TOW #4 - Cash

The autobiography of Johnny Cash, Cash, was written (obviously) by the famous singer, guitarist and songwriter whose work spans many generations.  The author is credible simply because he is writing about his own life and the events that occurred.  The initial audience of the book would definitely be people who are familiar with Cash's work, and he alludes many times to performances he did and albums he released.  However a second, and wider, audience also exists because even if one is not familiar with all the details of Cash's life, they can still enjoy the anecdotes he provides and the emotional appeal that his stories have.  Cash's wrote his second autobiography to provide an outlook on his entire life as he got older and to reveal to his audience the hardships and experiences that shaped his music and his being.  Throughout the first half of the book, Cash has used multiple rhetorical devices.  In the beginning, Cash uses anaphora to establish a basis of his life and reasons for writing the book.  On page 12 he uses the phrase "I'm thankful" to begin multiple sentences.  This repetition goes back to his purpose of being able to look back on his life and reveal to the audience how he has come to be where he is.  Another tool Cash uses is figurative language.  On page 17 he writes, "Perhaps I'm just alienated, feeling the cold wind of exclusion blowing my way."  This language allows the reader to get into the author's mind and understand the feelings he was experiencing at different points throughout his life.  Another tool Cash uses is the way he jumps from flashbacks in his life to the current time, and sometimes even the day he is writing that page of the book.  An example of this strategy comes on page 161.  After telling an entire anecdote about his friend Waylon from a time when Cash was on tour, he starts the next page by writing, "We're edging into the heart of winter now, and I'm in Texas."  This rotating perspective allows the reader to understand events that took place in Cash's life and then connect them back to the current Cash that narrates the story.  He is extremely effective in writing about his life, and the stories he tells are intriguing and full of personal detail.  Many are sad, shocking and straightforward, but many are comedically sarcastic and look upon the great times Cash has had throughout his life.

Cash and his wife June, whom he writes much about