Religious Themes In Bob Dylan's Autobiography, Chronicles

Bob Dylan’s captivating autobiography, Chronicles, follows his experiences in New York City and his brief global concert tours as he pursued a career, as well as his own artistic identity, through music. Folk music, specifically, is at the forefront of Dylan’s storytelling in which a great deal of his interactions and friendships are closely tied to this genre, as well as the lifestyle associated with it. However, Dylan also introduces biblical allusions and religious connotations by gradual degrees throughout his writing, allowing the reader to discover a new angle of this remarkable artist. Chronicles appears to represent more than a genre of music, or even Dylan, himself: it arguably seeks to form a lasting connection between an era of self-made artists and the convictions they stood for. Dylan’s convictions are described throughout Chronicles as being his unorthodox methods of incorporating religious themes and biblical language into his music, and discovering that he had a greater purpose than playing the guitar, harmonica, and singing as a mode of entertainment and nothing further (86). …show more content…
Dylan’s storytelling emerges as being one of his many natural-born talents. This element of Dylan’s character is evident through his narratives, as the reader joins him on the unstable path that was his day-to-day life as a young artist trying to carve his name into music history. The reader quickly learns that whether Dylan had a devoted audience in front of him, or simply the occasional glances from indifferent passersby, he was determined to build a repertoire of excellence in the music industry. Dylan also reveals a series of new goals that he adds onto his original prospect of musicianship at the peak of his career. One such ambition is described by Dylan as being able to convey meaningful, and even philosophical, concepts with the use of his lyrical and melodic talents