Tracy Chapman Fast Car

“Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman represents the Modernist literary movement. A belief of the Modernist movement is moving away from the traditions of the past. One example of the belief in Chapman's song is “You got a fast car. Is it fast enough so we can fly away? We gotta make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way.” In these lyrics, Chapman is telling the other person that both of them should run away together and start over. In the same way that Modernism advocates breaking traditions of the past, Chapman wants to leave her past behind with the person she loves and living a life different from her parents. One idea Modernists valued was accurately depicting the complexities of modern life. For example, Chapman states “See my old man's got a problem. …show more content…
He says his body's too old for working. His body's too young to look like his. My mama went off and left him. She wanted more from life than he could give. I said somebody's got to take care of him. So I quit school and that's what I did.” In the text Chapman is describing her father's drinking and how her mother eventually ended up leaving them. One of the values of Modernist literature is depicting the problems of modern life accurately. Tracy Chapman is explaining her past experiences and for the listeners she doesn't try to make it seem more pleasant than it actually was. In conclusion, Tracy Chapman's “Fast Car” represents the Modernist literary style because her song accurately depicts the complexities of modern life and she tries breaking away from the traditions of the