song

Gary Jules: Mad World

Children waitin' for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sits and listen, sits and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson?
Look right through me, look right through me
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dyin'
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
'Cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very
Mad world, mad world
Mad world, mad world

            The song Mad World by Gary Jules illustrates the struggle the Holbrooke children have finding happiness and knowledge from the people in their lives they think can give that to them. “Children waiting for the day they feel good” is the kids always waiting for something to change for the better. “Made to feel the way that every child should” touches on the idea that Maize and her siblings were only children and should have been able to enjoy it. Their circumstance denied them the childhood most kids take for granted. Most days were spent taking care of the family or worrying about their parents. Maize, by the end of the book, had lost her hope and seemed completely jaded. “Hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson, look right through me” relates to their experience going to school. The idea of school to them meant opportunity and a life better than the one they had. However, when they went they had a bad experience. They felt shame, poorly dressed, and the teacher openly criticized their inability to read. If everyone says your shot at a good future is an education and you go and don’t fit in at all it will pretty much crush your dreams. This song overall is depressing. It’s about the repetitive nature of life and the insignificance of everyday routines leading to depression. I think it’s a great song to illustrate the worn out feeling of the Holbrookes everyday lives. It’s like after that everyday who wouldn’t pause for a moment and think “what’s the point”. Even in such a “mad world” though hope can be found like with the Holbrookes. They kept trying despite all their setbacks. Although their future looks grime they keep hope and we look back at their lives and celebrate their struggle and the notion that no one should be forgotten.