergo. The writer sees it absurd that people cannot hear the cries of pain of innocent victims despite having their ears. He appeals how many ears would they require so that they will hear the cries.

The final question is, how many deaths will it take till people get to know that too many people have died. The history bears witness to how many deaths have taken place as a result of cruelty in the world. Despite having learnt the negative aftermath of cruelty to human beings , people still continue to follow the same cause of action and hence the writer asks how many more should die so that they realize.

The speaker asks several rhetorical questions, how many roads, how many seas, how many times, how many years, and finally how many deaths would it take for people to realize that we should take corrective actions to stop the never ending sufferings. Infact, the answers are there but people just don’t allow the problems to be solved.

Blowing in the Wind - Poem by Bob Dylan - Analysis

The song consists of 3 stanzas and in each stanza, the poet questions the injustices prevailing in the world using a simple conversational language. The song is rhetoric and uses symbolism, questions, repetition and other techniques to bring out its message effectively.

Simple Conversational but Rhetoric Language in the Poem Blowing in the Wind

Though the poem was popularly addressed as a “protest”, the song-writer uses his art of writing to question certain controversial social issues in a mild way.

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind,

The poem takes the form of a dialogue between the speaker and the reader. The reader is addressed as “my friend” and the writer uses rhetoric language to persuade the reader to dig deep into the matters discussed in the poem.

Repetition in the Poem Blowing in the Wind

Repetition of the words “How many , how many times” is evident in this song.

Through these two lines, the writer questions the existence of humanity in society where racism exists. He looks down upon the discriminatory treatment of the white to the blacks.

The song poses 9 questions of similar structure that require attention of the reader. Each question asks “ How many… or How many times…”. It questions whether more people should suffer so that those who are responsible may feel the urge to find solutions.

Repetition of the last two lines of each stanza is a very strong and effective technique to provoke the reader to think over and over again about the harsh reality shown in the song.

Symbolism in the Poem Blowing in the Wind

The matters deeply discussed in the poem have been brought to attention using very effective symbolism.

Paradox in the Poem Blowing in the Wind

The answer to the questions is a paradox which is quite contradictory to what one would expect to hear. It is symbolic of the bitter truth behind people’s willingness to find answers to the critical issues in society.

The reader is amused by the fact that the answers to all these questions are obvious and just the same; it’s blowing in the wind. They are aware of the answers whereas they pretend not to know. This idea itself is very much thought provoking and is a very effective technique used by the song writer.

Ambiguity in the Poem Blowing in the Wind

On the other hand, there is ambiguity in this line. One can also suggest that the answers for these questions are blowing in the wind and it’s hard to catch them unless you try hard. If you really do not want to find solutions, they fly away from you.

Irony in the Poem Blowing in the Wind

Answers are evident whereas people pretending not to see them are looked down upon quite sarcastically by the song-writer.

Tone of the Poem Blowing in the Wind

This poem involves a didactic and ironic tone. On the other hand, there is an overwhelming tone of a plea as well.

His plea is to those who are capable and getting involved in solving these problems for the sake of humanity and a better world for everyone.

Themes addressed in the Poem Blowing in the Wind

The song discusses the themes of war and peace, racism, humanity, freedom and willful ignorance of people. Though written in a soft language, the song demands “What does it really take to change things and stop the sufferings of many”. Is it so many lives that it costs? If so, how many more?.

Refusal to accept the root cause for the problems and reluctance to eliminate them by those who are capable of doing so is deeply discussed.

Answers are lying in the hands of those who are capable of controlling things in the society and the problem is that they just do not wish to resolve the matters since they pretend not to see the devastation going on as a result of the issues.

Reading Bob Dylan’s song which is considered a “protest” is more like an appeal to the reader to consider these social issues seriously. Principally, he asks how long it will take for human beings to sustainably establish humanity in the world. Above all, he needs the reader to consider the availability of solutions for the prevailing problems and start in small ways to make the changes needed for a better world.

Poet of Blowing’ in the Wind - Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was born in 1941. He was a popular singer, songwriter and composer who also won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His songs were popular for the serious social themes discussed in them. “Blowin’ in the Wind” is one such poem featured in his second album published in 1963.

The song took a folk song style and was performed by Bob Dylan playing his guitar and harmonica. The song is also considered as a “protest” against the American white citizens and the U.S. government of his time and also had references to the Vietnam war and racism in America at that time. Therefore, it appealed to many social activists of his time.